This study explores how mainstream teachers develop understandings of multilingual learners through sustained dialogue with multilingual partners. Findings show shifts toward asset-based conceptions of identity and teaching, supported by reflective and visual data, highlighting dialogue and multimodal reflection as tools for transformative teacher learning.
This presentation outlines a conceptual framework for the "isomorphic modeling" of UDL and multimodality in teacher preparation. By philosophically restructuring coursework to integrate intentional spatial layouts, tactile elements, and flexible digital assessment pathways, faculty create a living laboratory that models authentic, inclusive design for future educators.
I am a dedicated Special Education Teacher and Adjunct Instructor with over 15 years of experience supporting students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. I hold a Ph.D. in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology from SUNY Albany, where my research... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am EDT Estate Room
This paper examines a “grow-your-own" teacher preparation program initiative designed to address teacher shortages by supporting paraprofessionals transitioning to certified teachers. Focusing on areas such as program design, partnerships, and identity development, this study highlights how flexible, practice-based pathways can increase access to teacher preparation while strengthening it.
Game On! Exploring the Portrait of a Graduate Through Multimodal Innovation and Learning Across Generations invites participants into an immersive, gamified learning experience. Through collaborative challenges, digital engagement, and experiential learning, educator preparation faculty explore practical approaches for integrating the Portrait of a Graduate competencies into curriculum, assessment, clinical practice, and professional learning.
Director of Professional Learning & Special Programs, University at Albany
Dr. Jerry Rivera-Wilson serves as the Director of Professional Learning and Special Programs in the School of Education at the University at Albany and is the Director of the Academy for the Advancement of Teaching, Leadership, and Schools (AATLAS). She is the Co-Chair of the 2026... Read More →
Using a teacher inquiry method, we present the results of our investigation as to how candidates in teacher education integrated multimodal theory and practices into program assignments. One hundred ten candidates (N=110) participating in three sections of a graduate literacy course served as the data source for the inquiry. Our inquiry’s purpose was to investigate the candidates’ beliefs about the efficacy of multimodal compositions in classroom teaching, and the extent to which they used artificial intelligence tools when completing them. We required candidates to complete three multimodal projects using conventional and/or AI supported composition strategies. When analyzing the data, we prepared a frequency count to determine the percentage of hand-composed versus AI-produced artifacts for each multimodal project, and we conducted a thematic analysis of their written reflections and online discussion posts to identify recurring patterns and themes about the use of multimodal compositions. Results of our inquiry revealed that the candidates enthusiastically endorsed the use of multimodal compositions in classroom teaching, and they believed that such practices to be particularly effective and inclusive when teaching emergent bilingual students and students with reading difficulties. Candidates also expressed concern that multimodal compositions might foster an overemphasis on the product of student compositions rather than the processes involved when learning new concepts and skills. We conclude by asserting that by employing multimodal forms of expression in classroom teaching, our candidates will be better able to support and advance their students’ learning.
I am a Professor and Coordinator of the Literacy Education at Pace University in Pleasantville, New York, where I teach courses on literacy topics to preservice and practicing teachers. I am an active member of the Literacy Research Association, and the American Educational Reading... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am EDT Garden Room
This paper explores the strategies that disabled educators use to sustain their own disability identities and support disabled and nondisabled youth. Findings from semi-structured interviews suggest that despite ongoing ableism disabled educators leverage their understanding of the social, cultural, and medical aspects of disability in non-stigmatizing teaching practices.
With New York’s Science of Reading mandate reshaping educator preparation, secondary EPPs face urgent questions about disciplinary literacy — yet methods courses may not be prepared to meet them. Drawing on adolescent literacy research and a science methods and literacy collaboration this presentation examines this gap, offering a practical response model.
Emily Hayden is formerly an Association Professor in Literacy Education in the School of Education, Iowa State University; and currently a Literacy Specialist for the Strategic Education Research Partnership (serpinstitute.org). At SERP she develops curriculum and supports implementation... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am EDT Coesa Room
We will share examples of feedback that we have received and given as reviewers and co-editors to problematize how these services are overlooked and made invisible. Rather than treating these roles as boxes to check off of a service checklist, we envision a professional development-forward and humane, radically empathetic approach.
This study examines how 27 teacher candidates navigate and reflect on a clinical simulation that surfaces misconceptions whether children with disabilities can and should be bilingual. Preliminary findings of the simulations and written reflections suggest candidates generally challenged deficit language ideologies and encouraged families to continue using home languages.
How do we help preservice teachers make responsible decisions about AI while keeping human connection at the center? This presentation shares a cross-institution collaboration that engaged candidates from Washington and New York in exploring AI tools, examining ethical implications, and developing discipline-specific frameworks in order to build necessary AI literacy.
This presentation discusses the development of a multi-pronged multimodal literacy assignment which provides Teacher Candidates (TCs) with practice in developing and carrying out phonics assignments consistent with the Science of Reading while at the same time providing TCs with opportunities to incorporate culturally sustaining methodologies in their strategy use as well to practice the types of phonics strategies and written format TCs will encounter on the CST constructed response.
Presentation shares empirical study where veteran special education teachers (SETs) with ≤ 5 years of experience drafted letters to a novice SET. In doing so, the study sought to examine: (a) what motivated veteran SETs as they started out; (b) what continued to motivate veteran SETs to stay in the field; and (c) what motivational strategies/advice veterans tend to use.
The profession of teaching is changing at an unprecedented speed. Teachers are tasked with adapting to a changing technological and instructional landscape, increased mental health concerns of students, and politicization of their work; understanding the ways in which teachers conceptualize their professional identities can help to address persistent challenges such as teacher retention and aligning teacher education with the current context of teaching. This presentation describes findings from a mixed-methods study investigating how teachers construct and express their professional identity through Instagram posts. The methodology combines qualitative content analysis of Instagram posts with focus group discussions to provide rich, contextualized data on teacher professional identity development. Turning to Instagram as a source of information about teachers’ professional identities reflects the ubiquitous nature of social media in the lives of teachers, yet the approach and questions are novel because most social media research about teachers has focused on the ways in which they adopt tools or learn new instructional techniques.
Anne Burns Thomas is a Professor in the Foundations and Social Advocacy Department in the School of Education at SUNY College at Cortland. A former middle school teacher, her research interests include the nature of support for new teachers in urban schools, urban teacher education... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:20pm EDT Garden Room
This presentation showcases a multimedia-infused, learner-centered undergraduate course designed to prepare preservice teachers for diverse secondary classrooms. Using a mixed-methods, pretest-intervention-posttest design, it demonstrates how structured, collaborative analysis of multimodal case studies bridges the gap between abstract psychological concepts and practical, culturally responsive pedagogical lesson delivery.
Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, Queens College, CUNY
Alpana Bhattacharya is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the Secondary Education and Youth Services department at Queens College and the Ph.D. Program in Educational Psychology at the Graduate Center, the City University of New York. Her research interests include lit... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 2:15pm - 3:05pm EDT Estate Room
The interconnectedness of language and mathematics is explained through linguistic and cognitive theories. Examples from a middle school textbook illustrate the opacity of mathematical language, and an interactive approach is proposed to break it down. Recommendations urge teacher preparation programs to integrate language and diversity in mathematics education curriculum.
The purpose of this presentation is to focus on the unique benefits of free play with open-ended materials in childhood. This is important given the fact that children have limited opportunities for free play in and outside of school (Gray, 2011; Yang et al., 2025). I utilize research collected through observations of free play at a nature-based early childhood program, coupled with the CASEL framework (2020), to demonstrate how free play is positioned to foster self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, social awareness, and relationship skills. I explain why focusing on socio-emotional wellbeing is critical in today's mental health landscape (CDC, 2024; WHO, 2025).
This session identifies ways to support development of professional dispositions that enable candidates in teacher education programs to assume leadership roles in their future work as special educators. Research will be shared and participants will discuss ways that teacher preparation programs can intentionally infuse leadership into their special education coursework.
Despite adopting science standards ten years ago, elementary educators continue to struggle to engage their students in deep science learning. Solving this persistent problem requires an innovative approach. By utilizing a community of practice we created a space for K-5 educators to develop a shared understanding of science teaching and learning and high quality lessons that center student engagement in the science practices.
This presentation will discuss the findings from a qualitative study that examined the impact of incorporating elements of creativity and choice into required coursework in order to deepen the reflective practice of teacher candidates.
Centering joy as an act of resistance, presenters share multimodal strategies — literature circles and restorative practices — designed to help teacher candidates cultivate identity, criticality, and belonging. Grounded in Muhammad's Culturally and Historically Responsive Model (2020, 2023), these approaches model humanizing pedagogies to sustain both educators and students in challenging times.
This presentation focuses on the results of an implementation evaluation of a college-wide teacher performance assessment (TPA) framework which was developed collaboratively by the College's Assessment Taskforce in 2022-2023. The assessment was implemented in 13 initial and dual certification programs in 2023-2026. The TPA framework was intentionally designed to be adapted to varied programmatic contexts, to emphasize local knowledge and expertise, to prevent a narrowing of teacher education curriculum, and to encourage innovation. The three-year implementation study consisted of investigation of implementation fidelity (based on faculty interviews and reviews of program materials), participant satisfaction (based on completer survey), and educational effectiveness (based on the analysis of assessment data). We briefly describe the results of these three-part investigation and discuss the TPA framework potential to serve multiple purposes of accountability, improvement, and innovation.
As schools increasingly seek to prepare students for a complex and rapidly changing world, decision making has emerged as a critical competency for success in education, employment, community participation, and independent living. In response to this need, the Hunter College School of Education, in partnership with the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities (NYS CDD), developed the Hunter SOE Decision-Making Curriculum, a comprehensive P–12 resource designed to explicitly teach decision-making skills to students with and without disabilities. This presentation examines the development, implementation, and statewide dissemination of the curriculum through successful partnerships with hundreds of schools across New York State. Grounded in principles of self-determination, student agency, and inclusive education, the curriculum provides developmentally appropriate lessons that help students evaluate options, consider consequences, solve problems, and make informed choices across academic, social, and real-world contexts.Presenters will share lessons learned from collaborating with P–12 educators, administrators, and community partners to bring decision-making instruction into classrooms, highlighting implementation successes, educator feedback, and examples of student impact. Particular attention will be given to how the curriculum aligns with the emerging NYS Portrait of a Graduate Framework by fostering essential competencies such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, responsible citizenship, self-advocacy, and lifelong learning.Attendees will explore how explicit decision-making instruction can serve as a powerful bridge between academic content and real-world readiness, supporting students in becoming confident, engaged, and self-directed learners. The session will offer practical strategies for integrating decision-making instruction into existing curricula while demonstrating how school-university partnerships can successfully scale innovative educational initiatives that prepare all students for future success.
Teacher preparation programs are increasingly challenged to create meaningful clinical experiences that strengthen candidates’ understanding of evidence based literacy instruction while responding to evolving expectations surrounding the Science of Reading. This presentation highlights a course embedded tutoring initiative implemented within EDR 360: Foundations of Literacy at SUNY Plattsburgh, in which undergraduate teacher candidates provide structured early literacy intervention to K–2 students through the Reading Ready tutoring model.This project examines how participation in structured literacy tutoring experiences influences teacher candidates’ literacy content knowledge, instructional decision making, and self efficacy related to teaching early reading. Coursework artifacts and field based reflections are used to explore candidates’ developing understanding of evidence based literacy practices across the five pillars of reading, as well as their perceptions of student growth and professional learning.Presenters will discuss the design and implementation of this university/school partnership, including opportunities, challenges, and practical considerations for embedding structured tutoring experiences within teacher preparation coursework. Findings and lessons learned may offer a promising model for educator preparation programs seeking innovative, practice based approaches to literacy instruction and clinical learning.
Emily Hoeh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh. She earned her doctorate (PhD) in Special Education from the University at Buffalo, as an Office of Special Education Programs research fellow. Her professional experience... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 10:45am - 11:35am EDT Geyser Room
This qualitative study examines how modeling a pedagogy of play in higher education shifts pre-service teachers’ perceptions. Findings reveal a transition from viewing play as just fun to recognizing it as an intentional pedagogical tool that supports engagement, problem solving, and deep learning across grade levels.
This presentation shares exploratory findings from a New York State survey of teacher educators examining AI beliefs, attitudes, use, and expertise. Results highlight gaps between faculty beliefs and institutional readiness around policy, professional learning, and ethical guidance. Findings suggest that clear AI standards and guiding principles were associated with more meaningful AI adoption in teacher education programs.
We have been aligning our programs with the science of reading (SoR) as part of the New York State Path Forward. After implementing a microcredential and a tutoring program, we conducted research to examine how these initiatives impacted candidates’ experiences and perceptions of their preparedness to effectively conduct instruction associated with SoR.
Katie McCabe is an Assistant Professor in the Exceptional Education Department at Buffalo State University, with a Ph.D. in Special Education and a minor in Qualitative Research Methods from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A former special education teacher in rural Upstate New... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 11:45am - 12:35pm EDT Geyser Room
Drawing on an 18-month ethnography of a public high school's journey toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity, this presentation examines how schools become more inclusive and explores implications for teacher preparation. Findings highlight the importance of educator decision-making, student voice, professional learning, and practical strategies for preparing teachers for inclusive practice.
This presentation examines the development of an Integrative Coursework Model that embeds literacy into mathematics and STEM methods courses in teacher preparation. The session highlights features of the model and how coordinated coursework, learning experiences, and planning can support educator preparation programs responding to changing interdisciplinary instructional expectations and literacy initiatives.
Dr. Caitlin Riegel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Daemen University and previous program coordinator for online graduate elementary and secondary education programs at two institutions. As the current president of the International Society for Educati... Read More →
Rapid developments in digital technologies have significantly transformed teaching and learning processes, increasing expectations for teachers to integrate innovative tools into classroom practice. Virtual Reality (VR) has gained attention in education due to its immersive, interactive, and experience-based learning opportunities. VR has the potential to enhance students’ engagement, motivation, and conceptual understanding.
This proposal examines how multimodal assessment and data visualization can strengthen educator preparation by expanding the ways candidates, faculty, and program leaders engage with evidence. Building on scholarship in multimodality and multiliteracies, the session argues that contemporary learning is increasingly mediated through visual, textual, oral, and digital modes, requiring teacher education programs to design assessment systems that reflect this complexity.At Touro University Graduate School of Education, assessment data had been fragmented across multiple Excel files, limiting timely analysis and obscuring patterns across programs. To address this challenge, we integrated Watermark Student Learning & Licensure with Microsoft Power BI to consolidate candidate submissions, key assessments, and placement data into interactive dashboards. This shift enabled real-time analysis of program-level and cross-program performance, including comparisons across traditional and alternative certification pathways. Research on multimodal digital classroom assessment suggests that combining multimodal perspectives with performance assessment theory can broaden the kinds of evidence available for instructional decision-making while also raising important questions about validity, literacy demands, and the interpretation of evidence. Similarly, scholarship on multimodal teacher education emphasizes that such work requires strong assessment support and reconceptualization of how learning is represented and evaluated.The session positions dashboards not merely as reporting tools, but as pedagogical and organizational instruments that support data literacy, shared inquiry, and continuous improvement. By enabling faculty and stakeholders to interpret assessment evidence through multiple modes, the approach aligns with research showing that multimodal learning can deepen understanding and engagement, particularly when preservice teachers encounter content through varied media and representational forms. Participants will learn how integrated assessment systems can support transparency, accreditation readiness, and evidence-based program improvement in educator preparation contexts.
There is an overall lack of engagement in undergraduate classrooms across college and university settings, even though student engagement contributes to positive learning outcomes and success. However, "engagement" is a broad term and can encompass many smaller, more specific measure, like in-class participation. Using in-class participation as a proxy for engagement, instructors in higher-education have tried implementing a variety of strategies, like iClicker technology, response cards, and Kahoot! to try to promote student engagement. Some of these strategies, may be costly (e.g., iClickers), time consuming or childish (e.g., response cards), or not practice (e.g., use of smartphones or other devices to participate in Kahoot! or similar programs). This study investigated the use of the Good Behavior Game (GBG), a behavioral strategy requiring minimal resources to try to increase in-class participation in a college classroom to try to promote student engagement. In the class in which the GBG was implemented, we saw a large and immediate increase in in-class participation, which lasted for the duration of the period in which the GBG was implemented, in comparison to the class that did not play the GBG, where we saw much lower levels of in-class participation. Implications of our results, limitations, and ideas for future research and implementation will be discussed.
This presentation shares preliminary insights from a school-university partnership implementing transdisciplinary teaming to support developmental complexity in PreK–2 classrooms. We discuss how researchers and special educators have begun their work to co-design a resource for the classroom to address identifying supports for children with a range of needs in early learning classrooms.
Dr. Kristen Love is an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester Warner School of Education and Human Development. She is the Director for the Early Childhood and Childhood initial and professional teaching programs, and is an affiliated faculty member of the Learning in... Read More →
This proposal examines how a community-engaged data visualization project in art teacher preparation became a model for pedagogical transfer, as a preservice teacher adapted its multimodal methods into their student teaching practicum with K-12 learners. The project began in a university art education context where preservice teachers engaged with environmental data collected from Lake Erie as a material for artistic inquiry, visual communication, and media-based learning. Working across data literacy, visual literacy, and digital tools, students translated complex environmental information into creative forms that connected artmaking with natural phenomena.This case traces how one student team member carried their project experience forward into student teaching, designing a data visualization project for their own students. This application of university coursework to classroom practice illustrates how preservice teachers reinterpret art- and science-based methodologies in relation to learners, settings, curricular goals, and available materials. The presentation will examine this process as an example of multimodal pedagogy, cross-generational mentorship, and emerging teacher identity formation.By foregrounding the relationship between the original data visualization project and its later adaptation in a student teaching practicum, this work offers insight into how educator preparation programs can support candidates in developing transferable and innovative pedagogical practices. It also considers how data visualization can function as a bridge between art education, environmental inquiry, and digital media. Ultimately, the project demonstrates how multimodal learning experiences in teacher preparation can travel beyond the university classroom and become meaningful teaching practices in K–12 settings.
Following the 2014 “transgender tipping point,” trans visibility increased dramatically in public life while remaining understudied in teacher education. This systematic review examines scholarship published between 2014 and 2024 at the intersection of transness and teacher education, exploring how trans people, experiences, and issues are represented and what this literature reveals about the field's assumptions, gaps, and possibilities.
This presentation explores the tenure process through three interconnected perspectives emerging from a faculty mentorship initiative: non-tenured faculty, tenured faculty, and institutional leaders. Drawing on participant reflections, the session explores insights related to tenure, institutional belonging, and scholarly productivity, emphasizing the reciprocal value and renewed collegiality fostered through the initiative.
Talk to me about the tenure process and how to build a collaborative mentorship community. I’d also love to talk about preparing future teachers, the Science of Reading, getting college students to do more of the cognitive work, or what you’re noticing about engagement in today’s... Read More →
As schools of education increasingly shift responsibility for preservice teacher (PST) preparation to school-based settings, the role of mentor teachers (MTs) has become central to the development of new science educators. Two related but distinct lines of inquiry address this shift. One examines reciprocity within the MT/PST relationship — the dynamic through which mentors and mentees mutually exchange support, knowledge, and skills (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005; Homans, 1971). Although no legal mandates require MT preparation, research consistently demonstrates that mentors who receive structured training report greater confidence and effectiveness, with corresponding benefits for PST learning outcomes (Parker et al., 2021; Ambrisotti, 2014; Hudson & Hudson, 2016). Without such support, preparation varies widely, creating inconsistencies that affect both mentor effectiveness and PST development.The other examines the role a structured community of practice consisting of mentors, PSTs, and master teachers plays in PST’s ability to engage students in science practices. The integrated analysis showed that strong, collaborative mentor relationships were a primary driver of gains in pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) specific to science practices (PCK-SP). At the same time, PST agency strongly predicted growth across all outcomes. The CoP served as a critical support structure, acting as a “third space” and surrogate mentor that provided access to collective expertise and experiential learning. This study’s findings support a practice-informed model utilizing “three pillars” for PST growth founded on collaborative mentorship, PST agency, and community structures. By aligning these pillars, teacher preparation programs can better equip new educators to enact ambitious science teaching, ultimately advancing equitable science education.
We present findings from a study examining NYS school and district leader perspectives of teacher preparation, residency models, and school-university collaboration. Leaders valued teacher residencies and their benefits, but emphasized the need for more shared responsibility, funding, and administrative support. Findings underscore the importance of sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships between districts and EPPs and highlight areas of tension inherent to year-long residencies.
This session highlights the practices in a yearlong, field‑embedded practicum in an alternative certification program that invites novice special education teachers to view their schools not just as workplaces, but as sites of inquiry. Rather than separating coursework from practice, the course is designed around learning while doing, using ethnographic observation and action research as pedagogical approaches. Through a series of scaffolded assignments, special education teachers examine policies, practices, and student learning and engagement to understand how learners are impacted by power and structural inequities. As they analyze their school setting, teachers ask questions about their assumptions and experiences to uncover implicit biases, building critical consciousness through ongoing reflection. As part of the session, a former student, now an instructor and PhD candidate, will share her experiences in this course and how the inquiry practices developed continue to shape her current research. The ethnography project in semester one asks teachers to identify a problem of practice and consider a change they can realistically implement in semester two to ensure greater equity and inclusion for their learners. Course materials, used as data sources, include teacher reflections, ethnographic notes, student ethnography assignments, and action research plans, which will be analyzed and shared for deeper discussion. Grounded in critical reflection and Freire’s problem-posing education, this course supports candidates in moving from observer to change agent, preparing them to recognize inequities, examine practices, and design interventions within their own school communities. This session will discuss the implications of this approach to teacher training, with participants engaging in discussions about how new teachers can feel empowered to create change in their classrooms and schools.
Co-Director, School Community Organizer, Hunter College
Kass Minor is an inclusive educator who is deeply involved in local, inquiry-based teacher research and school community development. Alongside partnerships with the Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project and the New York City Department of Education, she has worked as a teacher... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT Coesa Room
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into educational practice, educator preparation programs face growing pressure to determine how best to prepare future teachers for AI-enabled classrooms. At the same time, teacher candidates are expressing a desire for more learning opportunities related to AI and its role in teaching and learning. This presentation describes the design and implementation of an AI literacy module within a graduate teacher preparation program that was developed in response to candidate demand and grounded in the concept of professional judgment. Rather than focusing solely on tool use, the module engaged candidates in critically evaluating AI-generated content, considering ethical implications, identifying limitations and biases, and making instructional decisions that prioritize learner needs. The session will share the rationale for integrating AI literacy into teacher education, highlight key design principles and learning experiences, and discuss emerging lessons learned. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for incorporating AI literacy into educator preparation coursework while emphasizing professional judgment as an essential competency for future educators.
