Emerging Research Coming to Campus This Academic Year
Each day, education researchers, academic staff, and faculty members across Erickson Hall work diligently to advance the sort of exploratory projects and academic investigations that have kept Michigan State University’s College of Education “ranked No. 1 in the nation for elementary and secondary teacher education for 30 straight years, according to U.S. News & World Report” (MSUToday). Frequently, Emerging Research focuses on disseminating these individuals’ research insights as new knowledge flows from the Office of K-12 Outreach, its strategic partners, and the MSU community writ large to other higher education institutions and K-12 entities across Michigan and the nation. At the same time, though, many scholars across the country and world are generating similarly meaningful and actionable takeaways that can benefit folks in East Lansing, whether they are formally part of Michigan State University or a nearby practitioner, policymaker, or decisionmaker loosely connected to MSU.
With these streams of information simultaneously going into and out of the university, the challenge is ensuring that nothing gets lost. That way, research projects spread across the world can constantly inform each other to minimize duplication and maximize impact, and resultant findings can be set up to not just sit in a journal but change instructional practice. Thankfully, a collection of actors across the College of Education have taken on the work of developing, sharing, and hosting two lecture series that help address this good problem of copious research – the Education Policy Speaker Series from the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) and the Urban Education Speaker Series from the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships. This fall, each of these programs resumed with powerful opening sessions and the release of an impressive slate of speakers for the rest of the 2024-25 academic year.
Concerning the Education Policy Speaker Series, which EPIC has supported “to invite some of the leading voices in education research and policy to share their research and speak about the issues that are top-of-mind in education policy today,” the first seminar occurred in late September (EPIC). At their series kick-off, Dr. Jennifer Jennings, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, Faculty Associate of the Office of Population Research, and Director of Education Research Section, dug into “racial, socioeconomic, and gender disparities in educational and health outcomes.” In October, this collection of presentations continued with Dr. Hayley Weddle, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh, sharing some insights on “how leaders across K-12 and higher education implement policies in ways that enable or constrain equity.” Looking ahead, this series will bring five more education policy experts from Wayne State University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Michigan, the University of Southern California, and the University of North Texas to MSU’s campus before the year wraps up on Friday, April 4th. Readers interested in this opportunity can plan to attend the seminars, which are held on select Fridays at 10:30 AM at Erickson Hall and offered via Zoom for parties who cannot make it to East Lansing but would like to listen. Folks with questions can review the Education Policy Speaker Series website, which also includes past events, or they can email Bailey Padgett at padget26@msu.edu.
Regarding the 2024-25 Urban Education Speaker Series from the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships, programming began in October. First, Dr. Theodore S. Ransaw, Diversity, Equity and Community Partnerships Specialist for Michigan State University’s College of Education, delivered an educator professional development session at the MSU Detroit Center titled “Supporting Michigan Black Males with Mindful Teaching Practices.” At the event, Dr. Ransaw offered “mindfulness as both a present and future-oriented Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) strategy,” walked participants through “a unique, art and image-based process to uncover unconscious barriers,” and helped “attendees…connect personal goal setting to lesson plans in a manner that builds stronger relationships with Black male students by integrating high expectations, growth mindsets, and reflective practices” (MSU COE). Later in the month, the Urban Education Speaker Series hosted Dr. Natalie Martinez of New Mexico State University for a presentation titled “Interrogating Curricular Choices in Public Schools.” To dig into this topic, the talk “use[d] a case study involving a class assignment about heritage in September 2024 at a large public school in central New Mexico to highlight the ongoing curricular violence that Indigenous children and racially marginalized children continue to face in contemporary public schools” (MSU COE). Over the next few months, this program will welcome Dr. Crystal Sanders to present “Pursuing Their Highest Potential: Black Southerners and Graduate Education During the Age of Jim Crow” on Thursday, November 14th, Dr. Pedro Nava to cover “Apoyo as Educational Engagement: Towards a Conceptual Understanding (Im)migrant Farmworking Familial Support in California’s San Joaquin Valley” on Tuesday, January 21st, and Dr. Kimberly White-Smith to discuss “The Educational Migration of Black Scholars” on Monday, March 3rd. Prospective session attendees are asked to register before each event. Individuals with questions can contact Dr. Theodore S. Ransaw at ransawth@msu.edu. They can also review past Urban Education Speaker Series events online and previous coverage of this program in the June 2023 Emerging Research.
The Office of K-12 Outreach is appreciative of the efforts of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative and its partners when it comes to putting on the Education Policy Speaker Series. The same gratitude goes out to the College of Education’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships and their affiliates for their work on the Urban Education Speaker Series. We hope our readers are inspired to engage with some of the emerging research available through these programs over the next few months. From there, ideally, shared insights can find their way into classrooms, lecture halls, and education policy across Michigan and the nation.