June 2024 Newsletter

Former First-Generation Students Give Back with Scholarship for Future Teachers

Sharon (Kurakazu) Takahashi and Gary Takahashi, both UC Davis alumni, have made a generous gift to support School of Education students pursuing their multiple-subject teaching credentials who demonstrate financial need, with a special preference for first-generation college students.

“I had a fabulous experience in the UC Davis teacher education program,” said Sharon Takahashi, History ’74, Cred. ’75. “My student teaching experiences, my supervisor—everything I learned there prepared and launched me into a great career that lasted over 30 years. And all along the way, the wisdoms of my experience at UC Davis came through. So I thought, OK, I need to give back now that I’m retired, especially to another first-generation college student so they can also have this opportunity.”

“Both of us were the first generation in our families to go to college,” said Gary Takahashi, Chemical Engineering ’74. “We know how much our parents worked so we would be able to go to UC Davis even then, when Sharon and I could earn enough with our summer jobs to cover our tuition for the year. We wanted to do something to help these new students be successful, too.” Read the full story about Sharon and Gary Takahashi.

Welcoming Dean Tom Smith

The School of Education community welcomed incoming Dean Tom Smith on June 6 at a reception attended by faculty, staff, students, UC Davis leadership and supporters. Chancellor Gary S. May, Provost Mary Croughan, and School of Law Dean Kevin R. Johnson addressed the crowd before Dean Smith gave his remarks. View the photo gallery from Dean Smith’s welcome event.

Congratulations to our 2024 Graduates

The School of Education celebrated our graduating students on June 12 at the Mondavi Center for the Arts. Speaking to her fellow graduates, credential candidate and keynote speaker Stephanie Loera said, “Each of us as educators have the power to rewrite a beginning. Each of us as researchers and leaders in education will be doing work that can inspire and sustain greatness. An action, a choice can galvanize a whole experience.”

This year’s recipients of the Faculty Service Award were Margarita Jimenez-Silva and Alicia Rusoja, who were recognized for their guidance, mentorship, and advocacy for their students. View an album of our graduation celebration photos and a recording of the livestream of the event.

Celebrating the Service of Cynthia Carter Ching and Elizabeth Montaño

At a special gathering of faculty and staff this month, we thanked two School of Education faculty members who have completed key leadership service and will be going on sabbatical. Prof. Cynthia Carter Ching served as interim dean for the School of Education for 11 months until Dean Tom Smith began his term on June 1. Prof. Elizabeth Montaño served as the chair of the CANDEL program for five years. We also acknowledged the retirement of Sylvia Aquino, who has served as a supervisor in the School’s Social Science Credential Program for more than 20 years. View the celebration brunch photo gallery.

Teacher Education Mentorship Awards

Resident teacher Josh Crowell and student teacher Janessa Plascencia, and resident teacher Jerry Delsol with his first-ever student teacher Sheila McCabe and his last student teacher Susanna Hernandez.

Each year the School of Education’s Teacher Education program gives a Mentorship Award to two resident teachers who demonstrate extraordinary support and outstanding mentorship. Resident teachers are nominated by our teaching credential candidates. This year’s awardees are Jerry Delsol, Single Subject Agriculture and Josh Crowell, Multiple Subject. Congratulations, and thank you for your support of student teachers!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Register for Teacher Education Supervisors Annual Conference

The Supervisors of Teacher Education Network Team (STENT) will be holding its 5th annual virtual summer conference July 31 and August 1. The conference focuses on equity and social justice practices for supervisors who support and guide credential candidates. At last year’s conference, 23 teacher education programs and over 120 teacher educators from across California came together to build community, exchange ideas, and share resources. STENT is led by Dr. Lisa Sullivan, lecturer/supervisor in the School’s Multiple Subject Credential Program, along with a team of teacher educators from four other UC teacher education programs and Cal Poly Humboldt. Register for the Summer 2024 STENT conference.

FACULTY NEWS

Peter Mundy Receives INSAR Lifetime Achievement Award

In May, Professor Emeritus Peter Mundy received the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s annual meeting in Melbourne, Australia. The award acknowledges an individual who has made significant fundamental contributions to research on autism spectrum disorders that have had a lasting impact on the field. View a video interview of Mundy speaking from the conference.

Prof. Nicole Sparapani and doctoral students from the CARE Lab research team also attended. The team presented preliminary findings from their research on autistic learners within general education classrooms and on executive function and emotional regulation skills of neurodiverse learners during math lessons. CARE Lab’s research works to improve the educational experiences of learners on the autism spectrum by understanding the dynamic and transactional relationship between students and their classroom environment.

Michal Kurlaender Presents on Academic Rigor and Equitable Access

Prof. Michal Kurlaender was a featured speaker in the webinar “How to Improve Access to Rigorous Coursework,” which explored the vital role of rigorous coursework in academic success, including equitable access to preparatory schooling and courses from elementary and middle school through secondary education. The event was hosted by the National Academy of Education and the Equity Assistance Center-South in May. View the webinar recording.

ALUMNI AND STUDENT NEWS

Doctoral candidate Elizabeth Castro was named a 2024 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellow for her dissertation “Latina bilingual paraeducators as sociocultural mediators of language and literacies.” This highly competitive fellowship supports candidates whose dissertation projects bring innovative and insightful approaches to the history, theory, analysis, or application of formal and informal education. The fellowship comes with a $27,500 award, and represents an investment in both the fellow and their ideas for shaping education research. Read more about Elizabeth Castro.

C. Inez Anders, EdD ’23 has been named the interim director of the UC Davis Center for African Diaspora Student Success. She previously served as the director of tutoring at the Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers for nine years, where she developed and implemented programs that have improved tutoring services and academic support. Anders’ doctoral dissertation explored the pivotal role tutoring center professionals play in supporting historically marginalized students in California public universities.

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. Cynthia Carter Ching, PhD candidate Yeon Jade Lee, PhD student Ciara Thomas Murphy, and Prof. Lee Martin were among the co-authors of “Affect as Outcome: Centering Emotion and Equity in learning Sciences Research,” published in the proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences 2024.

Prof. Heidi Ballard and Dr. Chris Jadallah were among the co-authors of “Environmental education outcomes of community and citizen science: a systematic review of empirical research,” published in Environmental Education Research.

Prof. Marcela G. Cuellar, doctoral candidate Maira G. Pulido, and Dr. Alicia Bencomo Garcia co-authored “Direct and Indirect Impacts of Sociopolitical Contexts on Campus Climate: Student Perceptions and Experiences between 2016 and 2018,” published in American Journal of Education.

Prof. Jennifer Higgs co-authored “The Platformization of Writing Instruction: Considering Educational Equity in New Learning Ecologies,” published in Review of Research in Education, and ”Being Human in the Age of Generative AI: Young People’s Ethical Concerns about Writing and Living with Machines,” published in Reading Research Quarterly.

Profs. Jennifer Higgs, Lee Martin, Megan Welsh, Alexis Patterson Williams, and Danny C. Martinez co-authored “Simulating Identities: Ethical Considerations of Representing Racial and Ethnic Identity in Teaching Simulations,” published in the proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences 2024. 

Prof. Margarita Jimenez-Silva co-authored “‘Just for the Sake of Giving It:’ An Exploration of Elementary Teachers’ Beliefs About Homework Practices,” published in Journal of Education and “Informal Elementary Science: Repertoires of Parental Support,” published in Education Sciences.

Dr. Emily Mak and Prof. Yuuko Uchikoshi are among the co-authors of “Cognitive demand in parent–child shared book reading and home language development among dual language learners in low-income immigrant families,” published in International Journal of Bilingualism, and “Cognitive Distancing Language in Parent-Child Book Sharing Among Low-Income Mexican American and Chinese American Families: Cultural Group Comparisons and Links to Children’s Executive Functions,” published in Early Education and Development.

Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica co-authored “14 Curricularizing Language: Examining Underlying Assumptions in Classroom Practice,” published in the book Equity in Multilingual Schools and Communities.