SOE Faculty & Students Shine at Critical Questions in Education Conference
March 19, 2024
BATON ROUGE, LA - Several faculty and doctoral students from the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education provided a strong showing recently at the Critical Questions in Education (CQiE) Conference, held in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2024. Faculty and doctoral students epitomized the diverse array of varied programming that characterizes the SoE. Four faculty members representing three programs areas and three doctoral students from three different programs delivered a total of 10 presentations based on individual research interests and areas of expertise. The innovative educational conference is held in differing US locales as programming sponsored by the Academy for Educational Studies (AES). The AES is a professional organization that affords both a process and a space where educators and academics at all levels, PK-12+, can pose questions about significant and critical educational issues, come together to discuss, explore, and subsequently propose action in response to those issues. Established in 2005, the AES has hosted annual twice a year conferences focused on the same theme but in different geographically locales. The CQiE was last held in New Orleans in 2017.
Dr. Cynthia Fontcuberta DiCarlo, Executive Director of the Early Childhood Educational Preschool Laboratory (ECELP) and the Early Childhood Educational Institute (ECEI), shared research-based perspectives on the issues facing the early childhood as well as the impact of teacher evaluation processes in Louisisina on the field. Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr., faculty member in the PK-12 Educational Leadership program, presented on several panels and presentations that centered on the efficacy of promoting teacher agency, authentic assessment in secondary schools, turning the tide on the teacher shortage in New Orleans, and Black excellence in the academy which explored the doctoral journeys of male educators. Joining Lewis were educational leaders from New Orleans as well as the Superintendent of Jefferson Parish Schools. Dr. Thomas Ricks, faculty member in math education and the Curriculum Theory Project, presented an innovative session on the six cyclical stages of bureaucratic spiraling and its impact on increasing teacher shortages. Dr. Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, Coordinator of the PK-12 Educational Leadership program and Director of the LSU Writing Project, joined DiCarlo and Lewis in a provocative historical analysis of unintended consequences and impacts on the teaching profession, re-examining Milner’s class 2013 policy brief on educational reforms.
Doctoral students included Stacy-Ann Campbell, doctoral student in PK-12 Educational Leadership who co-presented with Lewis and fellow doctoral student, Veysel Altunal, on the expanding impact of learning pods in Louisiana. Altunel is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction. Caio Cezar Piraciaba de Briton, doctoral student in Curriculum Theory, also presented two sessions, one on curriculum theory and the body, and second on reflections on evaluation and curriculum theory.
Dr. Laura Choate, Director of the SOE, commented, “It is exciting to see our faculty and doctoral students collaborate to share their research findings at this important academic conference. Their collective presence at the conference, with 10 total presentations, exemplifies the type of innovation and scholarship that is the heart of LSU and the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education”
About Lutrill & Pearl Payne LSU School of Education (SOE)
A school of the College of Human Sciences & Education, the SOE offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. Besides providing graduate certification in Instructional Coaching, educational technology, and urban & community education, the SOE offers a writing pedagogy minor, and a master’s degree in arts, arts in teaching, education (MEd), education in counseling (MEd), certificate of education specialist (EdS) and PhD. The School’s mission is to prepare educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners, and scholars knowledgeable in contemporary educational issues. Visit the LSU Lutrill and Pearl Payne School of Education.
About LSU College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE)
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, the School of Library & Information Science, the School of Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate programs, and 7 online graduate degree and/or certificate programs, enrolling more than 1,900 undergraduate and 1,120 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across the lifespan. Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education.
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- LSU Writing Project Participates in Place-Based Writing RetreatThe LSU Writing Project held its first place-based Invitational Summer Institute on Mallard Island in the Rainy Lake Watershed, north of International Falls, Minnesota. Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, director of the LSU Writing Project, received a grant from the Ernest Oberholtzer Foundation to host the week-long writing institute.
- Ellis Puts Scholarship First- $1.2M NSF Grant to Recruit and Prepare Future STEM TeachersAt the center of the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education is the desire to prepare LSU students to educate the young minds of Louisiana to ensure their future successes.Joshua Ellis, PhD, Associate Professor of Science/STEM Education in the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, is a member of an LSU faculty team that has been awarded a $1,187,387 grant from the National Science Foundation for the preparation of future STEM teachers.
- School of Education Professor Presents Research at Inaugural Joint National Council Teacher of English-National Council Teachers of Mathematics ConferenceLutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education Professor, Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, recently presented cutting-edge research on writing assessment at the Inaugural Joint National Council Teacher of English (NCTE)-National Council Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Conference held in New Orleans in late June, 2024. Both professional organizations collaborated to provide the opportunity for members from both associations to come together and share research and recommend practices in both disciplines, a first for these two premier professional entities.
- Louisiana A+ Schools at LSU and Arkansas A+ Schools Receive Grant from National Park Service to fund: Bridging the Blues! Connecting Music Heritage in Arkansas and Louisiana through A+.Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) at Louisiana State University (LSU), a program of the College of Human Sciences and Education, in partnership with Arkansas A+ Schools (ARA+) at University of Arkansas, a program of the College of Education and Health Professions, are proud to announce they have received a grant from the National Park Service (NPS). This grant is part of the Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative (LMDI), aimed at supporting cultural heritage and educational projects in the Delta region.
