2020 was a year we will never forget – COVID, BLM, downward economy, volatile politics – and for me a new job! During this presentation I will reflect on the leadership needs and strategies that shaped my experiences during the second half of 2020 and the beginning of my tenure at Warner. I will pull on leadership frameworks and philosophy, as well as share about the impact this tremendous time has had on me as a mother, wife, friend, colleague, community member and leader. This presentation will be a case study of leadership with lessons that can be shared and transferred to future leadership situations that are filled with opportunity and hope.

Room 1: The Impact of COVID19 and Remote Learning on Research in Motivational Beliefs, Daily Affect, and Support in Secondary Science Classes

Rebecca Rosen – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Michelle Heckman – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Dr. Samantha Daley, EdD – Assistant Professor, Warner School, University of Rochester

Our research team designed a mixed methods daily diary study with the goal of understanding middle school students’ experiences with remote learning in science during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently in the middle of data collection. During fall 2020, we collected data from an urban middle school in which instruction was completely remote. For spring 2021, we will be contacting additional school districts with the goals of recruiting more participants.

Room 2: How has COVID19 influenced the perception of the university's organizational culture?

Natalia Gulius, PhD – MA Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Since 2013, fifteen Russian universities have been participating in the 5-100 excellence program through which every university should achieve certain performance indicators by 2020. Within the framework of a research grant, the nuclear university MEPhI (Russia) was studied during the COVID, thus collecting data influenced the perception of the organizational culture of the university. Study design is based on the explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. Based on three independent research methods - (1) Qualitative projective self-diagnostics method “Metaphor” allows to see the general idea about the functioning of organization; (2) OCAI by K. Kameron and R. Quinn allows to see the correlation between competing values. (3) a semi-structured interview to clarify data on the first two methods - a configurator of corporate culture was identified with the main gaps and growth points.

Room 3: How to Help Teachers in China Make Preparation for Online Teaching During the COVID-19

Yadi Zhang – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Education is adjusting to a new reality due to COVID-19. The pandemic impacted schools and students from 61 countries in the world have moved away from their physical classes; as a result, online learning changed its role from additional tools into a necessity (Bao, 2020; Crawford et al., 2020; Sahu, 2020). COVID-19 has changed the way of teaching without enough time to prepare it has created challenges for the global education community (Lam, 2020). Online teaching is not a new mode in China (Sahu, 2020). However, due to COVID-19, universities opened 24,000 online courses in China on 22 platforms (Sun et al., 2020). Although many types of research assert several teaching methods, few studies focus on teachers' perceptions of using technologies.

My research question is to find out if teachers' perceptions of online teaching change after COVID-19 and their suggestions for effective teaching in China. I will do a focus group interview and select 15 public teachers from five different high schools in Beijing who taught courses online due to COVID - 19. This study investigates interpret teachers' online teaching experiences, reflect their challenges, and offer suggestions for effective online education from teachers' views.

Teaching online during a pandemic is different from teaching online. The pandemic has both reinforced best practices for online teaching and learning, and also brought new lessons to the forefront. This session will look at a few of these lessons in light of the “new normal”.

Room 1: Research in the Time of Covid-19 with Dr. Jayne Lammers and Dr. Silvia Sörensen (Part 1*)

Eleni Duret – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Dr. Samantha Daley – Assistant Professor, Warner School, University of Rochester

The check-list for organizing and implementing independent and/or institutionally supported research is expansive. From methodological considerations, research site access, and review board approval, each task requires thoughtful planning and implementation. In the Spring of 2020, researchers across the University of Rochester, both faculty and students alike, were faced with a new list of necessary requirements and adaptations to comply with Covid-19 precautions. Some researchers decided to pause their research until in-person methods could resume, while others adapted to remote research practices, each with their own set of complications and disappointment, and perhaps unexpected opportunities. The Research in the Time of Covid-19 panel brings together students* and faculty* from the Warner School of Education and Human Development across the university who adjusted their research practices in the wake of Covid-19. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Samantha Daley and doctoral student Eleni Duret, both from the Warner School of Education and Human Development and two examples of researchers who had to make significant changes to their research in 2020. Together, they will facilitate a space where faculty and students can share tips, frustrations, and successes for conducting research at this time, as well as potential outcomes and implications of said research with Covid-19 as a factor.

*Part 2, with doctoral students, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 27th

Room 2: Teaching and Learning In COVID times: A Reflective Critique of My Pedagogical Seminar Course

Dr. Suriati Abas, PhD – Visiting Assistant Professor of Education, Hobart & William Smith Colleges

Teaching pedagogical seminar courses require interactive, hands-on sessions. However, as schools across the U.S. pivot online on a very short notice amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, several adjustments had to be made. These include the delivery of lessons and forms of communication. In this article, I provide visual narratives of my experience teaching twelve pre-service teachers at a liberal arts college in Upstate New York. To reflect on my pedagogical moves, I employ the Community of inquiry (COI) framework, a social constructivist model for creating deep and meaningful learning in online and blended environments. While this framework, which comprises three dimensions: teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence, is not developed for examining learning processes in pandemic times, it is helpful for thinking about my instructional approaches. Hence, the purpose of articulating my thoughts guided by COI is to offer a reflective critique for thinking about reconstructing a pedagogy during a global crisis.

Room 1: Race, Class and Inequities: The Creation of Common Lessons for Students Across Monroe County

Dr. Tanya Wilson, EdD – Principal of East Lower School

Monroe County educators were called together by Shaun Nelms, EdD to write new curricula that covers the civil unrest, segregation, and racism of Rochetster from the 1960s to present day. This new, co-written instruction is designed for all county schools and provides an opportunity to talk with students about local history and to prepare students with a social justice lens. The ultimate goal is to create a cadre of social activists in the Rochester community. Tanya Wilson, EdD will share the process, examples of the curricula, and applications for attendees in their own fields of study.

Room 2: I Didn't Know You Were Gay

Robert Bonfiglio – MA Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

This presentation is a reflection on being gay while being an educator. It asks questions like, “What does it mean to be a minority teacher while learning about insensitive pedagogies?” and, “What are the costs and gains of advocating for social justice in a school?” After several years of political divisiveness and a surge in diversity, equity, and inclusion work in education, this presentation calls for and provides concrete ways for teachers to be more than classroom instructors.

Room 3: End of a Decade, Start of an Era

Ruby Ahmed – MA Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

2020 as a year was a learning experience for societies and lifestyles. There was something that was happening every day, hour, and second. Even though it seemed that there no end to the negativity or conflict, groups of people and organizations were able to show how communities can come together to share information and know about each other better. Through social media, facetime, and other types of calling and texting applications children and families are able to connect with others who are having similar issues or want to share types of healing methods with others. Similar and linked lives can help one another whenever a predicament happens, and it benefits one’s development to a better level. This can also assist when trying to calm down feelings of confusion and anger, as individuals can speak to others who are having the same emotional thinking patterns.

Review the Online Poster Sessions and learn more about DSPSA.

Dr. Love’s talk will discuss the struggles and the possibilities of committing ourselves to an abolitionist goal of educational freedom, as opposed to reform, and moving beyond what she calls the educational survival complex. Abolitionist Teaching is built on the creativity, imagination, boldness, ingenuity, and rebellious spirit and methods of abolitionists to demand and fight for an educational system where all students are thriving, not simply surviving.

Dr. Bettina Love's Bio and Additional Information>>

Room 1: Mindful University Project

Jennifer Lee - Epidemiology B.A, University of Rochester School of Arts and Science

During this presentation, Jennifer will share resources available for University of Rochester students, staff, and faculty from the Mindful University Project. Jennifer will also demonstrate the benefits of mindfulness by leading conference attendees through a meditation.

Room 2: Combating Black Fatigue Through Self-Care

Tyana Velazquez-Smith – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

As Black people, we live in tumultuous times that have impacted every fabric of our being. Thus, these various fatigues can potentially cripple our mental, social, and emotional health. In this way, we are just surviving. However, to thrive, we must take care of our minds and bodies by exercising radical self-care. I bring you this presentation to centralize a way of being and thinking that protects our mind, body, and spirit while making sense of the world around us. During this presentation, you will learn how to exercise unapologetic and radical self-care to aid in our pursuit of wholeness and calmness.

Room 3: Research in the Time of Covid-19 with doctoral candidates Alexa Basile and Leigh Sanna (Part 2)

Eleni Duret – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Dr. Samantha Daley – Assistant Professor, Warner School, University of Rochester

The check-list for organizing and implementing independent and/or institutionally supported research is expansive. From methodological considerations, research site access, and review board approval, each task requires thoughtful planning and implementation. In the Spring of 2020, researchers across the University of Rochester, both faculty and students alike, were faced with a new list of necessary requirements and adaptations to comply with Covid-19 precautions. Some researchers decided to pause their research until in-person methods could resume, while others adapted to remote research practices, each with their own set of complications and disappointment, and perhaps unexpected opportunities. The Research in the Time of Covid-19 panel brings together students* and faculty* from the Warner School of Education and Human Development across the university who adjusted their research practices in the wake of Covid-19. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Samantha Daley and doctoral student Eleni Duret, both from the Warner School of Education and Human Development and two examples of researchers who had to make significant changes to their research in 2020. Together, they will facilitate a space where faculty and students can share tips, frustrations, and successes for conducting research at this time, as well as potential outcomes and implications of said research with Covid-19 as a factor.

*Follow-up to Part 1 from Friday, Feb. 26th.

Room 1: Horizons at Home Summer 2020: An analysis of best practices in the Horizons at Warner program

Julia Postler – EdD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Lisa Singletary – EdD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

The workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to compare and contrast Horizons at Warner’s academic and enrichment opportunities which have historically provided rich data that supported longitudinal and national findings in out of school time programs and what was done with the same goals in a remote learning setting. In addition, lessons learned in social emotional learning and parent engagement.

Room 2: LiDA: Geeking out over tech tools: Sharing ways tech tools help grad students do grad school

Zenon Borys – PhD Student, Assistant Professor (clinical) and Assistant Director LiDA

Yu Jung Han – PhD Student, 2020 LiDA Fellow, Warner School, University of Rochester

Cynthia Carson – PhD Student, Academic Program Coordinator, Center for Professional Development & Education Reform

Graduate school is hard. Graduate school during a pandemic is hard. There is a constant feeling of should, like I should be getting more read and written. Or, this assignment shouldn't be this challenging. While it is true that graduate school is challenging in the best of times and more so in challenging times, like during a pandemic, there are tools and strategies that help students engage in graduate work and maintain a better balance in their lives. This interactive session begins with three examples showing how technology tools assist with the demands of graduate work. The examples will highlight strategies to help with: Writing literature reviews, Staying organized when a lot is going on, And Engaging in course readings.

After seeing the examples, we will use break out rooms to discuss and share tools and strategies audience members use. There is no tech tool that will be a perfect fit, but we hope you leave the session excited to play with a tech tool, remix it to fit your style and needs, and better engage with scholarly demands. We are also interested in hearing about other tasks that students find challenging so that we can plan future sessions where we can get together, geek out, and find ways to support each other.

The doctoral student life is a meandering journey of ups and downs through challenges and triumphs, coursework and developing your own epistemological approaches. What is often less anticipated for this journey are the derailing programmatic myths, unique to each doctoral program and each individual experience. However, there are a few Warner-specific myths that we could all benefit from busting. Enter Dr. Joanne Larson! Dr. Larson will unearth age-old doctoral student process and program myths as well as open the space for students to pose questions and confusions.

Room 1: English Learners' Experiences with Schooling during Pandemic

Saliha Al – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

This presentation will describe the english learners' schooling experience during pandemic. After school closures, all learners moved to the online environment. Till that time, many English learners were receiving the language support depending on their levels at school, however, due to the unexpected shift, many learners had to face being alone at Zoom. Moreover, they had to complete their homework at home without having enough support from their parents. Furthermore, many teachers were inexperienced in online teaching, so they could not provide enough materials and communication with students. Thus, many English learners struggled in schooling during pandemic. In this study, I will share the literature review on schooling experiences of English learners to propose what English learners experienced in schooling during pandemic. This study will help me find the (in)equalities in schooling experiences among learner groups so that to improve teachers' teaching qualities for all learners.

Room 2: Understanding the Role of Learners' Emotions in Language Learning

Beilei Guo – PhD Student, Warner School, University of Rochester

Language classrooms are filled with emotions such as enjoyment, anxiety, pride, shame, hopelessness, and boredom. Compared to first language learners, second language (L2) learners are more sensitive to negative emotions as they tend to portrait themselves as “inadequate” language users (e.g., Teimouri, 2017; Moate & Ruohotie-Lyhty, 2017). In the past three decades, there has been a surge in the study of emotion and second language acquisition (SLA). However, research on emotion and SLA is underdeveloped compared with the rapidly progressing field of emotion and learning in psychology and education (Shao et al., 2019). Although some L2 researchers acknowledged the vital role of emotion in language learning (e.g., Swain, 2013), they barely pay attention to the evolution of emotion theories in educational psychology, which have been extensively integrated into the framework of SLA.

Considering the controversial findings in the literature, the relationship between emotion and language learning needs additional research. This presentation shows the result of two literature reviews on the topic of language learners’ emotions. This presentation first identifies four theories commonly used by the researcher to study emotion in SLA, namely, positive psychology, L2 Motivational Self System, control value theory, and sociocultural theory. Based on how theories view emotion in relation to other motivational, cognitive and social constructs, this presentation describes three different roles of learners’ emotion in language learning: emotions as antecedents of language learning, emotions as mediators of language learning, and emotions as outcomes of language learning. This presentation also discusses three research methodologies (quantitative approach, qualitative approach, mixed-methods approach), their advantages, and limitations in studying learners' emotions in the foreign language learning context.