PhD in Education
Journaling About Nature and Nurturing STEM
UC Davis Student Group Hermanas Escritoras Lead Fifth Graders in Science Writing
Hermanas Escritoras is a women-led, intergenerational student organization at UC Davis that’s dedicated to bringing full, authentic identities into science writing. Founded in Spring 2024 by a group Chicana/Latina STEM students, the group sought to build community and create space to explore the intersection of science writing, storytelling, art, and lived experience. That mission shaped a recent collaboration with fifth grade students from Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School, who visited the UC Davis Arboretum for a nature journaling activity centered on science and self-expression.
Triple Alumnus Returns to His Roots to Champion Future Teachers
Andrew Hood, Cred. ’14, M.A.
’15, Ph.D. ’25, is dedicated to transforming the math classroom
for students and the teachers who lead them. As a UC Davis triple
alumnus who specializes in mathematics education, he has
committed over a decade of research and practice to building more
equitable learning outcomes.
Now, Hood continues his work at the School of Education as a supervisor for the math credential cohort and program director of the Noyce Teaching Fellowship, a scholarship program that provides professional development opportunities to STEM credential candidates. In these roles, he hopes to empower the next generation of teachers to transform how students perceive, engage, and identify with math.
Waste Audit Brings Science to Life
UC Davis Partnership Shows Students How Everyday Choices Make a Big Difference
At Marguerite Montgomery Elementary
School, the lunchroom has become an unexpected site for science
learning. A waste audit and lesson series led by parent
volunteers and UC Davis School of Education graduate students is
helping children examine how their daily food and disposal
choices affect the environment. By pairing hands-on investigation
with culturally responsive teaching, the program teaches students
how to sort waste and reduce food loss, encouraging them to
identify as environmental stewards who can bring these lessons
home to their families and communities.
How Ph.D. Candidate Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza Is Rethinking Financial Aid for Students of Color
For many college students of color,
accessing higher education isn’t a straightforward process.
Financial aid applications can be confusing, time consuming, and
filled with barriers that make college feel out of reach before
students even step onto campus.
That experience is at the center of Ph.D. candidate Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza’s research. A soon-to-be graduate and 2026 commencement speaker, Ramirez-Mendoza studies how financial aid systems create barriers for students while also highlighting the resilience and community support that help many persist through them.
Jadda Miller Receives UC Davis Recognitions for Work With Community-Based Environmental Education
Ph.D. student Jadda Miller has received two recognitions for her work at the intersection of environmental education and community-based approaches to scientific research. She has been named a 2024-2025 Earth Scholar by the UC Davis Institute of the Environment and, with her advisor Prof. Heidi Ballard, has accepted a 2024-2025 Public Impact Research Initiative (PIRI) grant from the UC Davis Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement.
PhD Student Antoinette Banks Wins $1 Million Black Ambition Prize
Award is for parent-facing app that uses predictive AI to optimize IEP plans
School of Education PhD student Antoinette Banks, BS ’22, has won the Pharrell Williams Black Ambition grand prize of $1 million for Expert IEP, her parent-facing app that uses predictive AI to optimize existing individualized education plans for children diagnosed with disabilities. Black Ambition is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to closing the opportunity and wealth gap by empowering Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs.
