Sharing & Impacting
Realizing the Potential of Early Childhood Education Dr. Leslie Katch, National College of Education, shared her expertise at the 2025 Early Childhood Symposium, hosted by the Collaboration for Early Childhood in Oak Park, IL. Her session, Understanding and Responding to Infant Crying and Fussing: Strategies for Caregiving, offered practical tools and insights for caregivers to better support infants and their families. Empowering through Literacy and Language As part of a partnership between Dr. Mary Hoch, National College of Education, and The Links Inc., Dr. Gloria McDaniel-Hall, National College of Education, supported families and literacy tutors with the workshop Winter Literacy Magic at Lincoln Elementary School in IL District 88.
Building the Research Base
Realizing the Potential of Early Childhood Education Dr. Bilge Cerezci, National College of Education, presented at the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference in Denver on Unlocking the Joy of Mathematics: The Transformative Power of Play in Early Childhood Education. Her study challenges the notion that play belongs only in kindergarten, showing instead how playful approaches can shift pre-service teachers’ views of math from rote memorization toward more authentic learning. Dr. Xiaoli Wen, McCormick Institute for Early Childhood, shared her research at the 2025 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Conference in Minneapolis, presenting on the leadership journeys of ECE leaders of color and co-leading a session with stakeholders to define core competencies for early childhood program leadership. Ensuring Successful Practice in K-12 Classrooms and Schools Ensuring Higher Education Success In his article “African American Male Reluctance in Teacher Education” (Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 2025), Dr. Michael L. Williams of the Undergraduate College examines the shortage of diverse teachers in K–12 schools, and calls for intentional recruitment and support pipelines. Drs. Eun Ko, Vishodana Thamotharan and Xue Han of the National College of Education, presented The Role of AI in Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting in Denver. Their study used surveys, lesson plans, and weekly reflections to explore how AI tools can help elementary teacher candidates better understand and apply culturally responsive teaching in STEM. At the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Denver, multiple NLU faculty shared research on the power of belonging across K–12 and higher education, including: Dr. Hyeju Han, National College of Education, presented Mapping Children’s Sense of Belonging Through Multimodal Composition in the Classroom, showing how visual mapping and multimodal methods reveal children’s identities and perspectives on literacy practices. Dr. Veronica Wilson, Executive Director of Undergraduate Student Success, presented Exploring a Socioecological Model of Belonging for the New Majority Student, drawn from her award-winning dissertation. Surveying over 300 university students, she examined how student traits and educational technology influence belonging in both online and in-person courses. Drs. Elizabeth Covay Minor, Gloria McDaniel-Hall, and Jennifer Engelland-Schultz, National College of Education, presented How Can We Improve Our Feedback? A Case Study of Student Feedback. Their research highlighted how equitable grading practices and thoughtful instructor feedback strengthen relationships, enhance belonging, and promote more equitable student outcomes.
13 continued >
Powered by FlippingBook