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.
