Graduate students present student-led research

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is known for the depth and diversity of its research. Average annual expenditures for education research at ASU totaled more than $73 million from 2020-21; the most of any education program in the United States, according to U.S.News and World Report.

MLFTC’s graduate students learn to leverage research to transform their practice and create better learning opportunities for students. In February, more than 20 MLFTC graduate students participated in the Teachers College Doctoral Council’s 8th Annual Education Research Conference. The student-led initiative showcased a range of projects being developed or currently underway by students pursuing doctoral degrees at the school.  

The projects presented at the conference included everything from Tara Bartlett’s paper, “Cannibalizing Our History and American Democracy,” to Tipsuda Chaomuangkhong’s proposed study of the raciolinquistic and gentrification of dual language programs in Arizona. 

“It is refreshing to see the different types of research that graduate students are doing,” said Clarin Collins, director of scholarly initiatives and research at MLFTC. “The breadth of it is so impressive.”

The annual conference allows students to practice presenting their research and receiving feedback from fellow students and faculty. It is one opportunity for students to present their research publicly, and for doctoral students, prior to their dissertation defense.

 Blanche Gao, a third-year doctoral student in the Learning, Literacies and Technologies program, was awarded a MLFTC mini educational research grant at the conference.

“It was a great experience because I was just getting to know what it was like to attend and present at an academic conference,” Gao said. “This was also a great opportunity for me to network with students or people who are passionate about similar research topics.” 

Keynote speakers were graduate students Renee Bhatti-Klug and Alene Terzian-Zeitounian.Their talk "Creating Positive Change During a Pandemic: How the EdD Shaped Us,” focused on cultural intelligence, connection and collaboration.

Bhatti-Klug defended her dissertation in February and Terzian-Zeitounian will defend in May. They graduate this spring and were grateful for the opportunity to speak about the EdD program at the conference. 

“We learned so much,” said Bhatti-Klug. “It gave our work with cultural intelligence a framework.” 

That framework culminated in a successful consulting business. Bhatti-Klug is now providing cross cultural training for ASU faculty and staff.

“We both felt that if we were going to do it (present), we had to do it now,” said Bhatti-Klug. “It was a homage to the EdD program and to Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.”  

Research projects presented at the 8th Annual TCDC Education Research Conference:

Tara Bartlett— Cannibalizing our history and American democracy: how legislation and polarization are perpetuating exclusionary civic learning experiences

Renee Ronika Bhatti-Klug — Increasing  Cultural Responsiveness Among University Faculty Through Cultural Intelligence Training 

Cory Buckband — We Call It Restaurant Spanish: A Raciolinguistic Analysis of Parents’ Choices for Dual Language Education

Tipsuda Chaomuangkhong — An ethnographic study proposal of raciolinguistics and gentrification of dual language programs in Arizona 

Catherine Cullicott — Enhancing Active Learning in a Place-Based Geoscience Course Using the ICAP Theory of Cognitive Engagement 

Emily Greene — Using Community of Inquiry to influence academic outcome of Active Duty service members in online courses 

Kara Lord — Perceptions of the Graduate Supervisor on Student Performance and Success

Lois Malone — Voices from Inter-cultural Liminality 

Rachna Mathur — Stories and STEM: Preparing Elementary Educators in Designing and Implementing STEM-centric lessons through Literature Studies

Mark A. McGowan — Reassessing assessments in the English Service Courses at the University of Guyana

Linda Neff — Leveling the Playing Field in Online Instruction 

Amy Pate — Growing a Global Mindset in Course Design 

Jodie Ray and Germaine Koziarski — Understanding Special Education Teachers’ Narrated Self-efficacy During Distance Learning 

Matt Romkey — Apprenticeships in Healthcare: A Solution in Response to Meet Adult Learners’ Needs

Marissa Schulke — Hatha Yoga and Selective Attention in Students 

Blair Stamper — Intentional Active Learning in Online Courses: An Exploration of the Integration of Active Learning through the ICAP Framework in Online Course Design and its Relationship with Students, Instructional Designers and Faculty 

Crystal Yaxin Wang — Trends and Patterns of Higher Education State Appropriation and Impacts on Students Enrollment 

Sae Saem Yoon and Shagun Singha — Navigating the Doctoral Experience as International Students through Collaborative Autoethnography