Faculty research and impact: 08/06/25
The research papers and publications listed below are a sampling of recent contributions by faculty representing Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation.
Transformative community-engaged science: Strengthening relationships between science and society
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Rajul Pandya, Fulton Presidential Professor of Practice; executive director, Global Futures Education Lab
For their article in this PNAS special feature, “Reimagining Science Communication in the COVID Era and Beyond,” Pandya and his co-authors — Amanda Boyd (Washington State University), Mónica I. Feliú-Mójer (Science Communication Lab, Berkeley, CA) and Itzhak Yanovitzky (Rutgers University) — assert a critical need to strengthen science-society relationships to better and more equitably manage complicated, intertwined, global challenges at the intersection of environment, health and well-being. Community-engaged science, focused on shared leadership and mutual benefit in scientific partnership with communities, they write, has the potential to transform science, communities and even society, yet is not always transformative. Based on presentations and discussions at the 5th NAS Communication Colloquium, research publications and their own experiences, they share evidence-informed principles common to successful community-engaged science and offer steps to advance and improve this transformative practice.
Journal of Technology and Teacher Education
Janice Mak, clinical assistant professor; assistant director–curriculum and pedagogy, Learning Engineering Institute
This study explored structural barriers to diversity in computing education by focusing on computer science education state supervisors in state education agencies. Mak and her research team — ASU Faculty Research Associate Carolina Torrejon Capurro, Marissa Castellana (’25 PhD psychology, now a researcher at Michigan State University) and Megean Garvin of the University of Maryland — surveyed CSEdSS with questions regarding how they enact their role and how equity in CS education impacts their work. The results highlighted the importance of using a critical analysis approach to interrogate policy enactment through a sociocultural and systems-based lens, addressing the complexities of implementing CS education policies to support inclusive and equitable pathways in CS education.
Journal of Research in Childhood Education
Therapy Dogs District-Wide: Mental Health and Well-Being Influences in PK–12 Education
Education Sciences
Kathleen M. Farrand, associate professor; Jae Young Jung, graduate research assistant and PhD student (Learning, Literacies and Technologies program)
Farrand and Jung investigated the increasingly prevalent integration of therapy dogs in PK–12 education settings, noting that limited research examines the perspectives of education stakeholders on the effectiveness of therapy dog programs in schools. Their study explored how therapy dogs impact the social-emotional well-being of students, faculty and staff; and assessed how the use of dogs influences teaching and learning. Working through the Paws & Peers therapy dog program, the researchers surveyed 343 education stakeholders from 43 district locations (elementary, junior high, high school and offices). Results support the positive impact of students, faculty and staff interacting with therapy dogs in PK–12 settings, promoting the well-being of stakeholders and supporting additional benefits for teaching and learning.
Exploring the Kingdom of Aksum: An Inquiry-Based Approach
Middle Level Learning
Cindy Ann Coe, clinical assistant professor
Coe first learned of the first-century East African empire of Aksum as a newly hired teacher of sixth grade social studies. She writes, “I sought a lesser-known civilization for my students to investigate and found an article about a ‘lost town’ in Africa regarding a highly influential yet often overlooked empire.” Coe undertook to construct an inquiry project “rich in engagement, questioning and new perspectives on African history.” In this article, Coe introduces some of what she learned about Aksum, then reconstructs the process of adapting her new knowledge for classroom use using the C3 Framework’s Inquiry Arc. She explains how, through the process of inquiry, collecting evidence and reciprocal teaching, Coe’s middle school students developed the disciplinary literacy skills that are needed for the study of history.
Other accolades
- Andrea Weinberg, associate professor, is a recipient of the UL Research Institutes’ inaugural Discoveries in Safety Grants Program. She will contribute to the project, Empowering Youth Action: Investigating Online Platforms for Climate Education.