December 2025 Newsletter

School of Education Researchers Receive $1.7 Million Grant to Prepare STEM Teachers for Age of AI 

School of Education researchers have secured a $1.7 million National Science Foundation grant to prepare the next generation of STEM teachers to use artificial intelligence responsibly and effectively. Led by Associate Professor of Teaching Matt Wallace, the project will provide each teacher fellow with a $30,000 scholarship and annual stipends, alongside AI training, mentoring, and professional development.

“This project is a major opportunity to empower new teachers as they enter the education field, teach in high-need districts, and work with learners who will deeply benefit from their AI expertise well after our program ends,” said Wallace. He will collaborate with co-PIs Profs. Timothy Lewis, Cynthia Passmore, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, and Charles Wilkes over the next five years to boost teacher retention and advance equitable, human-centered AI use in classrooms. Learn more about the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and research team.

The Geography of California Community College Enrollment: Course-Taking Trends in the Online Era

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s community colleges rapidly expanded access to online learning. But has this shift encouraged students to enroll beyond their local districts? Join the School of Education on Tuesday, December 9, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. for a webinar on the geography of community college enrollment. Researchers will share new findings on cross-enrollment shifts from 10 years of administrative data and speak with Coast Community College District Chancellor Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D. ’20, about real-time trends he’s observing. Register to attend “The Geography of California Community College Enrollment” webinar.

Emerging Scholars Panel Sheds Light on Role Teachers Play in Educational Justice

The School of Education’s Emerging Scholars Panel brought together Drs. Brittany Frieson (University of Texas at Austin), Jo R. King (Boston University), and Ebony Perouse-Harvey (Harvard University) to discuss the intersections of race, language, and disability in K–12 education. Their presentations shed light on how teachers can affirm multilingual identities, reduce disciplinary inequities, and apply anti-racist and anti-ableist practices in the classroom, offering actionable insights into how educator preparation and representation shape more just learning environments. Read more about the 2025 Emerging Scholars panel and view the photo gallery.

School of Education Webinar Highlights What Students Need to Access Community College Financial Aid

A recent School of Education webinar shed light on the current state of financial aid in California Community Colleges. Researchers from the California Education Lab and Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research shared research findings about financial aid application and awards, administrative burdens, and student perspectives. While the research points to several potential levers for improving student access to financial aid, the panelists agreed that any reform must reflect the experiences of the students and financial aid professionals who navigate the processes daily. Watch the full webinar.

Successful Crowdfund Campaign Supports Words Take Wing

Thanks to generous donors, the School of Education’s Words Take Wing Crowdfund Campaign raised $3,500 through 26 gifts. This crucial support allows us to introduce regional schoolchildren to acclaimed authors from diverse backgrounds. Thank you again to every donor and to everyone who helped spread the word. If you weren’t able to participate, you can still make a contribution to ensure full support of this valuable program.

Watch a Day in the Life of an M.A. Student

Master’s student and first-year teacher Emily Harding shares a day in her life. Visit us on YouTube or Instagram for more student and alumni stories.

Faculty News

Jennifer Higgs Advises Spencer-Funded Project on AI and Equitable Science Education

Prof. Jennifer Higgs is serving on the advisory board for Curating AI + Pedagogy Resources for Equitable Science Education (CA+PRESE), a project recently awarded a Spencer Foundation Vision Grant. This program funds the collaborative planning of research aimed at transforming education systems for equity. During this incubation phase, the team is partnering with districts, teachers, students, and community members to co-design a proposal for a larger Transformative Research Grant. The project examines how educators and communities can utilize AI to design localized science lessons, build on students’ ideas and experiences, and navigate the ethical and pedagogical dimensions of new technologies.

Alicia Rusoja Receives Funding to Advance Research on Transnational Educational Practices

Prof. Alicia Rusoja has joined the second cohort of the UC Davis Humanities and Social Sciences Stimulating Exceptional and Essential Discovery (SEED) Funding Program. The funding will support Rusoja to advance a multi-year research initiative on the transnational educational practices and experiences of undocumented Venezuelan immigrants living in California. Her research will examine how the educational practices and realities of this rising immigrant group, including immigration status and transnational migration experiences, are fundamental to achieving educational equity across learning contexts. Read more about Rusoja’s work and the SEED Funding Program.

Alumni and Student News

Audrey Boochever, Ph.D. ’25, was appointed Senior Policy Director at the State Board of Education. Previously, she served as Lead of Workforce Development and Career Pathways at First in Family; Senior Quantitative Analyst at Aspire Public Schools; and a graduate student researcher at the California Education Lab.

Paul Cody, Ed.D. ’17, was selected to serve as the 2026 Picnic Day parade marshal. Cody is a senior research associate at UC Davis Student Affairs and has served as a staff advisor for Picnic Day in previous years.

Eileen Forbes-Hill, Ed.D. ’25, has accepted the role of Chief Program Officer at Girls Inc. The Orange County-based organization provides after-school and summer programs to empower and uplift K-12 girls.

Credential students Ezra Chavez and Grace Shiffrin were recognized with the California Association of Science Educators Future Science Teacher Award. “Receiving this award not only affirms, but strengthens my passion and resolve to become an influential educator for my students in the hopes that they can one day aspire to become science educators as well,” said Chavez. “This award recognizes my transformation from a struggling student into a scientist and educator,” said Shiffrin. “As a new science educator I’m looking forward to using my knowledge and skill set to inspire my students the way my past teachers have inspired me.”

Featured Conferences

Sattik Ghosh, Alexandria Hurtt, Stephanie Luna-Lopez, Christina Murdoch Mills, Alyssa Nguyen, Sherrie Reed, and Megan Welsh attended the California Educational Research Association annual conference. Ph.D. student Luna-Lopez (pictured right) accepted the Outstanding Paper Award for her and Ph.D. candidate Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza’s paper “Navigating Burdens and Exercising Agency: Student Experiences with College and Financial Aid Applications.” Ghosh, M.A. ’22, received the Leadership in Data and/or Assessment Award for his work on Test Operations Management Systems. Christina Murdoch Mills, Ed.D. ’17 and Executive Director of the Center for Applied Policy in Education, was elected to the CERA Board for a one-year term and Sherrie Reed, Ph.D. ’15 and Executive Director to the California Education Lab, completed her sixth and final year as a board member. 

Other recent conference highlights include: Kevin Gee spoke at “From the Ground Up: Gathering Community Solutions for Building Hate-Free Schools,” a community forum in Pasadena focused on preventing hate in schools…Darnel Degand presented at the Joint Conference of the International Bande Dessinée Society and the International Graphic Novel and Comics Conference in Brussels. Visit our conference page for a complete roundup of recent research presentations.

Publications

Jiménez-Silva, M., Abdelrahim, S., Restani, R.*, Martin, R., & Albano, T. (2025). Leveraging Children’s Multicultural Literature to Support Students’ Math Identity and Problem Solving. Teaching for Equity and Excellence in Mathematics.

Martinez, D.C. & Patterson Williams, A. (2025). Noticing for Equity in Disciplinary Literacy Instruction. In M. Sailors, I. Nuñez, V.W.M. Watson, J.V. Hoffman, and D.E. Alvermann (Eds.), Theories, Models, and Practices of Literacy. Routledge. 

Oppermann, G., Van Zant, C.*, Coughlan, I., Howarth, S., Sparapani, N., & Pedgrift, K. (2025). Sex and Relationship Education for Individuals with Disabilities: A Review of the Literature Through an Ecological Systems Lens. Sexes.

Rusoja, A., Portillo, Y., & Cornell Gonzales, G. (2025). A Communal Pedagogy of Resistance and Its Communal Organizing Literacies. In M. Sailors, I. Nuñez, V.W.M. Watson, J.V. Hoffman, and D.E. Alvermann (Eds.), Theories, Models, and Practices of Literacy. Routledge.

Zhao, Y., Gee, K.A., & Yuan, C.W. (2025). Relative Sense of Belonging and the Academic Achievement of Chinese Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

* School of Education alumni