Thank you for your hard work and collaboration this past year. Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2025!
Best wishes,
Thomasenia Adams, Ana Puig, Chiquita Campbell, Brian Lane, Leela Kumaran, Piper Lowinger, Audrey Vilaihong, Hannah Ewing, and Stephany Rodriguez
Q & A with Shaunté Duggins, Ph. D., Director of State Initiatives for the UF Lastinger Center for Learning
What research are you currently working on?I am currently working on measuring the impact of the New Worlds Reading Initiative on children and their caregivers. In particular, I am seeking to understand the impact of the patented Kibeam Wand™, a proprietary, cutting-edge product designed to support children’s book reading using screen-less technology.
Overall, exploring the impact and experiences of children and families enrolled in the New Worlds Reading Initiative will provide insights into how the program can be enhanced to support literacy learning. Additionally, data collected from the experiences and engagement of families with a Kibeam Wand will help us better understand the potential benefits of leveraging screen-less technology to scaffold striving readers’ engagement and interactions with text.
The goal of the New Worlds Reading Initiative is to foster ongoing, positive connections among families, schools, and communities around a shared mission: ensuring that all children learn to read and are supported in developing a lifelong love of reading. New Worlds Reading partners with the community, educators, and caregivers to strengthen children’s language interactions and bolster literacy skills. As this program develops, additional research activities will be explored to understand the efficacy.
The National Institutes of Health is making several changes to its grant application and peer review processes in 2025, including a simplified review framework for most Research Project Grants (RPGs), revisions to fellowship applications and reviews, updates to institutional training grant applications, and new application forms and instructions. These changes aim to streamline processes and improve efficiency. For more detailed information, you can view the full update here.
Dear Colleagues,
Join the Office of Educational Research for our first All Things Pre- and Post-Award session on Wednesday, March 12, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the Rosenburg Room. Unable to attend in person? A Zoom option is available, and the session will be recorded for later viewing.
All faculty and research administrators are welcome! We hope to see you there!
Dear Colleagues,
The Office of Educational Research invites you to the COE Term Professors Panel Presentation on Tuesday, April 29, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the Rosenburg Room. This event will feature COE faculty who are recipients of prestigious Term Professorships, including B.O. Smith, Fien, Rosser, Kubiak, and UF Foundation awards. Panelists will share brief overviews of their research projects, outcomes, and future directions.
This semester, we are highlighting scholarship by:
We look forward to seeing you there!
The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) Program is now accepting applications for U.S. institutions to host an international scholar in the 2026-27 academic year. The S-I-R Program enables U.S. higher education institutions to host international scholars for a semester or full academic year. These scholars contribute by teaching courses, assisting in curriculum development, guest lecturing, establishing study abroad or exchange partnerships, and engaging with both the campus and local community. The program aims to enhance or expand international programs, develop new world area studies, and introduce international perspectives into existing coursework. The deadline to apply is June 2, 2025, at 5 PM EST.
Join the following webinars to learn more (all sessions will take place at 2:00 PM EST):
For more information, visit the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program page.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season! From Thomasenia Adams, Ana Puig, Brian Lane, Leela Kumaran, Piper Lowinger, Audrey Vilaihong, Chiquita Campbell, Hannah Ewing, and Stephany Rodriguez.
The Spencer Foundation’s AI and Education Initiative seeks to reimagine education in a world transformed by advanced technologies. It focuses on how AI reshapes teaching methods, learning processes, and institutional operations, recognizing both its potential and its challenges. AI offers opportunities to enhance teacher development and reduce administrative burdens but raises critical concerns about equity, such as the digital divide, algorithmic bias, and environmental costs.
The initiative prioritizes:
This holistic approach aims to balance the promise of AI with its risks, ensuring equitable and effective educational transformation from early childhood to higher education and beyond. For more information, visit the Spencer Foundation’s AI and Education Initiative page.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2025 Annual Meeting will be held from April 23–25, 2025 in Denver, Colorado, bringing together educators, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to share the latest developments in educational research. The conference will feature a range of presentations, symposia, and workshops on topics covering various aspects of education, from K-12 to higher education. Registration for the event will open in December and the early bird deadline is February 20, 2025.
The meeting will focus on a variety of pressing educational topics, emphasizing innovation, equity, and inclusive research practices with over 2,500 sessions offered, including paper presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and poster sessions.
Opportunities for collaboration and networking will be available throughout the conference, providing attendees with a platform to connect with peers, experts, and organizations.
Keynote speakers, award ceremonies, and other special events will be featured to highlight the contributions and achievements in the field of educational research.
The full program, including specific session details and scheduling, will be available closer to the event. For more information, visit the AERA 2025 Annual Meeting Program page.
The National Center for Education Sciences (NCES) Data Users Conference is a unique opportunity for researchers, policymakers, and data users to explore innovative applications of NCES data and tackle critical education challenges. Scheduled for February 11–13, 2025, this virtual event will focus on the theme Responding to the “New Normal” and feature engaging sessions on key topics, including:
While the proposal submission period has now closed, attendees will still benefit from insightful discussions, learn from cutting-edge research, and discover innovative strategies for using NCES data, such as data linking, visualization, and blending federal statistics to inform policy decisions.
This free event is an excellent opportunity to collaborate with peers, gain practical knowledge, and explore how NCES data can support efforts to improve educational outcomes nationwide. A detailed agenda will be available in December. For more information, please visit the NCES event page.
The Spencer Foundation’s White Paper Series on Culturally Sustaining and Relevant Education (CSRE) highlights the importance of educational practices that affirm and build on the cultural and linguistic assets of students from diverse backgrounds. Research indicates that students thrive when they experience a sense of belonging and when educators incorporate culturally and community-aligned approaches to teaching. This growing body of work emphasizes the need for educational systems to center the social and emotional needs of learners, engage communities and families, and recognize cultural practices as assets.
The commissioned white papers synthesize research on culturally sustaining and relevant teaching and learning across various content areas. For example, one white paper discusses strategies for supporting Latinx students through approaches that validate their cultural and linguistic identities. Another paper emphasizes the need for culturally responsive leadership in schools to foster equity and inclusivity. These papers also explore future directions for research, policy, and educational practices that center cultural sustainability and equity. They provide insights for educators and policymakers to navigate this complex and critical field, addressing systemic inequities while fostering inclusive, responsive practices. By translating these findings into actionable strategies, the series supports efforts to create equitable and affirming educational environments.
You can explore the full series and related topics on the Spencer Foundation’s official website here.
