From groundbreaking research to professional honors, faculty representing Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation advance ideas that shape teaching and learning. The listings below, drawn from the college's regular scholarship survey, highlight recent contributions.
Published research
Steve Graham, ASU Regents Professor and Mary Ellen Warner Professor of Education at the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, has been named the 2025 recipient of the P. David Pearson Award for Scholarly Influence.
Higher education teams are stretched. Advisors, coaches and student-facing staff are navigating higher caseloads, more complex challenges and institutional systems that weren’t designed for today’s learners. The result? Students fall through the cracks, not because people don’t care, but because systems get in the way.
A team of Fulbright scholars from Brazil’s Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar) recently set out to find the best ways to bring active learning into their classrooms. Their research led them to Arizona State University’s ICAP Center for Teaching and Learning — created by Regents Professor Michelene “Micki” Chi and housed within the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation.
Current application processes are described in the How to Apply section below. Please see the October 2025 Spencer news update from Dr. Nasir and Dr. Bricker for information about how we have changed our processes to respond to the large volume of applications we are currently receiving. Starting in 2026, we are moving to a single cycle of Large Grants per year, but as we have communicated to the field, we will fund more proposals than in past years.
The NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) supports transformative research and education projects that develop new knowledge in all aspects of computing, communications, and information science and engineering through multiple research programs. These programs support research and education activities that advance:
From reflective teaching assistants to AI-powered research partners, Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation faculty, students and staff are exploring how artificial intelligence can be used as a catalyst for creativity and collaboration in education.
Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the conceptual foundations, historical developments and social contexts of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), including medical science. The STS program supports proposals across a broad spectrum of research that uses historical, philosophical and social scientific methods to investigate STEM theory and practice. STS research may be empirical or conceptual; specifically, it may focus on the intellectual, material or social facets of STEM.
RRF funds professional education and training projects that will be broadly disseminated to achieve a national impact. RRF recognizes the importance of a well-trained work force to serve older persons.
Of particular interest are programs that:
High-quality education is essential for young children with disabilities to achieve their full potential and this often depends on a well-prepared workforce. Special Education was identified in 2022 as the teaching area with the most vacancies nation-wide, with about 43% of schools reporting vacancies, double the rate of other teaching areas, according to data from the National Education Center for National Statistics, and the U.S. Department of Education.