From my personal point of view, the role of a program evaluator is to gather information about the thoughts and experiences of individuals impacted by the program and to use the findings to inform program improvement. However, participants in the evaluation may be reluctant to share their full thoughts due to factors such as power imbalances and a…

This document shares valuable insights from peer mentorship programs at institutions that participated in APLU's Powered by Publics initiative and serves as a comprehensive resource for other institutions aiming to develop or enhance similar initiatives. By showcasing best practices, case examples, and practical recommendations, this report aims…

Thousands of international students come to the US every year and must rely on computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools to stay in touch with their family and close friends back home. In this dissertation, I examined international students' use of CMC tools for communication with their left-behind family and close friends by conducting 38…

Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) are school clubs for LGBTQ+ youth and peer allies to support one another. This eight-week weekly diary study considered whether a youth's positive and negative affect during a given week could be predicted by experiences in their most recently attended GSA meeting. Ninety-nine GSA members (M[subscript age] =…

The COVID-19 school shutdown took students out of the school building and into the virtual classroom. With this, students lost opportunities to connect with their peers and school members. With students reentering the schools, there is a great need for structures built within the school day for community building. Restorative circles are safe…

Many powerful teaching techniques have not yet fully transitioned from face-to-face use to the new remote instructional paradigm forced on teacher educators and teacher candidates during the pandemic. Experiences by candidates and by instructors in this new environment need to be compiled and shared as we head forward into structures and…

Play materials designed to enhance children's pretense were investigated; namely, how the specific characteristics of the play sets (thematically open-ended village set vs thematically closed-ended train set) influenced children's play communication regarding their co-construction of shared meanings. Participants included 44 7-year-old focal…

Previous work has identified that recognition from others is an important predictor of students' participation, persistence, and career intentions in physics. However, research has also found a gender bias in peer recognition in which student nominations of strong peers in their physics course disproportionately favor men over women. In this…

This study investigated how specific characteristics of multipiece, miniature, realistic play props (thematically open-ended village set versus thematically closed-ended train set) designed to enhance children's pretense influenced their scenario creativity, object transformations, and the frequency and use of specific internal-state language. The…

Although some of the issues facing adult literacy students are multifarious and answers may seem out of reach, it is important for practitioners of adult literacy programs to initiate strategies and explore viable options that address persistence. The purpose of this discussion is to share best practices of a large adult literacy program and…

The iDrone Online Camp aims to enhance middle and high school students' engagement in STEM fields through hands-on experiences with drone technology. By immersing participants in project-based learning activities, competitions, and discussions on FAA part 107 regulations, the camp seeks to cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and…

Weight-based victimization (WBV) is a common and consequential experience for adolescents with overweight and obesity. The current study examined the relative contributions of different school-based sources of WBV (i.e., peers, friends, teachers, coaches) on academic grades, as well as the role of teachers in mitigating the academic consequences…

Purpose: Family Peer Advocates (FPA) are used in healthcare broadly to facilitate engagement and address disparities in care. We previously reported on the benefit of FPAs in the care of autistic children on caregiver stress. Caregivers of autistic children report significant levels of caregiver stress, in particular when associated with…

We address the concern that classification of English learners (ELs) primarily based on standardized tests does not accurately reflect what students know and can do with English. While qualitative classroom discourse analyses show that ELs' language-in-use is not as limited as test scores indicate, available evidence is sparse and prone to…

This article shares a strategy for supporting faculty engagement and wellbeing. During the online faculty development sessions at Columbia University's School of Social Work (CSSW), online faculty and staff have the opportunity to give short presentations about a teaching and learning technique they have tried. Over the past five years, this…