June 2023 Newsletter

Featured News

Cynthia Carter Ching Appointed Interim Dean

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan has appointed Cynthia Carter Ching to serve as interim dean for the School of Education effective July 1, while the national search for the School’s new dean continues.

Ching, associate dean for academic programs in the School of Education since 2016, served as interim vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Education from 2020 to 2022. She holds a B.A. in psychology with an emphasis in cognitive science from UC Irvine and a Ph.D. in education from UCLA.

“The School of Education has greatly benefited from Dr. Ching’s steady leadership as associate dean, her research expertise in issues relating to the use of technology in learning, her deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and her unfailing advocacy for students,” said Dean Lauren E. Lindstrom. “I know she will serve the school very well in this time of transition.”

Congratulations to our 2023 Graduates

The School of Education celebrated with students and their loved ones on June 14 at the Mondavi Center for the Arts.

Noting that UC Davis granted its first teaching credentials in 1922, Dean Lindstrom said, “The collective impact of all of our graduates over the last 100 years is immeasurable. And you’re part of that story now. You will write the next chapter and you will lead the next charge.” View an album of our celebration photos and a recording of the livestream of the event.

Celebrating Dean Lauren Lindstrom

In May, the School of Education hosted a celebration reception and dinner for Dean Lindstrom as she concludes her leadership role and prepares to leave for a year’s sabbatical before returning to the UC Davis campus as a professor in Fall 2024.

Chancellor Gary S. May, Provost Mary Croughan and various School of Education leaders shared their best wishes with the audience. See the dean’s celebration photo gallery.

New Partnership with Luminous Minds

We’re pleased to announce a new partnership with Luminous Minds, Inc., which produces curriculum and instructional videos made by and for teachers to support diverse learners and a variety of learning styles. Luminous Minds will provide licenses to our teaching credential and master’s candidates, giving them access to a wealth of additional resources during their reading/literature class and their first year of teaching.

Luminous Minds was founded by Chandra Roughton, pictured above (center) with Dean Lindstrom and lecturer/supervisor Chantal Mace. Roughton has been a passionate educator and teacher for over 23 years. In addition to her time as a classroom teacher, she has led numerous teacher development trainings and workshops and served as an advocate for parents of children with learning disabilities or behavioral challenges.

Faculty News

Incoming Faculty Leadership

We’re excited to announce new leadership roles for School of Education faculty, all effective July 1:

• Associate Professor of Teaching Torry Winn, Chair of Undergraduate Programs
• Associate Professor Alexis Patterson Williams, Chair of Teacher Education
• Professor Paco Martorell, Chair of the Graduate Group in Education
• Professor Gloria Rodriguez, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs. This new position will assume the roles and responsibilities that have been under our the Department Chair.

Faculty Retirement Celebration                                         

In May we celebrated the outstanding accomplishments and service of four faculty members who are transitioning to emeriti status after many years of contributions to the field of education: Professors Steven Athanases, Peter Mundy and Cary Trexler and Lecturer/Supervisor Pauline Holmes. View the retirement event photo gallery.

Research News

Center for Community and Citizen Science Presents at C*Sci 2023

In May, affiliates of the School’s Center for Community and Citizen Science attended the Citizen Science Association’s C*Sci 2023 conference for scientists, researchers, practitioners, teachers and others in the field of community and citizen science (CCS).

The center hosted a symposium at the event to discuss ideas for improving data feedback loops in CCS, led discussions about research and lessons learned during the Our Forests and Spinning Salmon projects, and presented seven posters describing research and work with students, researchers, agencies and communities. Read more about Center for Community and Citizen Science presentations at C*Sci 2023.

Student News

Elizabeth Castro Receives NCTE Award

Doctoral candidate Elizabeth B. Castro has received the 2023 Early Career Educator of Color Award from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The program supports early career teachers of color as they build accomplished teaching careers in literacy education. Castro received her master’s in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has been a McNair scholar, a Gates Millennium scholar, and a Fulbright scholar to Mexico. Learn more about Elizabeth Castro and the NCTE award.

Students Launch Action Research Group

School of Education first-year PhD students have formed the Abolition, Decolonization, and Liberation Collective. The goal of this action research group is to enhance community, collaboration, dialogue and student-led action research with a diverse collective of undergraduate, graduate and community members with a commitment towards anti-racism, decolonization and justice. The ADL collective launched a speaker series in spring quarter, and also hosts a book club and community action and collective research projects. Read more about the ADL Collective.

Events and Webinars

UC Davis Juneteenth Celebration 

On June 4, UC Davis hosted the community for an early celebration of Juneteenth, which included an Aggie Black Excellence segment on the theme “Together We Heal.” Ebony Lewis, EdD ’21, UC Davis chief strategy officer for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, opened the segment on the topic of healing through music, and performed a gospel melody culminating in her own original piece representing the rich history and significance of the Black church. Prof. Faheemah Mustafaa addressed healing through scholarship and awareness, with a discussion of the importance of research as a way to make the community aware of key needs, opportunities, challenges and to work together to address them. Read more about the Juneteenth event.

Torry Winn and Izamar Ortíz-González Present in UCLA Webinar

On June 14, Prof. Torry Winn and PhD candidate Izamar Ortíz-González presented “Lessons From the Pilot of MTSS School-Site Implementation” during a webinar highlighting a new series of eight research reports from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Each report analyzes an aspect of the California Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) pilot program, a five-year state program aimed at meeting the academic, behavioral and social-emotional needs of students. Watch the MTSS webinar or download the slides.

Faheemah Mustafaa Presents on Black Girls’ Well-being During COVID-19 Schooling

Prof. Faheemah Mustafaa shared her research in “A Tale of Two California Studies: Investigating Holistic Well-Being and Mental Health during COVID-19,” a webinar hosted by the COVID-19 and Equity in Education (CEE) initiative. Mustafaa’s research addressed statewide trends and Sacramento area schooling experiences related to Black middle and high school girls’ well-being in California before, during and after widespread COVID-19-related school closures. View the CEE webinar recording.

GGE Research Seminar Recordings

If you didn’t catch the Graduate Group in Education Spring quarter research seminar series, videos of all our presentations are available on the PhD program video webpage:

•     Cristina G. Reynaga-Peña, PhD
•     Audrey Boochever
•     Mayra Nunez Martinez, Adriana Lopez Torres and Tadria Cardenas
•     Elizabeth Castro and Silvia Tovar

Show Off with School of Education Gear

Looking for a way to show off your School of Education pride? You’ll find shirts of all styles, as well as mugs, hats and more with the School of Education logo at the online UC Davis Store. Proceeds from all store sales benefit UC Davis Athletics.

Publications

Prof. Heidi Ballard and postdoctoral scholar Maryam Ghadiri Khanaposhtani were among the co-authors of the research article “Young people in iNaturalist: a blended learning framework for biodiversity monitoring” in International Journal of Science Education Part B.

Leslie Banes, PhD ’17, PhD candidate Julia G. Houk, Prof. Steven Z. Athanases and postdoctoral researcher Sergio L. Sanchez co-authored “Multi-Lens Noticing in Preservice Teachers’ First Attempts at Facilitating Discussion in Diverse English Classes,” published in Teachers College Record.

Prof. Marcela G. Cuellar co-authored “Validating the Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale in Higher Education: Testing Factor Structure among Faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions” in College Teaching.

Prof. Margarita Jimenez-Silva co-authored “‘I Haven’t had That Conversation Yet’: How Homework is (or isn’t) Addressed in Teacher Preparation,” published in Journal of Education.

Prof. Nicole Sparapani, lecturer/supervisor Nancy Tseng, PhD, doctoral candidates Laurel Towers and Sandy Birkeneder, Sana Karimi, BA ’20, Cameron J. Alexander, BS ’22, doctoral student Johanna Vega Garcia, and postdoctoral scholars Taffeta Wood and Amanda Dimachkie Nunnally co-authored “Factors associated with classroom participation in preschool through third grade learners on the autism spectrum” in the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.