graduate students

Graduate student selected to join John Smartt Summer Scholars Program

cpark077 — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 20:23:47 +0000

Graduate student selected to join John Smartt Summer Scholars Program cpark077 Mon, 06/06/2022 - 13:23 More News Chloe Park June 06, 2022

Join us in congratulating UCR graduate student Alexis Weatherspoon for being selected to the John Smartt Summer Scholars Program at The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.

The internship program is designed to give interested master's students the opportunity to receive professional experience, connect with scholars in the higher education field, and learn fundamental research skills in connection to equity and leadership.

Interns will get a $1,500 stipend, the opportunity to do and publish research, academic mentoring, and administrative experience, among other things. This year is the first year interns will be able to meet CMSI staff in person at Rutgers University — New Brunswick.

Alexis Weatherspoon

Alexis Weatherspoon is a passionate storyteller who aims to tell the stories of excluded identities through decolonized methods that speak to her identity as a black female athlete. Her time as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa led to her interest in motivating athletes to pursue both academic and athletic success by illuminating their strengths in both areas. After working as an Academic Advisor, Recruiter, Youth Career Navigator, and Enrollment Coach, she relocated to California in 2021 to attend the University of California Riverside to receive her Master's Degree in Diversity and Equity (anticipated June 2022). While there, she became a TRIO Scholars Graduate Mentor and participated in the Chancellor's Making Excellence Inclusive Certificate Program. In the first four years of Alexis' education journey, she attended J.S. Chick, an African-centered elementary school in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri - a short drive east of the infamous Troost Divide. She enjoys working out, exploring new cultures (especially through food and music), spending time with friends and family, and performing solo concerts in the car. Read the official release here.

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graduate students

RSVP: Reading “Racial Grammar”: Latinx Students’ Racial Literacy Development to Name and Resist Racism

juliep — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 16:50:46 +0000

RSVP: Reading “Racial Grammar”: Latinx Students’ Racial Literacy Development to Name and Resist Racism juliep Tue, 02/23/2021 - 08:50 More News February 15, 2021

As anti-immigrant, anti-Latinx, and xenophobic climates permeate classrooms and campuses across the country, there is a need to explore how US schools can support K-12 Latinx students with navigating and confronting racialized oppression in their world(s). K-12 Ethnic Studies has much promise to develop, maintain or extend students’ awareness of racial injustice, but it has been strongly contended in K-12 contexts. While California just passed Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement in the CSU system and is on path to become a high school graduation requirement, there is concern that it will lose its core critical analysis of racism and white supremacy as it is institutionalized.

In this talk, doctoral candidate Arturo Nevárez builds on the narrative and experiences of one 9th grade Latinx student in an Ethnic Studies classroom to trace how they were supported in developing their racial literacy—the language and praxis to “read” the existence of institutional racism and to disrupt its effects. Outlining a four-stage process of racial literacy development (RLD) applicable to students and teachers, this talk highlights the affordances of shifting from race-evasiveness—silence to the reality of racism—to racial literacy.

Reading “Racial Grammar”: Latinx Students’ Racial Literacy Development to Name and Resist Racism
Thursday, March 18
1pm - 2pm

Join via Zoom: https://ucr.zoom.us/j/94864497263

About the Equity & Justice Speaker Series:
GSOE's speaker series aims to engage the education research of GSOE students and faculty focused on equity and justice, and to also explore what equity and justice work looks like in practice. The series will be held throughout the academic year, and will invite researchers to present to students and faculty in an informal setting to encourage dialogue and discussion. GSOE is currently taking submissions for presenters. Presenters do not need to present advanced papers but may instead use the interaction with event participants to help refine their ideas and ongoing work. Students and faculty alike are encouraged to apply. If you’d like to be considered, send your name, presentation title, and abstract to Dr. Eddie Comeaux.

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GSOE round-up

juliep — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 19:09:15 +0000

GSOE round-up juliep Thu, 01/28/2021 - 11:09 More News January 12, 2021

Congratulations to Arturo Nevárez, a doctoral candidate in the Education, Society and Culture program. Nevárez received a two-year fellowship from the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity along with a $5000 stipend. In this fellowship, he will collaborate as a co-researcher on a project with a BranchED scholar on transformative scholarship related to diversifying the teaching profession and critical issues of educational equity for minoritized students. According to their website, the goal of this program is twofold: 1) to support the development and success of emerging scholars of Color whose research interests are within the scope of teacher education and 2) to engage in collaborative and transformative scholarship related to diversifying the teaching profession and intentionally addressing critical issues of educational equity for all students.

Associate Professor Michael Solis was recently selected as a consultant for a $4 million-dollar federal grant received by Hawaii Department of Education. Currently, he is working on providing training of special education on reading interventions for students K-8 through a distance learning platform. This grant will ensure that a larger number of the teachers can be trained over the upcoming years.

Congratulations to Elina Veytsman, PhD student, who received the Michael Goodman Research Award, California Association of School Psychologists, November 2020, for her poster "Observed Effects of the PEERS® Social Skills Intervention for a Diverse Sample of Adolescents with ASD". The Michael Goodman Memorial Research Award recognizes the most outstanding research paper or poster presented at the annual CASP Convention. In the CASP newsletter, Elina said, “As an aspiring clinical researcher, I strongly believe that the value of research can be measured by its ability to have a direct impact on the youth and families it seeks to benefit . . . Our team implemented and adapted the first-ever PEERS intervention for Latinx families, who have been historically underrepresented in ASD intervention research.”

Elizabeth Baker, PhD student, wrote a blog for a UCR Sci Comm, "Cheers for Peers! Improved neural sensitivity to rewards in teens with autism spectrum disorder after intervention," using data from her master’s thesis. Read it here.

Autism Goes to College, a documentary executive produced by Dr. Jan Blacher, won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Long Beach International Film Festival.

Associate Professor Rita Kohli’s new book, Teachers of Color: Resisting Racism and Reclaiming Education,will be published in June by Harvard Education Publishing Group.

Teachers of Color describes how racism serves as a continuous barrier against diversifying the teaching force and offers tools to support educators who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of Color on both a systemic and interpersonal level. Based on in-depth interviews, digital narratives, and questionnaires, the book analyzes the toll of racism on their professional experiences and personal well-being, as well as their resistance and reimagination of schools.

It's now available for pre-order from the publisher. Use the discount code TCSP21 for 20% off. (Also available via Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble)

Assistant Professor Austin Johnson co-authored School-Based Behavioral Assessment: Second Edition, released January 8, 2021. Revised and expanded with the latest tools and strategies, this concise book offers guidance for effectively conducting social, emotional, and behavioral assessments in today’s K–12 schools. The expert authors present foundational knowledge on assessment and data-based decision making at all levels—whole schools, small groups, or individual students—within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Chapters describe when, why, and how to use extant data, systematic direct observation, direct behavior rating, and rating scales. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes reproducible forms and templates. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

The following is a round-up of research and accomplishments sent on behalf of UCR SEARCH Center: Professor Jan Blacher; Assistant Professor Katherine Stavropoulos; Yasamin Bolourian, PhD Special Education, Post-Doctoral Fellow; Elizabeth Baker, PhD student, School Psychology ; Megan Ledoux Galligan, PhD candidate, Special Education ; Ainsley Losh, PhD student, School Psychology ; Elina Veytsman, PhD student, School Psychology ; Michelle Heyman, PhD student, School Psychology ; Tricia Choy, PhD student, School Psychology; Giselle Salinas, PhD student, Special Education ; Bhawandeep Baines, PhD Student, School Psychology; Ann Marie Martin, '20, PhD Special Education

PUBLICATIONS
Baker, B. L., & Blacher, J. (in press). Behavior disorders and social skills in adolescents with intellectual disability: Does co-morbid autism matter? Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

Buren, M. K., Johnson, A. H., Maggin, D. M., Bains, B. K., Ledoux Galligan, M. R., & Couch, L. K. (In press). Research utilization in special education. In B. M. Cook, T. J. Landrum, & M. Tankersley (Eds.), Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities. Emerald Insight. doi: 10.1108/albd

Caplan, B., Blacher, J., Eisenhower, A., Baker, B. L., & Lee, S. S. (in press). Gene x Responsive Parenting Interactions in Social Development: Characterizing Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Developmental Psychobiology.

Ledoux Galligan, M.R., Suhrheinrich, J., & Kraemer, B. (In press.) Video modeling for high school students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Special Education Technology.

Baker B. L. & Blacher, J. (2020) Collateral effects of youth disruptive behavior disorders on mothers’ psychological distress: Intellectual disability, or typical development. In: Volkmar F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. NY: Springer.

Baker, E., Veytsman, E., Martin, A. M., Blacher, J., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020). Increased neural reward responsivity in adolescents with ASD after social skills intervention. Brain Sciences, 10(402). doi:10.3390/brainsci/10060402.

Heyman, M., Bolourian, Y., & Blacher, J. (2020). Transition to early schooling for children with ASD. In M. B. McClain, J. D. Shahidullah, & K. Mezher (Eds.), Handbook of Interprofessional Care for Pediatric ASD. New York: Springer.

Levinson, S., Neuspiel, J., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2020). Parent-teacher disagreement on ratings of behavior problems in children with ASD: Associations with parental school involvement over time. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04675-1

Losh, A., Alba, L. A., Blacher, J., & Stavropoulos, K. K. M. (2020). Neuroimaging research with diverse children with ASD: Impact of a social story on parent understanding and likelihood of participation. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 71, 101511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101511

Martin, M. A., Stavropoulos, K. M., & Blacher, J. (2020). Differential diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and early onset schizophrenia: Two clinical cases. Advances in Autism, 6(2), 139-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/AIA-11-2019-0043

Rodas, N.V., Blacher, J., & Baker, B. L. (2020). Predictors of anxiety symptom trajectory in children with or without ID from early childhood to adolescence, Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315864.2019.1710787

Rydzewska, E., Fleming, M., Young-Southward, G., Blacher, J., Bolourian, Y., Widaman, K., Philo, C., & Cooper, S.-A. (2020, in press). General health status in young people with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome in, and transitioning from, special education. Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. DOI: 10.1111/jir.12781

PAPER PRESENTATION
Ledoux, M. R., Heyman, M., Bolourian, Y., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2021, January). Training for general educators in autism spectrum disorders: Adapting an iterative intervention for remote learning. Paper accepted at UC SPEDDR (virtual).

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Choy, T., Losh, A., & Blacher, J. (2021, February). Parent-child interaction and social responsiveness in children with autism. Poster accepted at National Association of School Psychology (NASP) Convention (virtual).

Choy, T., Baker, E., Veytsman, E., Martin, A.M., Stavropoulos, K., Blacher, J. (2020, August). “The relationship between problem behaviors and family life following the PEERS® Program.” Poster accepted at American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington D.C. (virtual).

Heyman, M. R., Bolourian, Y., Baker, E., Baker, B. L., & Blacher, J. “Mother, Father, and Adolescent Perspectives: Sibling Relationship Quality of Individuals with ASD, ID, or TD.” Poster accepted at Gatlinburg Conference (virtual).

Veytsman, E., Ledoux, M.R., Salinas, G., Baker, B., & Blacher, J. (2020, December). Mothers’ perspectives on the future of their young adults with and without developmental disabilities. Poster presented at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA. (Virtual conference)

Veytsman, E., Baker, E., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020, October). Observed effects of the PEERS social skills intervention for a diverse sample of adolescents with ASD. Poster presented at the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP) Annual Convention, Palm Springs, CA, USA. (Virtual conference)

Veytsman, E., Salinas, G., Ledoux, M.R., Blacher, J., & Baker, B. (2020, August). Staying positive: Dispositional optimism & attitudes for the future among mothers of adults with IDD. Poster accepted to the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington, D.C., USA. (Virtual conference)

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Article examines the role professional development plays in supporting Black women educators

Sandy Tsan — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 20:18:42 +0000

Article examines the role professional development plays in supporting Black women educators Sandy Tsan Wed, 01/27/2021 - 12:18 More News January 27, 2021

Doctoral candidate Tanisha Lisle-Johnson and Associate Professor Rita Kohli recently published the paper “Critical Black women educators: Resisting the racial and ideological marginality of K–12 teaching through critical professional development” in Theory Into Practice.

According to their abstract, “Black women educators are severely underrepresented and make up just 5% of US public school teachers. For critical Black women educators working in the hostile racial climates of schools, the ideological marginalization compounds the intersectional racial and gendered alienation they feel. In this article, we theorize the racialization critical Black women educators experience even working in schools that serve communities of Color as they work to disrupt the status quo, challenge racism, and serve students of Color. Through key cases of Black women educators, we describe how critical professional development spaces address these forms of isolation and support their personal and professional wellbeing. We specifically answer what they gain from having access to networks of like-minded peers as they navigate working within institutions fraught with racism. This paper ends with recommendations for developing, retaining, and supporting a teaching force inclusive of critical Black women.”

Tanisha Lisle-Johnson is a doctoral candidate in the Education, Society, and Culture program at the UCR Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on how Black parents describe the racialized experiences of TK–12 children in schools, and what they feel are the contributing factors to current racial disparities in the Inland Empire. Tanisha’s research and teaching are driven by her personal experiences as a student in New York City Public Schools, her role as one of the few Black teachers and teacher leaders in her district, and her passion for civic engagement and social equality. Tanisha’s interests in education began as a young girl growing up in Brooklyn, NY.

“I am the second of three children born of my mother and father who came to the United States from Jamaica during the seventies. My family’s journey to America had always been based on the premise of providing opportunities for future generations to have a better chance in life, both educationally and economically. Though I come from modest means, I was able to attend The Lawrenceville School, a prestigious boarding school in New Jersey, with the help of an organization that connected inner-city African American and Latino youth to the world of private secondary schools, prestige, and the “American Dream,” said Tanisha.

Tanisha holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Rochester, a Master’s degree in Elementary Education, and an Advanced Certificate in Urban Teaching & Leadership from the Warner Graduate School of Education. She has taught grades K-8th and worked at the district level on Math and Reading initiatives for the last 14 years.

Rita Kohli is an associate professor in the Education, Society and Culture program in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. She has a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis on Race and Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. As an Oakland Unified School District teacher, teacher educator, and educational researcher, Kohli has spent 20 years in urban public schools across the country. Her research interests include critical race theory, the racial climate of teacher education and schools, critical teacher development, and the struggles, assets and possibilities of teachers of Color across the pipeline. She is the former chair for the Critical Educators for Social Justice Special Interest Group for the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice (ITOC), and currently serves on the editorial board of the international journal Race, Ethnicity and Education. Kohli is the co-editor of the book, Confronting Racism in Teacher Education: Narratives from Teacher Educators and has published in journals such as Journal of Teacher Education, the Review of Research in Education, Teacher Education Quarterly, and Urban Education. She was the recipient the UCR Innovator for Social Change Award (2016), the Scholar Activist and Community Advocacy Award from the Critical Educators for Social Justice Special Interest Group of AERA (2017), and the Early Career Award of the Division G: Social Context of Education Division of AERA (2018).

Critical Black women educators: Resisting the racial and ideological marginality of K–12 teaching through critical professional development

Citation: Tanisha Lisle-Johnson & Rita Kohli (2020) Critical Black women educators: Resisting the racial and ideological marginality of K–12 teaching through critical professional development, Theory Into Practice, 59:4, 348-357, DOI: 10.1080/00405841.2020.1773181

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Education Society and Culture

Rita Kohli

graduate students

"Examining the Relations Between Spatial Skills, Spatial Anxiety, and K‐12 Teacher Practice"

juliep — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 17:27:15 +0000

"Examining the Relations Between Spatial Skills, Spatial Anxiety, and K‐12 Teacher Practice" juliep Thu, 12/17/2020 - 09:27 More News December 17, 2020

Assistant Professor Kinnari Atit and doctoral student Kelsey Rocha recently published a research article titled “Examining the Relations Between Spatial Skills, Spatial Anxiety, and K‐12 Teacher Practice” in the Mind, Brain, and Education journal.

Examining the Relations Between Spatial Skills, Spatial Anxiety, and K‐12 Teacher Practice

Abstract:
Spatial skills are important for student success in STEM disciplines at the K‐12 educational level. Teachers' spatial skills and feelings about completing spatial tasks influence their teaching as well as their students' spatial learning. However, the relation between teachers' spatial skills and their spatial anxiety is not well understood. Here we investigated if teachers' spatial skills influence two kinds of small‐scale spatial anxiety: (a) anxiety for tasks involving visual imagery and (b) anxiety for tasks involving mental manipulations. In addition, we investigated if teachers' spatial skills in conjunction with their small‐scale spatial anxiety influence the integration of spatial practices, such as gestures and diagrams, into their teaching. Eighty‐two K‐12 teachers completed two subscales of small‐scale spatial anxiety, a measure of spatial skills, and a teaching activities questionnaire. Results indicate that teachers' spatial skills are negatively associated with their spatial anxiety for mental manipulation tasks, and positively associated with their use of spatial practices. These findings highlight the need to account for teachers' spatial skills when considering how to improve students' spatial learning.

Kinnari Atit’s areas of research include the intersection of spatial thinking and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. She examines how to bolster student learning of spatially demanding STEM content (such as learning about molecules in chemistry) through both in-person and multimedia learning platforms. Additionally, she is interested in understanding how K-12 teachers' spatial skills influence their teaching practices, especially when teaching STEM concepts. Dr. Atit is the director of the STEM Teaching and Learning lab.

Kelsey Rocha is an educational psychology doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education at UCR. Kelsey's research interests revolve around STEM teaching and the role that teachers play in their students' acquisition of various STEM-related concepts. Further, she is interested in the role that spatial skills and spatial anxiety play in teacher practice. In the future she also hopes to look at the relationship between different types of spatial skills (i.e. mental rotation, navigation, etc.) and their relationship to specific mathematical concepts (i.e., reasoning about numerical equations at the elementary level, reasoning about geometry problems at the secondary level, etc.).

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STEM

Kinnari Atit

graduate students

GSOE research round-up & highlights

juliep — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 15:25:43 +0000

GSOE research round-up & highlights juliep Wed, 10/07/2020 - 08:25 More News Julie Porter October 01, 2020

Congratulations to Brian Jones, fifth-year PhD School Psychology candidate. Jones' master's thesis, “Supplemental Reading Interventions Implemented by Paraprofessionals: A Meta-Analysis,” was accepted by Psychology in the Schools for a special issue titled: "Current Status and Future Directions for Training and Supporting Paraprofessionals in Schools."

The article has been published online as an early release:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pits.22427

Assistant Professor Cathy Lussier has been named co-faculty director of UCR's Cal Teach Science Math Initiative. Additionally, Dr. Lussier has become a co-PI on the NSF Noyce Scholars program this year, both initiatives focus on increasing the diversity of future STEM teachers.

Dr. Lussier and School Psychology doctoral student Ashley Pfenning presented at American Psychological Association (APA) annual virtual conference in August. It was titled: "Preparing Teachers for 21st Century STEM Classrooms with English Learners."

This past August, SUNY Press published University management, the academic profession, and neoliberalism (citation below), written by Professor John S. Levin, and former GSOE Ph.D. students Dr. Marie Martin and Dr. Ariadna López-Damián. This book is based upon research that began in 2010 and included interviews with part-time and full-time faculty, department chairs, and deans at numerous public universities, including research and comprehensive universities, among those the University of California. A number of former graduate students of GSOE’s higher education policy and administration program contributed to the research for this project.

Levin, J. S., Martin, M. C., & López-Damián, A. I. (2020). University management, the academic profession, and neoliberalism. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Professor Levin also published the following article:
Gu, J., & Levin, J. S. (2020). Tournament in academia: a comparative analysis of faculty evaluation systems in research universities in China and the USA. High Educ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00585-4.

New papers from the CHAAOS Vocabulary team:
Professor Rollanda O’Connor (PI), Professor Keith Widaman. Valencia Youkhanna, PhD candidate, School Psychology; Luisana Suchilt, PhD student, School Psychology; Brian Jones, PhD candidate, School Psychology; Victoria Sanchez, PhD, Special Education ’10, Kristen Beach, PhD, Special Education ’12

O'Connor, R.E., Sanchez, V.M., Jones, B, Suchilt, L., Youkhana, V., & Beach, K.D. (2020). Continuing CHAAOS: Vocabulary Intervention for Students with Disabilities in Eighth Grade Who Are Also English Learners. Learning Disability Quarterly.

O'Connor, R.E., Sanchez, V.M., Jones, B, Suchilt, L., Youkhana, V., Beach, K.D., & Widaman, K. (2020). Systematic CHAAOS: Teaching vocabulary in English/Language Arts special education classes in middle school. Journal of Learning Disabilities. doi:10.77/002221940922839

Professor Begona Echeverria published a children’s picture book Basque-ing In Numbers (Kontaketa Euskaraz). Illustrated by Lara Scott (University of Pennsylvania, MFA; Yale University, BA in Art), the book draws on Echeverria's expertise as a Professor at UC Riverside’s Graduate School of Education and experience growing up as the Basque-speaking daughter of immigrants to California.

“Rhythm and alliteration help children learn the words: the object on each page either has the same number of syllables as the number, starts with the same letter, or rhymes with it. The text is in Basque, with English, Spanish and French translations.These features should make the book more accessible to non-Basque speaking parents who would like to expose their children to Euskera, an endangered language unrelated to any other in the world,” said Echevierra.

The following is a round-up of research and accomplishments sent on behalf of UCR SEARCH Center: Professor Jan Blacher; Assistant Professor Katherine Stavropoulos; Professor Keith Widaman; Assistant Professor Raquel Rall. Yasamin Bolourian, PhD Special Education, Post-Doctoral Fellow; Elizabeth Baker, PhD student, School Psychology ; Megan Ledoux Galligan, PhD candidate, Special Education ; Ainsley Losh, PhD student, School Psychology ; Elina Veytsman, PhD student, School Psychology ; Michelle Heyman, PhD student, School Psychology ; Tricia Choy, PhD student, School Psychology ; Katie Fullerton, PhD student, Special Education ; Giselle Salinas, PhD student, Special Education ; Ann Marie Martin, PhD candidate, Special Education

PUBLICATIONS:
Baker, E., Veytsman, E., Martin, A. M., Blacher, J., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020). Increased neural reward responsivity in adolescents with ASD after social skills intervention. Brain Sciences, 10(402). doi:10.3390/brainsci/10060402.

Baker, E., & Stavropoulos, K. K. M. (2020). The effects of oxytocin administration on individuals with ASD: Neuroimaging and behavioral evidence. In Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science (Vol. 173, pp. 209–238).

Heyman M., Bolourian Y., & Blacher J. (2020) Transition to Early Schooling for Children with ASD. In: McClain M., Shahidullah J., Mezher K. (eds) Interprofessional Care Coordination for Pediatric Autism Spectrum Disorder. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46295-6_8

Levinson, S., Neuspiel, J., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2020). Parent-teacher disagreement on ratings of behavior problems in children with ASD: Associations with parental school involvement over time. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04675-1

Rodas, N.V., Blacher, J., & Baker, B. L. (2020) Predictors of anxiety symptom trajectory in children with or without ID from early childhood to adolescence, Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315864.2019.1710787

Rydzewska, E., Fleming, M., Young-Southward, G., Blacher, J., Bolourian, Y., Widaman, K.,Philo, C., & Cooper, S.-A. (2020, in press). General health status in young people with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome in, and transitioning from, special education. Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. DOI: 10.1111/jir.12781

Bolourian, Y., Losh, A., Ledoux Galligan, M.R., Heyman, M., Choy, T., Fullerton, K., & Blacher, J. (2020). Building classroom relationships in elementary school grades: Strategies for teachers during remote teaching. Riverside, CA: Graduate School of Education, University of California Riverside.

Losh, A., Bolourian, Y., Ledoux Galligan, M., Heyman, M., Choy, T., Fullerton, K., Andoni, L., Thammathorn, P., Hastedt, I., Rall, R. M., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2020). Addressing race and racism in the early school years: A guide for educators. Riverside, CA:Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside.

Gambetti, B., & Veytsman, E. (2020, Summer). COVID-19 and ASD: Impact on Families, Education, and Services. Psychology in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities/Autism Spectrum Disorder: Official Publication of APA Division 33, 46(1).

Note re: Paper and Poster Presentations: All conferences were virtual, or cancelled as indicated.

PAPER PRESENTATION:
Bolourian, Y., Hamsho, N., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2020, May). Smooth Sailing: Iterative development of a teacher-directed intervention. Paper accepted at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), as part of a panel entitled “Parents and Teachers: Collateral Benefits for Children with ASD,” Seattle, WA.

Bolourian, Y., Zeedyk, S., & Blacher, J. (2020, May). Autism and the college experience: An empirical base for faculty preparation in autism. Paper accepted at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), as part of a panel entitled “Capturing the Complexity of Young Adulthood for Individuals with ASD: Considerations for Measuring, Understanding and Maximizing Outcomes,” Seattle, WA.

Stavropoulos, K., Baker, E., Alba, L., & Veytsman, E. (2020, May). Impact of PEERS Social skills intervention on social motivation and reward. Symposium accepted to the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA. (Conference cancelled)

Losh, A., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2020, May). The impact of parent-teacher relationships on student-teacher relationship development for young students with ASD. Paper session accepted as part of the panel Parent and Teacher: Collateral Benefits for Children with ASD to the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) 2020 Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA (conference cancelled due to COVID-19).

Bolourian, Y., Ledoux, M., Blacher, J., & Baker, B.L. (2020, April). How worried should we be? Parent and adolescent self-reported anxiety of youth with autism. Paper accepted to the Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA.

POSTER PRESENTATION:
Veytsman, E., Ledoux, M.R., Salinas, G., Baker, B., & Blacher, J. (2020, December). Mothers’ perspectives on the future of their young adults with and without developmental disabilities. Abstract submitted to the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA.

Ledoux, M.R., Losh, A., Veytsman, E., & Blacher, J. (2020, December). Assessing the service needs of families with children with ASD in the Inland Empire. Abstract submitted to the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA.

Veytsman, E., Baker, E., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020, October). Observed effects of the PEERS social skills intervention for a diverse sample of adolescents with ASD. Poster accepted to the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP) Annual Convention, Palm Springs, CA, USA. (Virtual conference)

Losh, A., Bolourian, Y., & Blacher, J. (2020, October). Student-Teacher Race Incongruence in ASD: Influence on Early Student-Teacher and Parent-Teacher Relationships. Poster session accepted to the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP) 2020 Annual Convention, Palm Springs CA, USA (conference cancelled due to COVID-19).

Veytsman, E., Salinas, G., Ledoux, M.R., Blacher, J., & Baker, B. (2020, August). Staying positive: Dispositional optimism & attitudes for the future among mothers of adults with IDD. Poster accepted to the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington, D.C., USA. (Conference cancelled)

Choy, T., Baker E., Veytsman, E., Martin, A.M., Blacher, J., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020, August). The relationship between problem behaviors and family life following the PEERS program. Poster accepted to the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington, D.C., USA. (Conference cancelled)

Baker, E., Martin, A.M., Veytsman, E., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020, August). Neural correlates of social reward processing following the PEERSintervention. Poster accepted to the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington, D.C., USA. (Conference cancelled)

Martin, A.M., Baker, E., Veytsman, E., Blacher, J., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020, August). Teen perspectives on the social validity of the PEERS social skills program. Poster accepted to the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington, D.C., USA. (Conference cancelled)

Losh, A., Bolourian, Y., Rodriguez, G., Eisenhower, A., & Blacher, J. (2020, August). Early student-teacher relationships in ASD: Student perspectives and child factors. Abstract accepted to the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Conference, Washington DC.

Ledoux, M., Heyman, M., Bolourian, Y., Stavropoulos, K., & Blacher, J. (2020, May). The influence of ADOS-2 E-codes on the assessment and classification of autism spectrum disorder. Abstract accepted to the International Society of Autism Research (INSAR), Seattle, WA.

Ledoux, M., Losh, A., Veytsman, E., & Blacher, J. (2020, May). Assessing the service needs of families with children with ASD in the Inland Empire. Abstract accepted at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.

Veytsman, E., Baker, E., & Stavropoulos, K. (2020, May). Observed effects of the PEERS social skills intervention for adolescents with ASD: A predominantly Latin sample. Poster accepted to the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA. (Conference cancelled)

Baker, E., Heyman, M., Bolourian, Y., Baker, B.L, & Blacher, J. (2020, April). The role of siblings: Qualitative perspective of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability and their caregivers. Abstract accepted to the Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA. (Conference canceled)

Heyman, M., Baker, E., Bolourian, Y., Baker, B.L., & Blacher, J. (2020, April). Mother, father, and adolescent perspectives: Sibling relationship quality of individuals with ASD, ID, or TD. Abstract accepted at the Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA. (Conference canceled)

Losh, A., Bolourian, Y., Rodriguez, G., & Blacher, J. (2020, April). Early student teacher relationships and ASD: Agreement between student and teacher perspectives. Abstract accepted to the Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA. (Conference canceled)

Salinas, G., Veytsman, E., Baker, B., & Blacher, J. (2020, April). Commonalities in coping: Reports from parents of transition age youth across diagnostic groups. Abstract accepted to the Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA. (Conference canceled)

Veytsman, E., Ledoux, M., Salinas, G., Baker, B. & Blacher, J., (2020, April). Parent perspectives on the future of their young adults with and without developmental disabilities. Abstract accepted to the Gatlinburg Conference, San Diego, CA. (Conference canceled)

TRAINING, CERTIFICATES, & AWARDS
Elizabeth Baker elected as APA Division 33 (IDD/ASD) Graduate Student Representative

New Funding from Collaborations with the School of Medicine, UCR:
Center for Health Disparities Research, University of California, Riverside. Mental Health and Educational Risks through the Lens of Disparities: Elevating Family Resilience during COVID-19. J. Blacher, PhD, Y. Bolourian, PhD, & R. Lee, MD.

Center for Health Disparities Research, University of California, Riverside. A Tele-Health Model of Screening for Autism in Under-Resourced Communities: Closing the Gap in Access. K. Stavropoulos, PhD, T. Cooper, MD, & J. Blacher, PhD

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Katherine Stavropoulos

Raquel M Rall

School psychology doctoral student wins Dissertation Award

juliep — Fri, 15 May 2020 17:35:09 +0000

School psychology doctoral student wins Dissertation Award juliep Fri, 05/15/2020 - 10:35 More News Tess Eyrich May 15, 2020

UC Riverside’s Ashley Pfenning is the recipient of one of three 2020 Spring Dissertation Awards presented by the Society for the Study of School Psychology.

Pfenning, a doctoral student in the school psychology program housed within UCR’s Graduate School of Education, is mentored by Assistant Professor of School Psychology Wesley Sims.

As the direct descendant of the group that established the Journal of School Psychology in the early 1960s, the Society for the Study of School Psychology maintains a unique role among school psychology organizations, with a mission devoted exclusively to recognizing and promoting scholarship and research.

Ashley Pfenning is a student in UCR's school psychology doctoral program.

Although the total amount of funding varies by year, the society will distribute approximately $100,000 annually to support school psychology research activities.

As part of her award, Pfenning will receive a $3,585 grant to go toward research for her dissertation, which focuses on implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of a self-monitoring intervention for middle schoolers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, who are experiencing emotional or behavioral difficulties.

“My intervention requires a substantial amount of time and effort from the classroom teachers, so I plan to use a large portion of the grant to compensate those teachers for all their hard work,” Pfenning said. “As with any dissertation, fellow graduate students often help with observations and data collection. I am grateful to have funding so that I can compensate them for their time as well.”

Pfenning’s personal experiences have inspired her to study interventions for students with ADHD. She received her own ADHD diagnosis as a kindergartener.

“Throughout my schooling, I was lucky to have supportive teachers and school personnel who taught me strategies to overcome some of the challenges associated with ADHD,” she said of her experience.

However, she noticed that her younger brother, who also has ADHD, was not necessarily given the same resources and supports to succeed, and therefore had a more difficult time in school.

As a result, she said, “I want to ensure that effective interventions for students with ADHD are feasible and can easily be implemented in the school setting, so that all students with ADHD can get the support they need.”

Pfenning anticipates receiving her doctorate from UCR in spring 2022; after that, she hopes to go into full-time practice as a school psychologist.

“This past year, I had the opportunity to work in a middle school, and through that experience I discovered how much I love that setting,” she said. “If the opportunity presents itself, I would love to work as a school psychologist in a middle school.”

Reposted from Inside UCR.

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graduate students

Equity & Justice Research Series

juliep — Tue, 12 May 2020 16:00:50 +0000

Equity & Justice Research Series juliep Tue, 05/12/2020 - 09:00 More News May 04, 2020

Join us Friday, May 22 at 12 p.m. as Danielle Mireles, Ph.D. candidate in Education, Society, and Culture, presents " 'That's like, a white man's disease': Counternarratives of dis/abled students of Color at four-year campuses."

Abstract: Few studies have examined the experiences of dis/abled students of Color navigating four-year college and university campuses. The counternarratives of dis/abled students of Color reveal that they continue to encounter inequity in higher education. Seemingly race-neutral policies, in particular, such as requiring medical documentation to register with disability services offices on campus present unique barriers for students of Color who often have a complex relationship with the medical industrial complex. Rather than creating equity and access for dis/abled students of Color, these policies maintain institutional racism and ableism by policing which bodies and minds are recognized as legitimately dis/abled by the institution and worthy of access and which are not. Their counternarratives also reveal the ways in which they resisted master narratives regarding race and dis/ability and challenged racist ableist discourses. By centering their voices and positioning dis/abled students of Color as experts of their lived experiences, researchers, faculty, and practitioners can better understand how to support and empower them.

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social justice

equity

graduate students