Research & Projects

2016 Presentations

• Gina Shelley - ICUE (International Conference on Urban Education), November 3-5, 2016,San Juan, Puerto Rico Presentation Title: “Project LIFE: Providing a Solution for Disadvantaged Adults to Achieve their Educational Goals.”
• Gina Shelley – ISETL ( International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning Conference), October 13-15, 2016, Salt Lake City, UTPresentation Title: “Using Cloud Technologies to Promote Collaboration, Creativity, and Engagement in Teaching”

• Dr. Peggy Saunders presented a paper at the 36th Annual Seminar of the International Society for Teacher Education in South Africa in April, 2016.
• Dr. Gina Shelley presented: “How Cloud Computing is Helping to Reduce Paper Waste and Create a More Sustainable World.” The presentation was given at the Weber State University’s Sustainability Summit on Mar. 24, 2016.
• Dr. Gina Shelley presented a workshop titled: “Concept Maps & Graphic Organizers in the Digital Age.” It was given at the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology (UCET) spring conference, University of Utah, Mar. 17, 2016.
• Dr. Shirley Dawson and undergraduate student Brigette Hunter,  presented a poster: “Teaching  Superheroes to a Homeschooled Child with Autism: A Case Study,” at the Council for Exceptional Children Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities 17th Annual  International Conference in Waikiki, Hawaii on January 20, 2016. 
• Dr. David Byrd and Dr. Melina Alexander presented: “Investigating Special Education Teacher Knowledge and Skills to Inform Mainstream Teacher Practice and Preparation,” at the Building Bridges towards an Inclusive Society Conference, Havana, Cuba, July 25, 2016.
• Dr. Forrest C. Crawford and Dr.Melina Alexander (Dr.Alexander unable to attend due to medical issues) presented a paper entitled: "Teachers in Equity:Incorporating Issues of Social Justice in Special Education Teacher Training,” at a gathering of Special Education scholars hosted by Francis-Young International Consultants in School Improvement. Havana, Cuba, in July, 2016.
• Dr. Forrest C. Crawford co-presented a paper: “The Unbutú Paradox: Am I my Sister’s (Brother’s) Keeper?” at the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation in Tulsa, OK in May, 2016.
• Dr. Sheryl Rushton and Dr. Daniel Pyle presented, “CEEDAR: Utah’s Vision - WSU Progress”, at the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) conference in Virginia in June, 2016.
• Dr. DeeDee Mower presented: “Discourses that Fragment Suburban Educational Spaces,” at the East-West Philosophers Conference in Honolulu, HI, in May, 2016.
• Dr. Nadia Wrosch and Dr. DeeDee Mower co-presented: “Rethinking Rubrics for Elementary Writers,” at the Utah Multi-Tiered System of Supports (UMTSS) conference in June, 2016.

Publications

• Smith, M. (2016). Profanity as pedagogy. Thresholds of Education, 39(1), 57-69.
• Byrd, D. R., & Lansing, B. (2016) Electronic flashcards inside the classroom: Practical and effective. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 6(2), 1-13
• Rasmussen, C., & Byrd, D. R. (2016) Evaluating continued use of an online teacher professional development program with a sustained implementation scale. Journal of Online Learning Research 2(2), 145-167.
• Mower, D. (2016). Deviance to diminish educational disparity. Social Philosophy Today, 32. [Forthcoming].
• Bates, V. (2016). Toward a sociology of music curriculum integration. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 15(3).

Service:

• Michael E. Cena - Presentation for American Charter Academy - How to choose what to study in college, September 13, 2016.
• Shelley, Gina L. EdCamp Session Moderator: “Teaching Tolerance and Respect.” Salt Lake City, University of Utah.  Nov. 11, 2016.
• Dr. Forrest C. Crawford participated on a collaborative committee to revise and review the African-American section of the Utah state-wide curriculum manual titled: Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage: Teacher Guide and Training Manual (2016). The manual features expert knowledge from diverse cultures was officially completed this past spring.
• Dr. David Byrd taught a teacher workshop titled: “Speaking While Writing” on May 9, 2016. The teacher development presentation was given at the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation in Phuket, Thailand. The presentation combined speaking activities with the writing process. The foundation provides English enrichment for students at the RPG 36, an orphanage school in Phuket. The challenge for these teachers is to increase speaking skills among their students, while meeting the demands of other language skills.
• Dr. DeeDee Mower taught a workshop on “Oral Language Development” on May 9, 2016 to English language teachers at the Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation in Phuket, Thailand. 
• Dr. Vincent Bated edited multiple issues of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 15 (1-3). He also updated the journal’s website and article views, including addition of DOI numbers and scalable webviews. Visit act.maydaygroup.org
• Dr. Gina Shelley met with Dr. Matt Sellers from BYU Idaho to provide curriculum support and instruction to strengthen their educational technology courses in their teacher education program. The service was requested after Dr. Sellers received high praise about the technology skills of the Weber State students who complete practicum and student teaching requirements in their schools.
• Dr. Sheryl Rushton was appointed as the treasurer of the International Society for Teacher Education.  Her original term is from 2016-2019.  Dr. Kristin Hadley is the co-treasurer.
• Dr. Shirley Dawson, in conjunction with Davis School District, is researching a tool to improve transition success for students with mild and moderate disabilities.  The two year program is part of an application for an IES grant entitled: “Low Cost, High Impact Strategies to Improve Transition Outcomes for High School Seniors.” 
• Dr. Peggy Saunders edited her last journal for the International Society for Teacher Education in June, 2016. She continues to support the organization as the Assistant to the Secretary General.

 Awards:

• Dr. Peggy Saunders and Dr. Kristin Hadley won a $280,000 grant in conjunction with the NUCC districts to provide post-baccalaureate licensing for 90 teachers working on letters of authorization (30 secondary & 60 elementary).
• Dr. Sheryl Rushton is working on the “8x8” one-year grant project along with Dr. Rachel Bachman of the Math Department to deliver current math strategies to local teachers.
• Dr. Vincent Bates received a $4,488 grant for seed funding from the Office of Poverty and Inequality to research and study poverty and inequality in arts education.
• Dr. Gina Shelley received a $5,000 grant for seed funding to apply for a larger grant that would exceed $50,000 to fund her adult literacy program, Project: Literacy Instruction to Further Education (LIFE).
• Dr. Shirley Dawson received a $7,000 grant for continued funding of the Teaching Assistant Pathway to Teaching Program (TAPT) from KeyBank.

2015 

• Byrd, David & Abrams, Zsuzsanna (UCSC). Implementing Collaborative L2 Writing Tasks to Enrich Communicative Quality. Presentation given at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Conference.
• Shelley, Gina, & Rushton, Sheryl. Chromebook professional development program for university faculty and students. The study will implement a technology professional development model to teach how to integrate Chromebooks into teaching and learning.
• Dawson & Leytham: Two student presentations at CEC TED
• Melina Alexander & Jack Mayhew presented at CEC TED
• Leytham presented at the Critical Issues Conference
• Sheryl Rushton: Invited by USU STARS GEAR-UP to present teaching skills for math to the teachers involved in teaching the GEAR-UP cohort. (GEAR-UP is a $33 million grant to follow a cohort of students from 7-graduation in STEM.)
• Gina Shelley: September 2015, was invited to Milan, Italy to present a three day workshop to a group of Italian teachers. The workshop was how to use Google Drive and cloud technology to improve teaching, collaboration, and assessment.
• Gina Shelley: October 2015, presented at UCIRA on the topic of adult literacy.