A celebration of recent achievements by College of Education grad students:
- Congratulations to all of the recipients of the Special Education Tools for Teachers Grants, which were awarded to current students and recent graduates to use toward professional, creative and innovative practices to support their students. Recipients included:
- Madison Brosky, M.A. in Special Education Leadership: MTSS
- Chelsea Hall, M.A. in Special Education (LD)
- Kristina Hedrick, M.A. in Special Education (LD)
- Taylor Itsell-Olson, M.A. in Special Education Leadership: MTSS
- Melissa Krass, M.A. in Special Education Leadership: MTSS
- Chelsea Reichel, M.A. in Special Education (ASD)
- Priscilla Winter, M.A. in Special Education (LD)
- Chelsi Ricketts, Kinesiology Ph.D. student, presented her research this past summer at the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) Conference in Toronto. The study explored how athletes’ positive body image and functionality appreciation relate to their sport-confidence and sport performance evaluations, suggesting that promoting a focus on functional capabilities rather than appearance could enhance athletes’ performance.
- Amy Cummings, Education Policy Ph.D. student, was featured in a recent piece from Education Week, regarding a paper she co-authored. This paper emphasizes that comprehensive support for teachers and students — including instructional change, training, funding and 3rd-grade retention policies — is crucial for improving educational outcomes, particularly as states consider new policies in the “science of reading” movement.
- Ben Zaleski, Educational Technology M.A student, was hired as the Program Manager of Educational Technology and Instructional Design for the Michigan Fitness Foundation.
- Katie Westby, Mathematics Education Ph.D. student, received the King-Chávez-Parks (KCP) Future Faculty Fellowship.
- Daniella A. Mata, Special Education Ph.D. student,was awarded the Michael and Kathy Bosco Research Fellowship in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) for the 2023-24 school year.
- Lindy Johnson, Special Education Ph.D. student, was recently published as a first-author (with CED faculty Courtenay Barrett and Adrea Truckenmiller) in the Remedial and Special Education journal. The study published in this journal evaluated the cost-accuracy ratios for three Grade 3 reading screeners, recommending suggestions for future research and providing decision-making insights for schools.
- Aliya Bizhanova and Jay Grenda, Education Policy doctoral students, organized and launched the College of Education Writing Groups for the second year. The program has grown to include more than 40 CED grad students and recently celebrated their fall kickoff event.
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