College of Education Research Conference 2025
The College of Education Research Conference is an opportunity for the college community, faculty, and graduate students, to learn about each other’s work, share ideas, and build collaborations for the future.
Conference When & Where
Friday, October 17, 2025
8:30a - 4:30p
Toftrees Conference Center
1 Country Club Lane, State College, PA 16803
2025 Program At-A-Glance
Check-in & Keynote (Silver Maple Rooms)
8:30-9:00 Check-in / Coffee & Pastries
9:00-9:45 Keynote Speaker - Dr. Dana Griffin
Morning Presentations
9:45-10:00 Presentation Set-up & Morning Break
10:00-11:50 Round Table Sessions
10:00-11:30 Symposiums
10:45-11:45 Paper Sessions
Lunch
11:30-1:00 The Aspen Room (behind foyer)
Afternoon Presentations
1:10-3:20 Symposiums
1:10-4:30 Paper Sessions
Presentation Abstracts
~MORNING SESSIONS~
Round Table Session 1
Silver Maple Ballroom III / 10:00-10:30
Reimagining Education Through Culture, Technology, and Decoloniality
Hidden in Plain Sight: Increasing Museum Sustainability Through Reimagining Mobility Pathways
Julie Henry, Doctoral Student, Learning, Design, and Technology
Immersive and Inclusive: Augmented Reality as a Catalyst for Culturally Responsive Teaching
Laela Hikmah Nurbatra, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction
Storying Otherwise: Critical Counter-Narratives from Bangladeshi and Pakistani Early Childhood Education
Madiha Noor, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction, and Comparative and International Education; Md Rifat Hassan Liju, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction/Comparative and International Education; Moutushi Mahreen, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction
The Use of Customized GenAI Chatbots to Support Preservice Teachers’ Understanding of Collective Mathematical Argumentation
Xiangquan Yao, Associate Professor, Mathematics Education
Round Table Session 2
Silver Maple Ballroom III / 10:40-11:10
Equity, Identity, and Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Exploring Career Hope in WFED Doctoral Graduates Using Bandura’s Human Agency Theory
Azza Al Hajri, Doctoral Student, Workforce Education and Development
Design and Discourse in AI Chatbots: Examining Hidden Epistemic Implications in Education
Jusil Lee, Doctoral Student, Learning, Design, and Technology
Exploring Parental Support in Mathematics through Black Immigrant Lenses
Mary Ajani , Doctoral Student, Curriculum and InstructionCulture Responsiveness in EFL Instruction: A Mixed Methods Study in Rural Indonesia
Nurkamilah Nurkamilah, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction
Round Table Session 3
Silver Maple Ballroom III / 11:20-11:50
Belonging, Wellbeing, and Justice in Educational Spaces
Federated Item Response Theory: A Distributed, Privacy-preserving, and Efficient IRT Estimation Algorithm
Biying Zhou, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
Transferable Skills: The Shortcut to Success
Marcela Movit, Director, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy
Why is Their Desk Outside The Classroom? :Teacher Perceptions and Implicit Bias toward Black Students with EBD
Master Brown , Doctoral Student, Special Education
A Prescription for Hope: Exploring Faculty Empowerment and Agency In Academic Medicine Through Enhanced Critical Incident Technique
Tehniyet Azam, Doctoral Student, Workforce Education and Development
Symposiums
Silver Maple Ballroom I / 10:00-10:40
Special Education: Historical and Contemporary Views on Language and Its Meaning
Discussant: Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg
We Are…Not that Word: Rising Educators’ Interrogations of the Influence of Language and Ideology for Students with Disabilities
Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg, Assistant Professor, Special Education; Masters Student Presenters: Misha'el Richardson, Hope Petrosky, Ainsley Glaze, Kelsey Miller, and Alicia Gagner; Contributing non-presenters: Vivian Palacios, Sigeny Cohen, and Emily Cook
Silver Maple Ballroom I / 10:50-11:30
Special Education - Key Legislation and Their Historical and Contemporary Relevance
Discussant: Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg
(Re)Visiting Special Education Case Laws: Preservice Educators’ Examinations of Legal History to Engage Media
Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg, Assistant Professor, Special Education; Undergraduate Student Presenters: Emily Brockson, Annabelle Neuschwander, Set Gunuskey, Niamh Keegan, Carolyn Barnes, Jaysay Cuellar-Miller, Abby Boyd, Michael Vega; Contributing non-presenters: Marley Dolan, Alexandra Demola, Katelyn Kusic
Concurrent Paper Sessions
The Field Alcove / 10:45-11:45
Expanding Access and Identity in STEM Education
Presider: Amber Cesare
Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers Demonstrating Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Through Lesson Planning and Implementation in a University Teaching
Brandon Schadle, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction
Assessing Career Interest in Out-of-School-Time Summer Programs on Making: The Role of Near-Peer Mentors and Micro-Computing Activities in Supporting High School
Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Professor, Learning, Design, and TechnologyNavigating Socio-Political Contradictions: A Black Woman’s Path to Expanding Scientific Modeling
Natalie Rae, Assistant Professor, Learning, Design, and TechnologyInterdisciplinary teams for designing teacher professional development
Amber Cesare, Assistant Teaching Professor, Science Education; Kathleen Hill, Teaching Professor, Science Education and Director of Center for the Sciences and the Schools (CSATS)
Red Pine Library / 10:45-11:45
IDENTITY: Intersectionality, Leadership, and Belonging
Presider: Esther Prins
STEM Identity, Capital Factors, and Graduate School Experiences: A Multiple Case Study of URM Women
Almendra Mendizabal, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
Unlearning and deradicalizing from White Christian nationalism: Implications for adult learning and education
Esther Prins, Professor, Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
Intersectional and Organizational Theories: Empowering Women of Color Leaders in STEM
Francisca Figueroa-Vidal, Doctoral Student, Higher Education; Adrienne Dixson, Professor of Education; LaWanda Ward, Associate Professor, Higher Education
Bridging Borders and Barriers: Transforming U.S. Higher Education for International Student Mothers of Color
Marynes Castillo, Doctoral Student, Education Policy and Leadership
~AFTERNOON SESSIONS~
Symposium Sessions
Silver Maple Ballroom I / 1:10-2:10
Research Fellow Chalk Talk - Session 1
Discussant: Karen Murphy
Scaling the Melanin Scholars Retreat: Scaling the Melanin Scholars Retreat: A Community-Based Model for Black Women in Counselor Education
Aiesha Lee, Assistant Professor, Counselor EducationToward a Down Syndrome Community of Support: Convening Families, Practitioners, and Key Personnel in Critical Conversations
Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg, Assistant Professor, Special EducationPreserving Mission-Driven Curricula in the Aftermath of Mahmoud v. Taylor: A Focus on School District Attorneys
Maria Lewis, Associate Professor, Educational LeadershipConquering High-Stress Conversations & Spotting Repair in Multicultural Intimacy
Javier Casado Pèrez, Assistant Professor, Counselor EducationScaffolding Scientific Thinking: Next Steps in Evidence-Based Writing Instruction
Angelique Aitken, Assistant Professor, Special Education
Silver Maple Ballroom I / 2:20-3:20
Research Fellow Chalk Talk - Session 2
Discussant: Karen Murphy
The Archives in Action: Uncovering Lost Colleges
Mariah Harmon, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and InstructionBeyond the Manosphere: The Sports Media Ecosystem and Postdigital Masculinity
Ty Hollett, Associate Professor, Learning, Design, and TechnologySchool Counselors Collaborating to Support Black Students with Learning Disabilities in Rural Environments in their Transition to Post-secondary Settings
Janice Byrd-Badjie, Associate Professor, Counselor EducationFrom Reflection to Action: Designing a Critical Consciousness Framework & Training for Pre-Service Students in Helping Professions
Sarah Shrewsbury-Braxton, Assistant Professor, Counselor EducationEmbodied Futures: Reimagining Health Equity Through Immersive Visualization
Wilson Kwamogi Okello, Associate Professor, Higher Education
Concurrent Paper Presentations
Silver Maple Ballroom III / 1:10-2:10
Learning, Equity, and Innovation in the Labor Market
Presider: Esther Prins / Allison Fleming
Data-Informed Collaboration in Transition Services for Youth with Disabilities: A Model for Improving Outcomes
Allison Fleming, Associate Professor, Rehabilitation and Human ServicesGenerative AI Risk Governance in HR: A SLR Synthesis and Toolkit Proposal through Regulatory & Standards Mapping
Hosung You, Doctoral Student, Workforce Education and Development
Informal intergenerational learning in the workplace: A systematic literature review
Hyeon Kang, Doctoral Student, Lifelong Learning and Adult Education; Esther Prins, Professor, Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
Wage Disparities from Field-of-Study Mismatch and the Role of Workplace Learning
Seong Ji Jeong, Assistant Professor, Workforce Education and Development
Red Pine Room / 1:10-2:10
Literacies Beyond the Classroom
Presider: Carol Clymer
The Literacies School Never Measured: How Could the Curriculum Honor My Parents’ Knowledge
Jubara Abusin, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and Instruction
Silence That Moves the Early Childhood Classroom
Junghee Lee, Doctoral Student, Early Childhood Education; Ozge Ergin, Doctoral Student, Early Childhood Education
Financial Literacy Programming in Adult Basic Education
Carol D. Clymer, Associate Professor, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy/Goodling Institute; Erika Mazzoli, Doctoral Student, Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
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Silver Maple Ballroom III / 2:20-3:20
BELONGING & WELLBEING: Fostering Connection and Resilience
Presider: Jennifer Frank
From Connection to Commitment: How Belonging and Engagement Shape Student Persistence
Farzan Farhadi, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
Preliminary Effects of CARE: A Mindfulness-Based Program for Special Education Teachers
Xiaoxuan Li, Postdoc Scholar, Educational Psychology; Jennifer Frank, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology
If You Build It, Will They Stay? Investigating Why Faculty Members Leave Institutions and Higher Education
Zheng Yao, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
International Student Check-Up: A Pilot Study
Xiaoxuan Li, Postdoc Scholar, Educational Psychology; Jennifer Frank, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology
Red Pine Library / 2:20-3:20
COMMUNITY: Education, Resistance, and Local Engagement
Presider: Jason Griffith
A longitudinal mixed methods social network analysis to evaluate a peer-led housing program for older men returning from incarceration: Study protocol & pre-implementation results
Brandy Henry, Assistant Professor, Rehabilitation and Human Services; Divine Lipscomb, Doctoral Student, Counselor Education
Latinx Punk as Critical Pedagogy: Exploring Knowledge Creation and Community Resistance
Eric J. Hunting, Doctoral Student, Lifelong Learning and Adult Education / Comparative and International Education
Local Governance and Digital Platforms: Explaining the Variation in School Boards’ Data-Accessibility Tools
Ghadir Al Saghir, Doctoral Student, Education Policy and Leadership
Mapping Book Banning Resistance: Visualizing Acts of Activism to Preserve Students' Right to Read
Jason Griffith, Assistant Professor, Language and Literacy Education
Red Pine Room / 2:20-3:20
The Innovative Anti-Racist Pedagogy (IARP) Research Hub
Pursuing Grant Funding in Uncertain Times: Tales of Critical Scholars and Initial Collaborations
Mildred Boveda, Associate Professor, Special Education; Brittany Aronson, Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction; Marsha Modeste, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
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Silver Maple Ballroom III / 3:30-4:30
Equitable Science Learning in Spaces and Places
Presider: Angelique Aitken
Investigating exhibit development in university-affiliated science museums
Hailey Bowers, Doctoral Student, Science Education
Early Childhood Adversity and Science Learning: Exploring the Mediating Role of Executive Functioning
Paola del Campo, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
The Use of Storytelling to Motivate Planetarium Audiences towards Action
Julia Plummer, Professor, Science Education; Hailey Bowers, Doctoral Student, Science Education
DEFENDing and Supporting Students’ Scientific Thinking through Argument-Based Writing
Angelique Aitken, Assistant Professor, Special Education; Farzan Farhadi, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
Red Pine Room / 3:30-4:30
Talk and Text in Literacy
Presider: Carol Clymer / Yue Tang
Talk with Me Toolkits! Digital Resources to Promote Family Engagement and Intergenerational Learning
Carol D. Clymer, Associate Professor, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy/Goodling Institute; Esther Prins, Professor, Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
Supporting Access to Inclusive Postsecondary Education: Impact of AI-Adapted Text on Reading Comprehension for Older Learners with Intellectual Disabilities Who Need or Use AAC
Sharon Redmon, Doctoral Student, Special Education
Examining the Role of Student Leaders During Small-group English Language Arts Discussion
Yue Tang, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology; Cory Tondreau, Doctoral Student, Educational Psychology
Red Pine Library / 3:30-4:30
Critical Approaches to Teacher Education and Learning
Presider: Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg
“I still believe English is crucial. However, ….”: Egyptian Teachers’ Consciousness Development as a Non-Linear Process
Alia Shalaby, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and InstructionTeacher Development at a Local Literacy Council: A Vygotskian Sociocultural Perspective
Ehean Kim, Doctoral Student, Curriculum and InstructionDesigns for the Pluriverse: Latin American Dialogues on Pedagogy, Ontology, and Epistemic Justice
Jose Sandoval-Llanos, Doctoral Student, Learning, Design, and Technology“More Piano with Mrs. Lee.” Student Portraits, Teacher Autoethnography, and Freire’s Pedagogy of Hope
Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg, Assistant Professor, Special Education; JungJu Lee, Masters Student, Special Education