Academic Departments

The Neag School of Education prepares the next generation of teachers, leaders, sport management professionals, school practitioners, and education scholars.

Through its three departments — Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, and Educational Psychology — and the Office of Teacher Education, the Neag School offers academic programs and courses on UConn’s main campus in Storrs as well as select programs at UConn Avery Point, UConn Hartford, UConn Stamford, and UConn Waterbury.

235 Faculty Presentations

  • 29 International
  • 165 National
  • 33 State/Regional
  • 8 Local

200 Faculty Publications

  • 5 Books
  • 21 Book Chapters
  • 174 Journal Articles

Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI)

Select Awards and Highlights

Grants:

  • A group of 8 college students and 2 college professors pose in front a navy blue backdrop that reads UConn Nation.
    The Sueños Scholars: Supporting Latiné Teacher Dreams program at UConn Stamford recruits, supports, and mentors underrepresented students to pursue a master’s degree in education. Eight of the 10 current scholars are pictured here, along with faculty members Katie Nagrotsky, left, and Tracy Sinclair, right. (Submitted photo)

    Katie Nagrotsky, Alyssa Dunn, Tracy Sinclair, Jason Irizarry et al. were awarded a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to recruit, support, and mentor underrepresented students to pursue a master’s degree in education. The five-year partnership, Sueños Scholars: Supporting Latiné Teacher Dreams, was awarded to UConn Stamford and the Neag School of Education.

  • The CT Noyce Math Teacher Leaders project, with PI Megan Staples and Co-PIs Gladis Kersaint (Provost Office), Fabiana Cardetti (Department of Mathematics) and Jennifer Michalek (Connecticut Department of Education), continued its work with 20 Math Teacher Leader (MTL) Fellows from the state’s Alliance Districts. These 20 Fellows comprise a highly accomplished group of veteran math teachers who were nominated by their superintendents and selected through a competitive application process. The CT Noyce MTL project supports the Fellows in developing math teacher leadership skills, including mentoring, and implementing change projects that promote stronger engagement and achievement in mathematics for Connecticut’s students.
    • A key success from this past year include partnering with the Connecticut Department of Education’s Turnaround Office to host the Advancing Equity in Secondary Mathematics Alliance District Symposium. The symposium brought together superintendents, school and district leadership and math teachers for a powerful day of learning and collaboration to reflect on how to create more meaningful and inclusive experiences for all students.
    • In the upcoming year, Fellows will continue their school- and district-based projects and also engage in new initiatives at the state level to expand their leadership skills and impact. In addition to work with the MTL Fellow cohort, the project team is working toward a math teacher leader certificate to provide a pathway for other experienced math teachers to develop math teacher leadership skills, strengthen their impact, and advance more equitable outcomes in mathematics education.

Suzanne Wilson headshot
Suzanne Wilson. (Neag School photo)

Awards:

  • Suzanne Wilson was named Outstanding Reviewer for her work for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) journal Review of Educational Research

Invited Talks:

  • Liz Howard was the invited keynote speaker at the 32rd Annual Jornada Pedagógica Internacional para la Educación Plurilingüe Conference at Loyola Marymount University. The title of the presentation is “Navegando las tensiones entre la separación de idiomas y el translenguaje en programas de lenguaje dual.”

    Journal Editorships:

    • Joe Abramo was named co-editor of the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education.
    • Cara Bernard was named Senior Editor to for Visions of Research in Music Education.
    • Hannah Dostal served as the Editor in Chief for served for the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.
    • Rachael Gabriel served as Editor in Chief for The Reading Teacher.

    Books:

    • Todd Campbell was the lead author for a co-authored a book titled Model-Based Inquiry in Chemistry: Three-Dimensional Instructional Units for Grades 9–12 with NSTA Press.

    Other:

    • Alan Marcus organized and led a community event at E.O. Smith High School focused on breaking bias, embracing empathy, and fostering a sense of community through sharing the stories of Holocaust survivors to delve into broader issues of antisemitism, prejudice, and identity. The event provided a platform for survivor narratives and dialogue to initiate crucial conversations that challenge stereotypes and promote understanding.
    • Megan Staples was the co-author for Equity in Mathematics Education: A Position Statement for Connecticut. The position statement was official endorsed by the CT State Board of Education.
    • Tom Levine co-designed and co-implemented a summer and school year of professional development for 25 teachers and 15 high school youth, “Human Rights Close to Home”, with the team running this project. The program promotes youth civic engagement with issues in students’ school, city/town, and region. With Sandra Sirota, he also got an OVPR Research Excellence grant to explore the impact of this work on teachers’ practice and students’ transformative agency.

    • Eight college students sit in a row in chairs at the front of a classroom with two projector screens behind them and an audience seated in front of them.
      Over 100 educators from around New England gathered for the Adolescent Literacy Summit, held in Hartford on May 16 and organized by Rachael Gabriel. (Neag School photo)

      Over 100 educators from around New England gathered for the Adolescent Literacy Summit, held in Hartford on May 16 and organized by Rachael Gabriel. Teachers, school and district leaders engaged with nationally renowned speakers focused on adolescent literacy development, and heard from local students who shared their experiences, insights and ideas for programming, pedagogies and the perspectives they need to thrive as readers and writers in and out of school settings.

    • Joseph Abramo and Cara Bernard led a Spring Break Music, Teaching, Culture and the Puerto Rican Experience. The experience was strategically designed to enhance core offerings in the music education major. Students engaged in forms of formal and informal music making situated and contextualized within the Puerto Rican culture, including music ensemble pedagogy and practice in schools. The program was experiential in nature, and students had the opportunity to observe and participate in music making activities both in educational settings and in cultural musical venues. These experiences included visits to public schools and military-base schools to observe music teaching and learning; workshops with professional music ensembles in Puerto Rican to learn bomba and plena styles; and workshops to learn dance in salsa style.
    • Hannah Dostal’s interdisciplinary project, Advancing Educational Equity through Language Assessment and Statistical Modeling, is addressing two pressing needs: enhancing the usability of a critical language assessment tool for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students and advancing statistical methods for analyzing small and diverse datasets. The ASL Assessment Instrument (ASLAI) is a standardized tool designed to evaluate American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency in students aged 4–18. This project is establishing the first ever comprehensive set of ASL norms using data from over 7,000 ASLAI administrations, providing educators with insights to better support DHH students’ language development. Additionally, the project is applying novel statistical models that leverage historical data to address challenges posed by small sample sizes and high variability in ASL abilities. These methods are enhancing the reliability of findings and providing broader insights applicable to other low-incidence populations, such as those in rare disease research.
    • Hannah Dostal is also conducting two studies on the State of Deaf Secondary Students’ Writing, offering insight into deaf secondary students as writers, addressing a critical gap in the field, and drawing a connection between students’ writing and their language proficiency.

    Graduate Students:

    • Emery Roberts earned a community building grant from UConn Hartford and ran a zine-making workshop there, publishing a zine created by people with disabilities focused on how they “hack access” in higher education.

    Morris and Judy Sarna Breaking Bias and Creating Community Program

    Morris and Judy Sarna portrait.
    The Morris and Judy Sarna Breaking Bias & Creating Community Program is made possible through the generosity of Morris and Judy Sarna. (Submitted photo)

    In spring 2025, UConn’s School of Education received its largest gift from a single, private donor in 25 years. Thanks to Judy Sarna and her late husband, Morris, who was a Holocaust survivor, the Morris and Judy Sarna Breaking Bias & Creating Community Program allows middle and high school students to learn about reducing bias and antisemitism through powerful, interactive experiences. In partnership with local secondary schools, the educational program uses cutting-edge technology to reduce racism and other hatred through helping students to understand other people’s perspectives, to strengthen their community, and to explore connections between past events and today’s society.

    Led by Alan Marcus, the program will collaborate with multiple school districts in Connecticut over the next several years, reaching thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and administrators, as well as enhance the education of up to 350 future educators per year at the Neag School. The program was piloted in spring 2024 at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs and will launch in West Hartford middle and high schools in September 2025. Glastonbury schools will host the program the following year.

    Through the program, students can ask Holocaust survivors questions through a high-tech, immersive program from the USC Shoah Foundation. They also engage with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s “The Journey Back,” a virtual reality experience where survivors take students on a journey that mirrors their experiences during the Holocaust. Students also learn through a customized photo exhibit that depicts the various perspectives and identities in their schools and communities.

    “One day, my husband said, the world is getting like 1938 Germany,” Judy Sarna says. “What can we do? There’s so much antisemitism.”

    Soon after, her niece told her about UConn’s program. Judy immediately knew that she wanted to support the program: “I said, ‘Morris, I found the project for us. This is something we can do,” she says.

    Educational Leadership (EDLR)

    Select EDLR Awards and Highlights

    Grants:

    • Milagros Castillo-Montoya, Jillian Ives and colleagues in CLAS were awarded an approximately $500,000 grant from the Gates Foundation for advancing STEM equity specifically focused on improving mathematics teaching in higher education.
    • UConn Husky Nutrition and Sport received $4.9 million for the next three years of funding (FY25-27)
    • Alex Freidus received funding for the project “Leveraging Community Dialogue for School Integration in a Multiracial Democracy” from the Spencer Foundation and American Institutes for Research. A two-year project examining how ongoing dialogues with and among the community can help shape and sustain efforts to integrate school districts in New York City and North Carolina.
    • Robin Grenier was awarded a UConn Common Curriculum Grant for the course: Learning in the Wild: Shaping Society and Social Change through Public Pedagogy (TOI 1)
    • Jennie Weiner was awarded a $75,000 district partnership grant with East Hartford through the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration.

    Awards:

    • A Black college student squats down while holding an edge of a large parachute over their head outside in a field. Elementary school children also hold the parachute or run underneath it.
      In 2024-2025, UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport received $4.9 million for the next three years of funding, came in first in the President’s and Provost’s Project Leaderboard Challenge during UConn Gives 2025, and won the Staff Team award in the 2025 Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship. (UConn HNS photo)

      UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport:

      • Came in first in the President’s and Provost’s Project Leaderboard Challenge during UConn Gives 2025, winning an additional $10,000 in funding.
      • Won the Staff Team award in the 2025 Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship
      • Celebrated two decades of enduring and impactful partnerships. Under the leadership of Jennifer McGarry and Justin Evanovich, this team of dedicated staff, postdoctoral scholars, and student leaders has built and sustained meaningful relationships across Connecticut, especially in the North End of Hartford. The team includes:
        • Patricia Bellamy-Mathis - Director of Partners & Programs
        • Catalina Quesada - Community Education Specialist
        • Brandon Keaton - Educational Program Coordinator
        • Veronica Jacobs - Educational Program Administrator
        • Leslie Villanueva – Operations Coordinator
        • Sarah Larocque - Educational Program Coordinator
        • Roc Rochon - Postdoctoral Scholar, Courses & Student Supports
        • Julián Alonso - Postdoctoral Scholar, Elementary School Partnerships
        • Joseph Condren - Communications & Impact Specialist
        • Joanee Mata - Assessment & Student Support Coordinator
        • Madison González - Student Leadership & Program Specialist
    • Chen Chen was recognized as a North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) Research Fellow at the 2024 NASSS conference in Chicago.
    • Preston Green was recognized as a 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar.
    • Risa Isard along with colleague, Matthew Lyle (SNYU, Binghamton) received the Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management (June, 2025) for Not Like Us: Theorizing Stakeholder Mnemonic Community Expansion.
    • Jennie Weiner’s and Monica Higgin’s book, “Education Lead(Her)ship: Advancing Women in K-12 Administration,” was awarded the 2025 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Honorable Mention.

    Service:

    • Jennie Weiner is a member of the executive committee of the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA).

    Invited Talks:

    • Preston Green gave the plenary address at the National Head Start Leadership Institute, Washington, D.C. “From Head Start to chair prof: The story of a boy named Bumps” (2024, September 23).
    • Jillian Ives presented a POD Talk titled “When STEM Teaching and Learning is Led by Care” at the POD Network Annual Conference, Chicago, November 2024.
    • Kelly Lyman gave a presentation at the CT Association of Schools Annual Conference entitled: Co-Creating the Conditions for Deep Learning.
    • Saran Stewart was an invited Keynote Speaker, Research Culture Conference. University of Nottingham, UK. ICARE4Social Justice: Breaking Silos, Borders and Building Bridges. (2024, July)
    • Jennie Weiner and Monica Higgins gave a talk entitled “Reclaiming Leadership in a Feminized Profession: Women’s Leadership in K-12 Education” for the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

    Journal Editorship:

    • Milagros Castillo-Montoya has been promoted to Senior Associate Editor at the Review for Higher Education and is co-leading the development of a new section for the journal.
    • Casey Cobb was invited to serve on the inaugural editorial board of APA’s Educational Psychology for Policy and Practice, of Division 15: Educational Psychology.
    • Robin Grenier was named the new Qualitative Methods Editor for Human Resource Development International
    • Jennie McGarry, Roc Rochon, Kolin Ebron ’21 Ph.D., and Jesse Mala ’18 Ph.D. are co-editing a special issue of Youth entitled Critical Approaches to Youth Development through Sport. (published Spring 2025)
    • Kenny Nienhusser was selected to serve on the editorial board of the Journal of College Student Development.
    • Saran Stewart was appointed as 2024-2027 Co-Editor for American Educational Research Journal.
    • Jennie Weiner is taking on the co-editorship of the Journal of Educational Change with Corrie Stone Johnson of the University of Buffalo.

    Books:

    • Laura Burton with co-author Eric MacIntosh (University of Ottawa) published the 2nd edition of Organizational Behavior in Sport Management.
    • Book Chapter: Stewart, S., Haynes, C., Elgoharry, Y., & S. Hearst. (2025). Black liberation research methodology. In J. Creswell Baez (Section Ed.). Issues of Equity: Key Concepts in Qualitative Methods. In J. Salvo and J. Ulmer (Eds.), Routledge Resources Online (formerly: Routledge Encyclopedia of Qualitative Methods). Routledge.

    Conferences/Convenings/Outreach:

    • Saran Stewart, Frank Tuitt and Milagros Castillo-Montoya served as co-leads for 3rd Annual Intersectional and Comparative Advancement of Racial Equity for Social Justice Summit (July 2024), hosted by University of Nottingham.

    • A group of high schoolers stand inside the Toscano Family Ice Forum at UConn Storrs. One student takes a photo with their cellphone.
      Danielle DeRosa led efforts for the Neag School’s first Early College Experience (ECE) Day, which brought nearly 120 high school students to UConn to learn more about campus life and the Neag School. (Evan Elmore/Neag School photo)

      Danielle DeRosa led efforts for the Neag School’s first Early College Experience (ECE) Day, which brought nearly 120 high school students to UConn to learn more about campus life and the Neag School.

    • Danielle DeRosa, Risa Isard, students and alumni from the UConn Sport Management program participated in a National Girls and Women in Sports Day press conference hosted by Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz.
    • Danielle DeRosa, Jennie McGarry and Patricia Bellamy Mathis worked a presentation, Emerging Sports and Grassroots Development, which was delivered as part of the Strong Women, Strong Sport think tank at Temple University.
    • Richard Gonzales led efforts to expand the UCAPP program to include a new cohort in Waterbury.
    • Kelly Lyman and Erin Murray met with the CAPSS Induction and Early Career for Executive District Leaders group as part of yearlong initiative to develop district-level leadership capacity. The focus of this session is leading a strategic approach to curriculum development.
    • Adam McCready and Kathy Rohn submitted testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Education for HB 6923 AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF SMART DEVICES IN SCHOOLS.
    • Adam McCready and Kathy Rohn submitted testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Children for HB 5474 AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS BY INDIVIDUALS SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND UNDER.

    Students/Alumni:

    • Matthew Brown (current student) was named Outstanding 2024 High School Principal by the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association.
    • Ph.D. student Julie Gehring was highlighted in UConn Today: New NetWerx Initiative Brings Alumni Mentorship into the Classroom
    • Jaime Morales ’25 Ph.D. has accepted a position as a Faculty Diversity Fellow at Temple University to begin Fall 2025.
    • Ph.D. students Wiley Dawson and Kelly Schlaback have been selected to participate in the São Paulo School of Advanced Science in University, Memory and Reparation for Summer 2025. The program will focus on addressing “the links between academic research and reparation process, and recognizing the inseparability of reparation and memory.”

    Educational Psychology (EPSY)

    Awards and Recognition

    Faculty

    • Nicole Peterson (student) and Brandi Simonsen: Received a new state contract with the Georgia Department of Education

    • Zachary Collier headshot
      Zach Collier was named a 2025 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. (Submitted photo)

      Zach Collier: Named a 2025 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

    • Betsy McCoach: Appointed Associate Editor for Psychological Methods
    • Melissa Bray: 2025 Digital Health Special Interest Group Poster Award winner
    • Sandy Chafouleas and Melissa Bray were named among the top publishers and most prolific contributors to school psychology based on the following study:
      • Hulac, D. M., Aspiranti, K. B., & Nyberg, J. (2025). Scholarly Productivity of School Psychology Faculty 2016–2020. Psychology in the Schools, 62(3), 708–720.
    • Sandy Chafouleas, Jess Koslouski, and Kate Williamson: The Connecticut Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (CT WSCC) Partnership completed its second year in East Hartford Public Schools, positively impacting students and staff through strategic actions aligned with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model.
    • Jess Koslouski, Jaci VanHeest, and Sandy Chafouleas: Spoke with undergraduate Public Health House Learning Community students about potential research and career paths during Public Health Week, continuing a seven-year collaboration

    • Two middle-school-age Black males high five outside of a school in a field.
      Students at East Hartford Middle School enjoy time for physical activity as part of their Empower Health program, created as part of the Connecticut Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Partnership. (Laura Roberts/East Hartford Public Schools)

      Jackie Caemmerer and Melissa Bray: Co-authored an article that was awarded the American Psychological Association (APA) Editor’s Choice Selection:

      • Caemmerer, J. M., deLeyer-Tiarks, J.M., Dale, B.A., Winter, E.L., Charamut, N.R.*, Scudder, A.M.*, Peters, E.C.*, Bray, M. A., & Kaufman, A. S. (2024). Does the Bayley-4 measure the same constructs across girls and boys and infants, toddlers, and preschoolers? Psychological Assessment, 36(11), 643-653. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001337
      • *Current UConn students who are co-authors

    Students

    • Graduate student Mei Zheng, collaborating with Catherine Little, received a $5,000 research fellowship from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) to examine the connections between interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction in arts domains.
    • Graduate student Shana Lusk received a $12,000 grant from the Catawba Nation Foundation to support her dissertation study examining perspectives of members of the Catawba Nation about their educational experiences.

    Presentations

    • Juried – International
      • Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024, September). The garden of evaluation approaches. Paper presented at the bi-annual meeting of the European Evaluation Society, Rimini, Italy.
        Schröter, D., Becho, L. W., & Montrosse-Moorhead, B. (2024, September). The expanded garden of evaluation approaches: Theory in context. Paper presented at the bi-annual meeting of the European Evaluation Society, Rimini, Italy.
    • Juried – National
      • Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024, October). The expanded garden of evaluation approaches visualization. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.
    • Del Siegle gave three international keynotes during 2024-25:
      • Siegle, D. (2025, February 17). Shifting through the essentials of gifted education for talent development: Separating the wheat from the chaff [Keynote]. Dutch National Knowledge Center for Gifted Education (Kenniscentrum Hoogbegaafdheid), Netherlands.
      • Siegle, D. (2024, October 8). Addressing challenges in gifted education with three legs of gifted education services [Keynote]. Education of Gifted/Twice Exceptional Students: Challenges and Prospects, SKLAD and International Academy of Pedagogy (Republic of Kazakhstan), Virtual.
      • Siegle, D. (2024, August 29, 2024). Shifting through the essentials of gifted education for talent development: Separating the wheat from the chaff [Keynote]. 19th European Council for High Abilities (ECHA) Conference: Expanding Horizons: The Odyssey of Talents & Gifts, Thessaloniki, Greece.

    Conferences & Symposia:

    • Teaching and Learning with Technology, May 15, Storrs CT
    • NEPBIS Leadership Forum, May 14-16, Mystic CT
      • All 10 Northeast states were represented by both presenters and attendees
      • 475 participants, 29 Districts of Distinction, 3 keynotes
      • 33 breakout sessions (strands: Schoolwide, Advanced Tiers, Classroom, Mental Health, Equity, Training & Coaching, Voice, Special Topics)
    • Postsecondary Disability Training Institute, May 27-30, Boston MA
    • Confratute, July 13-17, Storrs CT
    • Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Becho, L. W., & Schröter, D., (2025, April). Approaches to evaluating educational programs. Training course provided at the annual American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.
    • Becho, L. W., Montrosse-Moorhead, B., & Schröter, D. (2024, September). Blooming perspectives: Practical insights from the garden of evaluation approaches. Training course provided at the bi-annual European Evaluation Society conference, Rimini, Italy.
    • Sandy Chafouleas and colleagues from CHDI led the trauma and school mental health symposium

    • Three white men stand around a desk, one looks on while another writes on a pad of yellow paper and the third types on a tablet.
      The Renzulli Center hosted its annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Conference on May 15 at UConn Storrs, with 199 educators attending. (Neag School photo)

      Renzulli Center Conferences and Symposia:

      • Confratute July 2024 (284 attendees)
      • Teaching and Learning with Technology Conference May 2025 (199 attendees)
      • Four one-hour webinars on Talent Development during the academic year (495 registered across the four)
      • Four one-day virtual Tastes of Confratute during the academic year (296 attended across the four)

    Journal Editorships

    • Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead is Co-Editor-in-Chief for New Directions for Evaluation.
    • Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead is an editorial board member for the American Journal of Evaluation.
    • Craig Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief, Research and Practice for People with Severe Disabilities (Sage) (3 yr IF=3.7)
    • Latoya Haynes-Thoby is a guest editor of The Professional Counselor, 2024 – 2025

    Leadership in International, National, and Regional Organizations:

    • Latoya Haynes-Thoby:
      • American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division E (Counseling & Human Development), Vice President, 2025 – 2028
      • Connecticut Career Counseling & Development Association (CCCDA), Secretary, 2024 – 2026
      • Advisory Council, National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation, 2023 – 2025
      • American Counseling Association, Governing Council Representative for the International Association for Resilience in Trauma Counseling, 2025 - 2028

    Promotions

    • Promotion to Professor:
      • Jennifer Freeman
    • Promotion to Associate Professor-in-Residence:
      • Susannah Everett
    • Promotion to Associated Clinical Professor:
      • Tracy Sinclair

              Books & Publications

              • A white man stands at a podium at the front of a room full of seated audience members, while a projector screen behind him displays slides.
                The annual Postsecondary Disability Training Institute was held on May 27-30, 2205, in Boston MA. (Defining Studios)

                Kennedy, C. H. (2024). Single-case designs for applied research (2nd ed.). Sage.

              • Simonsen, B., & Myers, D. (2025). Classwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. (2nd ed.). Guilford.
              • Lynch, K., Gonzalez, K., Hill, H., & Merritt, R. (2025). Meta-analysis of the experimental evidence linking mathematics and science professional development interventions to teacher knowledge, classroom instruction, and student achievement. AERA Open.
              • Lynch, K., Lanteri, L., An, L., Mancenido, Z., & Richardson, J. (2025). The effects of summer learning on social-emotional and behavioral outcomes: A meta-analysis. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy.
              • Anglin, K. L., & Ventura, C*. (2024). Automatic text classification with large language models: A review of open AI for zero-and-few-shot classification. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 1–23.
              • Anglin, K. (2024). Addressing threats to validity in supervised machine learning: A framework and best practices for education researchers. AERA Open, 10, 1–21.
              • *Harris, M. & McCoach, D. B. (2025). Classify with Caution: An Illustrative Example Using Mixture Models and Machine Learning. Journal of Research in Personality.
              • *Lee, J., Chung, H., Harel, O. & McCoach, D. B. (accepted). Bayesian Multilevel Latent Class Profile Analysis: Inference and Estimation for Exploring the Diverse Pathways to Academic Proficiency. Multivariate Behavioral Research.
              • Rhoads, C., Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Anglin, K., & Lewis, C. (2025). Implementation Fidelity: The Disconnect Between Theory and Practice. Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, 21(49), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.56645/jmde.v21i49.813
              • Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Sutter, A., Phiri, C., & Perdomo, L. D. L. C. (2024). Describing youth participatory evaluation of educational interventions as a key domain of the social determinants of health: protocol for a scoping review. BMJ Open, 14(10), e081978. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081978
              • Lemire, S., Montrosse-Moorhead, B., & Christie, C. A. (2024). What is this thing called evaluation theory? Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, 20, 1–7. https://journals.sfu.ca/jmde/index.php/jmde_1/article/view/1037
              • Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024). The garden of evaluation approaches visualization. Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, 20, 49–58. https://journals.sfu.ca/jmde/index.php/jmde_1/article/view/1029
              • Guest Editorship of Journal Special Issue
              • Montrosse-Moorhead, B., & Bitar, K. (2024). Amending the architectural blueprints for evaluation. In L. A. Wingate, A. Boyce, L. W. Becho, & K. Robertson (Eds.), Core Concepts in Evaluation: Contemporary Commentary on Classic Writings. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
              • Kennedy, C. H. (2024). Single-case designs for applied research (2nd ed.). Sage.
              • Caemmerer, J.M., Scudder, A.M.*, Keith, T.Z., & Reynolds, M.R. (2024). Beyond individual tests: Youth’s cognitive abilities, basic reading, and writing. Journal of Intelligence, 12(11), 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence12110120
              • Foster, M.E., Caemmerer, J.M., Hennessy, B., Smith, S.A., Lopez, L.M., & Spencer, T.D. (2024). Predictors of kindergarten science achievement and its growth across elementary school for multilingual and English monolingual learners. The Elementary School Journal, 125(2), 233-260. https://doi.org/10.1086/732691
              • Anglin, K. L., Bertrand, A., Gottlieb, J., & Elefante, J. (2025). Scaling Up with Integrity: Valid and Efficient Narrative Policy Framework Analyses Using Large Language Models. Policy Studies Journal. Online First. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psj.70045
              • Brown, T., & Haynes-Thoby, L. (2025). Grieving Out Loud: Towards an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Black Girlhood and Culturally Reflective Trauma Informed Care. Journal of Trauma Studies in Education, 4(1), 116-133.
              • Jones, M., Litam, S. D. A., & Haynes-Thoby, L. (2025). Bridging the Gap: Advancing Equity in Mental Health Counseling The Professional Counselor, 15(1), 1-3.
              • Rhoads, C., Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Anglin, K. L., & Lewis, C. (2025). Implementation fidelity: The disconnect between theory and practice. Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, 21(49), 23-37-23–37. https://doi.org/10.56645/jmde.v21i49.813
              • Anglin, K. (2024). Addressing threats to validity in supervised machine learning: A framework and best practices for education researchers. AERA Open, 10, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241303495
              • Anglin, K. L., & Ventura, C*. (2024). Automatic text classification with large language models: A review of open AI for zero-and few-shot classification. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3102/10769986241279927

              *Current UConn student who is a co-author

              Grants

              Dozens of college students sit at round tables in a room, looking at a woman standing at the front who is speaking.
              Sandy Chafouleas, Jess Koslouski, and other researchers with the Collaboratory on School and Child Health met with Public Health House Learning Community students on April 8, sharing information about their careers and current research projects. (Helene Marcy/UConn CSCH)

              Funded Grants:

              • The Renzulli Center had four funded grants in 2024-25:
                • National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE) — Del Siegle, PI; D. Betsy McCoach and Catherine Little, Co-PI
                • Project Focus — Catherine Little, PI; Kylie Anglin, Co-PI
                • Project EAGLE (Eliciting Advanced Gifted Learning) — Del Siegle, PI; D. Betsy McCoach and Susan Dulong Langley, Co-PI
                • Project BUMP UP (Building Up Mathematics Proficiency Utilizing Push-In) — Del Siegle, PI; D. Betsy McCoach, Co-PI

              New Proposals:

              • Advancing Computational Thinking and Microelectronics Education through Generative AI within an Engineering Design Framework. Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Funding Source: National Science Foundation (NSF), Discovery Research, K-12 program. Duration: 09/01/25-08/31/2029. Amount Requested: $3,000,000. Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead.
              • NSF Engine: Advancing Quantum Technologies (QuantumCT). Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Funding Source: National Science Foundation (NSF), Regional Innovation Engine program. Duration: 03/01/26-02/29/2028. Amount Requested: $15,000,000. Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead.
              • Little, C. A. (PI), McCoach D. B. (CoPI), & Siegle, D. (CoPI). (submitted proposal). National Research and Development Center on Improving Gifted Education ($5 million).U.S. Department of Education – IES

              Continuing Grants:

              • Fostering Computational Thinking Through Neural Engineering Activities in High School Biology Classes. Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Funding Source: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Research on Learning program. Duration: 09/01/21-08/31/2025. Award: $1,451,850. Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead.
              • Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center. Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Duration: 10/01/22-09/30/2027. Award: $10,000,000. Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead.
              • Sandy Chafouleas, Kathleen Williamson, and Jessica Koslouski are PIs and Co-PIs on the Connecticut WSCC Partnership
              • Co-Principal Investigator: Jacqueline Caemmerer (PI: Chafouleas). Project ESSY: Expanding Screening to Support Youth. Funding Source: Institute of Education Sciences. Duration: 7/2022-6/2026. Amount funded: $1,491,821.
              • Co-Investigator: Jacqueline Caemmerer (PI: Chafouleas). Project PSYCHS: Preparing School Psychologists in Equitable and Effective Service Coordination. Funding Source: United States Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Duration: 10/22-9/25. Amount Funded: $760,950.
              • Principal Investigator: Jacqueline Caemmerer. Relations between children’s cognitive abilities, basic reading, broad writing. Funding Source: Woodcock Institute for the Advancement of Neurocognitive Research and Applied Practice. Duration: 5/2023-5/2025. Amount funded: $15,000.

              Other:

              • Podcast Guest Related to Research
              • Online Broadcast Appearances Related to Research
              • Sandy Chafouleas and Jess Koslouski continued their work on the Feel Your Best Self project
              • Sandy Chafouleas and Kate Williamson worked on the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration research project
              • Sandy Chafouleas and Jess Koslouski were on the panel for the Public Health House Meet the Researchers event
              • Kathleen Williamson and Sandy Chafouleas participated in podcast episodes.
              • The School Psychology program hosted two PREPaRE training workshops during the academic year. PREPaRE training includes evidence-based resources and consultation related to school crisis prevention and response. PREPaRE training is ideal for schools committed to improving and strengthening their school safety and crisis management plans and emergency response. The training was available to students and practitioners from the community.
              • The Renzulli Center submitted its five-year report and the Neag Center Review Committee recommended that the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development be approved for the standard five-year period. The reviewers noted that the Renzulli Center faculty and affiliates are making a profound impact on schools and students in Connecticut and beyond, and the Center is a tremendous asset for the Neag School and the University of Connecticut as a whole.

              Revenue Generating Programs:

              • Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation
                • The new online Masters of Data Science program has officially launched! The first cohort took EPSY 5641 Causal Inference and Measurement for Data Science for the first time last semester, with 34 students enrolled
                • Online MA program

                Teacher Education

                The teacher education program includes faculty and students from across all three Neag School of Education departments (EDCI, EDLR, EPSY). The program offers two pathways toward initial teacher certification: IB/M and TCPCG, explained more below.

                The Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s (IB/M) program is a three-year program that serves students at UConn Storrs. Successful completers of the program earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree and meet the requirements for state licensure. In 2024-2025, there were 93 juniors, 104 seniors, and 109 master’s students in the IB/M program.

                The Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) is designed for individuals who already hold a degree in a content area and are seeking the needed credentials and certification to become a teacher. They matriculate at one of four campuses: Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, or Waterbury. Students are either recent college graduates or change-of-career individuals who learn to become educators of English, Special Education, Science, Mathematics, Agriculture, World Language, or Social Studies. In Summer 2025, the new TCPCG cohort included 99 students across campuses.

                Eleven women stand on the exterior steps of the building in two rows and smile at the camera.
                The Office of Teacher Education team for the 2024-2025 academic year. (Evan Elmore/Neag School photo)

                2024-2025 Highlights

                • Began a new grant-funded initiative for TCPCG students, the Suenos Scholars Program, to provide full tuition for 10 students from underrepresented backgrounds at UConn Stamford.
                • Began a new paid internship program for IB/M students, the IDEAS Fellowship, with Manchester and East Hartford Public Schools.
                • Continued our efforts to build mutually-beneficial school partnerships by hosting a district Partnership Summit and a Cooperating Teachers Appreciation Event at UConn Hartford that brought together district leaders and liaisons for collaboration and dialogue.
                • Hosted the “Why Teach, Why Now” contest for Early College Experience students and a TCPCG Common Read initiative thanks to support from the John and Carla Klein Endowment for Urban Education through the UConn Foundation.

                  Global Education

                  During the 2024–2025 academic year, the Neag School’s Global Education programs had another successful year of impact and growth. Currently, we offer eight programs across four continents, open to students in all three departments. We continue our strong commitment to increasing participation among first-generation students and those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Global Education supports undergraduates, graduate students, and in-service teachers in engaging with global research, scholarly presentations, experiential learning abroad, and curriculum development.

                  In AY 24-25, 51 students participated in global education experiences through seven Neag School programs:

                  Approved Semester-Long Programs (Fall Semester):

                  • London, U.K.
                    • Teacher Education (IB/M – 5th Year)
                    • Faculty Sponsor: Danielle Filipiak
                  • Cusco, Peru
                    • Teacher Education (IB/M - 5th year)
                    • Faculty Sponsor: Michele Back
                  • Nottingham, U.K.
                    • Teacher Education (IB/M - 5th year Social Studies Students and others, with permission)
                    • Faculty Sponsor: Alan Marcus
                  • Cape Town, South Africa
                    • Teacher Education (IB/M - 5th year)
                    • Faculty Sponsor: Doug Kaufman

                    Approved Short-Term Programs:

                    • Guanacaste, Costa Rica
                      • Teacher Education (Undergraduate, 5th Year, and Doctoral Students)
                      • Summer Session
                      • Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth Howard
                    • Kingston, Jamaica/Fajardo, Puerto Rico (Alternating Years)
                      • ASL and Deaf Education Students (Undergraduate & Graduate)
                      • Winter Intersession
                      • Faculty Sponsors: Hannah Dostal (Neag) & Linda Pelletier (CLAS)
                    • The Hague, Netherlands
                      • All UConn undergraduate students
                      • Summer Session
                      • Faculty Sponsor: Saran Stewart
                    • San Juan, Puerto Rico (New in 2025)
                      • Music Education Students
                      • Spring Break
                      • Faculty Sponsors: Joseph Abramo & Cara Bernard

                      Highlights for 2024-2025

                      College students, some wearing brightly colored skirts, dance inside a room.
                      In March 2025, Neag launched a new short-term program titled Diversity, Culture, and Music Education. Seven music education students traveled to San Juan, led by Joe Abramo and Cara Bernard. (Submitted photo)

                      New Music Education Program in Puerto Rico:

                      • In March 2025, Neag launched a new short-term program titled Diversity, Culture, and Music Education, led by Joe Abramo and Cara Bernard. Seven music education students traveled to San Juan, where they worked with local musicians and educators to explore music pedagogy within Puerto Rican culture. Students engaged in hands-on music-making, school visits, and intercultural experiences that deepened their understanding of global music education.
                      • The next iteration of this program will bring Puerto Rican educators and students to UConn, fulfilling our goal of reciprocal exchange.

                      Global Education Speaker Series

                      • Led by Yasmin Elgoharry, this ongoing series brings together Neag and UConn community members to discuss social justice, advocacy, equity, inclusion, and anti-racist practices in global education.
                      • This spring’s event featured a panel titled Navigating Difficult Topics in the Classroom, presented by Hannah Cooke, Katy Griffith, Truth Hunter, Lily Lou, and Dr. Roc Rochon. Panelists explored how to address contemporary social and political issues from both local and international perspectives.

                      New Web Presence

                      • Neag Global Education launched a new landing page on the Neag School website to provide easy access to program information and research on the impact of global learning. Visit education.uconn.edu/academics/global

                      Future Program Development

                      • Sports Management in the UK: In collaboration with UConn’s Sports Medicine program, a new program is being piloted for March 2026. It will offer students interdisciplinary learning opportunities in international sports contexts. This program will be led by Danielle DeRosa.
                      • Educational Leadership in Estonia: An exploratory program is in development to help Educational Leadership students examine curriculum, administration, teacher preparation, and school structures in Estonia. Collaborators in Estonia have already been identified. This program has been proposed by Kelly Lyman.

                      Continued Partnership with ICARE4Justice

                      • Neag continues to support the ICARE4Justice initiative—a transnational project advancing work on racial equity, intersectionality, decoloniality, and social justice. In July 2024, ICARE4Justice co-hosted a summit in Nottingham, England, in partnership with the Echo Center (The Hague), the University of Nottingham, and UConn.
                      • Summit Highlights Video: YouTube
                      • Podcast Site: icare4justiceuconn.podbean.com

                      Featured Article in UConn Today

                      Academic Research in Progress

                      • A forthcoming manuscript titled “I Have More Awareness of Myself in Context: A Comparative Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Engagement with Race in Study Abroad” is being developed by Michele Back, Douglas Kaufman, David Moss, and Jonathan Simmons.