Research | Instant Impact

October 5, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Dr. Kelly Johnston Receives Laska Award for Doctoral Research [10/05/2020]

Dr. Kelly Johnston, Assistant Professor in the Baylor School of Education, won the 2020 John Laska Distinguished Dissertation Award in Teaching from the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum (AATC) for her recent dissertation research. Johnston joined the Baylor SOE faculty in 2018 and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction.

Johnston’s dissertation, (Re)Imagining Possibilities for Youth in Schools: A Rhizomatic Exploration of Youths’ Affective Engagement with Literacy, focuses on youths’ different forms of literacy engagement in the classroom and how these understandings can be used to rethink literacy teaching and learning in and out of schools. Johnston’s dissertation was part of her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching, which she earned in 2018 at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She previously earned her M.Ed. in Reading Education from Texas State University in 2011 and her B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Baylor in 2004. Continue Reading →

July 2, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Spring/Summer Issue of “Baylor Impact” is Online . . . Only [07/02/2020]

Meet the new SOE dean, learn about faculty research, and find out about new programs in Baylor School of Education in the Spring/Summer 2020 issue of Baylor Impact newsletter. This issue of Impact is online only. If you are a graduate of Baylor SOE and did not receive an email with the newsletter, please let us know by emailing BaylorImpact@baylor.edu. You can also update your information online at this link: Update Your Information

In this issue, you get two deans for the price of one! Read all about the SOE’s new Dean, Dr. Shanna Hagan-Burke, who arrived July 1, and see the farewell message from Dr. Terrill Saxon, who has been SOE Interim Dean for three years.

This issue features research profiles on faculty members in each SOE department:
• Curriculum & Instruction: Dr. Sandi Cooper’s early mathematics program leads to student success.
• Educational Leadership: Dr. Bradley Carpenter and Dr. Jon Eckert bring new research focus to K-12 leadership studies.
• Educational Psychology: Dr. Nick Benson’s research on assessments makes “testing” a good thing.

Don’t miss an inspiring Q&A with Baylor SOE alumna Lisa Fuentes ’96, whose Focus Behavioral clinic is helping hundreds of children with autism and their families. And there’s more inspiration from Baylor supporters Ryan and Karen Liles, who know that investing in a teacher’s education helps the education of many others. Plus, all sorts of exciting news about awards and new programs is tucked into the SOE news briefs.

Thank you for keeping in touch with Baylor SOE!

June 4, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE PhD Candidate Receives Baylor Research Award [06/04/2020]

Jeff Strietzel, PhD candidate in Higher Education Leadership Studies

Jeff Strietzel, a PhD Candidate in the School of Education’s program in Higher Education Leadership Studies within the Department of Educational Leadership, received the Baylor University Outstanding Graduate Research Award for the social sciences. Strietzel’s dissertation research focuses on higher education leaders whose careers have been derailed at some point and how they recovered. That same week, Strietzel also placed second in the Baylor Graduate School’s “Three-Minute Thesis (3MT)” competition, presenting his dissertation research in 180 seconds.

“Some of life’s most valuable lessons are learned through failure,” Strietzel said. And that inspired him to study the experiences of high-level administrators in higher education to find out what it felt like to lose a job and what they learned. Strietzel interviewed 37 leaders, all of whom had “rebounded” and found employment again in higher education. The rebound was one of his criteria, because he was interested in how they found success again. He only interviewed people who had been presidents, provosts, or administrators who reported to them. All the respondents will be anonymous in his published dissertation, which was important for most — but not all — of the people he interviewed. Continue Reading →

January 23, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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School Psychology Students and Faculty Win Poster Award [01/23/2020]

School Psychology graduate students Ally Yturralde (left) and Felicity Frost (center) receive the Best Poster Presentation Award from Dr. Laurie Klose of Trinity University, TASP chair of poster presentations.

Graduate students from the School Psychology Program in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology garnered awards at the annual Texas Association of School Psychologists (TASP) conference late last year. Professionals from across the state gathered to enhance their knowledge in this dynamic profession and engage in professional growth. Leaders in school psychology from across the nation presented research on a variety of topics over the course of three days.

Baylor students Ally Yturralde and Felicity Frost, who are both pursuing the Education Specialist degree in School Psychology, were awarded “Best Poster Presentation” at the conference, along with Baylor School of Education senior lecturer Dr. Tamara Hodges. Their poster presentation, titled “Promoting Post-Secondary Education for At-Risk Students,” presented an overview of a pilot study that showed the effects of a college preparation program for low-socioeconomic status high school juniors and seniors at risk of not attending post-secondary education and who may have a disability. TASP conference participants learned about implementation, outcomes, and benefits of the college preparatory mentoring program. Continue Reading →

December 12, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Special Centennial Issue of “Impact” is now Online [12/12/2019]

The Fall 2019 issue of Baylor Impact — a special Centennial issue — is now available online. Check it out to explore the history of the Baylor School of Education, learn about plans for the future, and meet the recipients of our Centennial Awards!

In this issue, you’ll learn how Baylor’s earliest leaders were committed to not only higher education but also K-12 education in Texas — decades before the School of Education was established in 1919. You’ll meet some interesting characters, including a donkey-riding dean, and gain a historical perspective with the at-a-glance timeline.

And we hope you will pay special attention to messages from our Interim Dean and department chairs that outline our path for the future.

Even though our Centennial celebration year is coming to an end, we will maintain the Centennial website as a resource and reference, and you are invited visit it and explore: baylor.edu/SOE/100

You’ll find the Centennial video on the home page there.

The SOE Centennial Exhibit at the Mayborn Museum has also been extended — until March 2020. So if you are enjoying the Mayborn during the holidays or early 2020, stop by the exhibit.

School of Education graduates should have received a printed copy of Impact in the mail. If you are a graduate and did not receive a printed copy, please email us at BaylorImpact@baylor.edu. Also feel free to email us with any news that the School needs to know! Continue Reading →

November 20, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Faculty and Student Literacy Research Recognized by International Literacy Association [11/20/2019]

Dr. Kelly Johnston (center with certificate) was recognized at the ILA Conference.

Baylor School of Education faculty and doctoral students in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction garnered recognition and presented research at the International Literacy Association’s annual conference in October. The International Literacy Association is a global advocacy and membership organization of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers, and experts across 86 countries.

Dr. Kelly Johnston, assistant professor of literacy, and Dr. Phil Nichols, assistant professor, both received recognition as finalists for the ILA’s Outstanding Dissertation Award. Baylor was the only university with two representatives recognized among the finalists. Continue Reading →

November 7, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Copple Professor Dr. Jon Eckert — A Catalyst for Christian Education Leaders

Words mean something to Jon Eckert. Sitting in his office, he clasps his hands and gestures, as if to underline a specific word as he discusses his work within the Center for Christian Education to position Baylor University as the destination for leadership development within education.

“A catalyst speeds up a reaction; it’s not the focus of the reaction,” Eckert, Ed.D., says as he leans forward.

Catalyst. It’s a good word. And for this former science teacher, its definition perfectly illustrates his calling at Baylor.

“So a catalytic leader isn’t the charismatic person out front whom everybody’s following,” he continues. “It’s the person that comes alongside and speeds up the good work that’s already happening. I want to be one of those leaders for the kind of leaders that come into our program, and I want them to go out and be those kinds of leaders in their schools and districts and also alongside students. They start to elevate the good work that’s already happening and speed it up.” Continue Reading →

November 6, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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New Book Explores the Intersection of Teaching and Christianity [11/06/2019]

Baylor School of Education faculty members Dr. Perry Glanzer, professor, and Dr. Nathan Alleman, associate professor, have teamed up for a second book, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Teaching, which was published by Oxford University Press. The book focuses on the various challenges that Christian professors face inside the classroom when intersecting their two identities — their Christian primary identity and their teacher vocational responsibility.

In 2012 the two faculty members in the Department of Educational Leadership, along with other scholars, began conducting a large survey of Christian professors across the nation. Their initial interest was how a professor’s Christian faith, as well as their traditions, influenced a variety of factors, such as teaching. While conducting this survey, however, the data collected from one question, regarding how the professors’ Christianity affected different areas of their teaching, sparked a concept that would become the core of the professors’ recent book. Continue Reading →

October 21, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Watch the School of Education Centennial Video [10/21/2019]

As Baylor School of Education marks its 100th year, the School is reflecting on not only the impact we’ve had, but also where we are going. Watch the Centennial video “A Century of Learning & Light” to hear from faculty and students about the sense of purpose and community that permeates the School and the bright future on the horizon.

“I think we are experiencing change — change for the good,” says Dr. Grant Morgan, associate professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology. “But I want to appreciate and acknowledge all the things we’ve done to get to this point.”

More information — including a historical timeline, feature stories on alumni and faculty, and this video — can be found at baylor.edu/SOE/100.

Continue Reading →

October 10, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Insights into Hispanic Heritage Month from our Bilingual Education Faculty [10/10/2019]

Dr. Lupita Lang is pictured in her office with a wall hanging of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo! Lang appreciates Kahlo because of her intensity. “Frida poured passion into what she wrote, what she painted, how she lived, and her relationships with others. I think of her as someone who burned the candle at both ends,” Lang said.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), we sought some insights on the occasion from new faculty member Dr. Lupita Lang, who is assistant professor of bilingual education.

Lang does not typically describe herself as Hispanic or Latina, although she is both. She prefers the specificity of “Mexican,” because she was born and raised in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México, just across the Texas border. She joined the Baylor School of Education in August, after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she earned her PhD.

Five commonly misunderstood facts about Hispanic Heritage: