Please reserve the date and time on your calendar and register for AERA’s virtual PD session, “Perspectives on Career Building”
Presented by Division H on Monday, March 31, 2025 (7:30-8:30 pm ET)
We are excited to announce that we will be offering a virtual PD session open to all AERA Division H members and friends!
Please click on the link below to register for the webinar.
https://tinyurl.com/AERA-PD-CareerBuilding
As part of the registration process, you will have an opportunity to share any areas of interest that you would like to see addressed during the session or as follow-up.
Some areas of interest could include:
We look forward to you joining us!
Sincerely,
AERA Division H
Panelists
Co-Moderators & Facilitators
Dr. Sara Jones is an Evaluation Officer at Houston Endowment, a private philanthropic foundation in Houston, Texas. She works with colleagues and partners to design evaluations that inform strategy, support learning, and enhance impact across the foundation’s portfolios.
Sara has spent the majority of her career in the Houston education sector. She began as a Teach For America corps member in Houston ISD before earning her doctorate in Educational Psychology. She later served as a faculty member in the College of Education at the University of Houston, and most recently as the Executive Director of Assessment, Accountability, and Analytics in a large public school district. Across these roles, Sara has led evaluation initiatives, supported data-informed decision-making, and built capacity for learning and improvement across systems. Sara holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Educational Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Sonya Stephens has been an educator for nearly 30 years and has served Guilford County Schools for four years. In her role as Chief of Staff, she collaborates with the Superintendent to develop, execute, and monitor the district’s strategic direction and assists with the development, review, and implementation of policies and procedures to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of district operations. Additionally, she is responsible for the district’s state and local assessments, data analytics and support, student information system, and research and evaluation initiatives. Sonya received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and she earned her Ph.D. from Cardinal Stritch University in leadership for the advancement of learning and service with a concentration in educational leadership and is a graduate of Harvard University’s Strategic Data Project Fellowship.
Dr. Reid Whitaker is the creator of STEMscopes, which led to his being named by EdTech Digest as one of the nation's leading "Eduprenuers" or Education Entrepreneurs. Reid is an advocate for providing a high-quality education for the most underserved and underrepresented students. He began his teaching career with Teach For America as a 5th grade and elementary science lab teacher, for which he was awarded the HEB Texas Excellence in Education Rising Star Award. Reid has also provided numerous hours of professional development training and coaching to teachers in Houston ISD as a content specialist for the district and then as an Associate Director for the Center for Education at Rice University. Subsequently, Reid returned to Port Houston Elementary as principal. In his three years as principal, he raised the accountability rating of the school from Academically Acceptable to Exemplary, earning Port Houston Elementary a spot in the top 2 percent of ll HISD schools for student growth. In 2009, Reid received the distinguished Houston's Emerging Leader Award from the Greater Houston Partnership. Reid returned to Rice University to create STEMscopes and joined Accelerate Learning to help solve the STEM crisis in the country and globally through the biggest lever to eradicate this problem-education. He earned his Ph.D. from his alma mater, Rice University, in Educational Administration.
Dr. Marc Sager’s research focuses on data science education, informal learning, and research-practice partnerships, aiming to bridge the gap between theory and practical application. Marc holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Elementary Education from Missouri State University. He has a background in food production and experience in teaching secondary agricultural sciences in both formal and informal settings, his work uniquely intersects the realms of agriculture and education. He recently earned his Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Learning Sciences from Southern Methodist University.
Dr. Virginia Rangel serves as the Vice President of Division H, in addition to her role as an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston. Her eclectic research interests encompass teacher leadership, data usage in policy and practice, policy implementation, school reform, and STEM education. She received her B.A. in International Studies from Middlebury College, and her M.A. in Government and Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The University of Texas at Austin. After graduation from UT-Austin, she was the Associate Director of Research at Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship where she and her team worked on program evaluation and the use of learning analytics in program evaluation. During her time at Rice, she was the Principal Investigator of an NSF DRK-12 grant that investigated how middle school science teachers used data in their daily work.
Dr. Colleen Paeplow has over 20 years of experience in program evaluation, 12 years as a university instructor, and 9 years serving on graduate committees. As the Senior Director for Program Accountability within the Wake County Public School System’s Data, Research, and Accountability Department, she collaborates with district program staff and university research partners to conduct evaluations and research studies. She serves as an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University teaching graduate courses on statistical analysis and data-based decision making. Working through universities and directly via her company, Dissertation Coaching Pros, she supports graduate students attending a variety of universities to finalize their degrees. Colleen earned a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis from North Carolina State University.
Dr. Josephine Carnevale Seddon provides leadership in program evaluation and student outcomes assessment at the University of Rochester and guides the implementation and evaluation of educational research projects. Josephine has over three decades of experience across the disciplines (K-20) as a teacher, professional developer, and assessment and evaluation specialist in the Province of Ontario (Canada) and in New York State. Her research interests include STEM education, course-based undergraduate research experiences, teacher/faculty development, and the impact of technology on education and society. Josephine holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. (in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning) from the University of Toronto, a B.Ed. from York University, and an Honours B.A. (in Mathematics & Sociology with a minor in Computer Science) from the University of Waterloo.
As the Division H VP, I am excited to welcome all to join us in this PD session. We also hope you will consider joining AERA and Division H if you have not done so already. As a Division of AERA, we are committed to supporting and spotlighting high quality research related to program evaluation, accountability, and assessment. Our members hail from many areas, including school districts, state agencies, nonprofits, research and assessment companies, and universities, and from all over the world. We are confident you will find that Division H is a good home for you and your work, too.
Presented by Division H on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 (3-4 pm ET)
Please click on the link below to register for the webinar. https://tinyurl.com/AERA-CollaborativeProgramEval
As part of the registration process, you will have an opportunity to share any questions/issues that you would like to see addressed during the session or as follow-up.
Sample questions or conversation starters could include:
· What are the key components of a collaborative evaluation?
· How are participants integrated into different aspects of the program evaluation process?
· What lessons have you learned from implementing collaborative evaluations?
· What might the future of collaborative evaluation look like?
· How might the role of evaluators be shifting especially in collaborative evaluation spaces?
· What conversations around data security and responsibilities of all parties might you want to include as you plan for a collaborative program evaluation and/or in the context of collaborative problem solving? (…more on this topic planned for our next webinar too!)
Josephine C. Seddon, Ph.D.
AERA Division H - Chair, Professional Development Committee
Moderator, Panelists, and Hosts
Andrea Barrett, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Colleen Paeplow, Ph.D., Senior Administrator for Program Accountability, Wake County Public School System’s Data, Research, and Accountability Department, Wake County, Cary, NC
David Osman, Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Director, Gibson Consulting Group, Austin, TX
Nahoko Kawakyu-O’Connor, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Program Evaluation, Center for Professional Development & Education Reform, and Educational Leadership, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Josephine Carnevale Seddon, Ph.D. (AERA Division H, Chair, Professional Development Committee), Director of Educational Effectiveness, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Marc Sager, Ph.D. (AERA Division H, Co-Chair, Professional Development Committee), Data Science Education K-12 (DSE K-12), Themes and Strands Committee Member
Simmons School of Education & Human Development, Southern Methodist University
Moderator:
Dr. Andrea Barrett’s teaching and practice interests include contemporary issues in higher education, student affairs administration, and leadership and management in post-secondary contexts. Her current research focuses on the intersection of student affairs and technology, with a particular emphasis on the impact of artificial intelligence on the work of student affairs professionals. Since joining the Warner faculty, she has worked with and advised several students on program evaluation projects and dissertations.
Panelists:
Dr. Colleen Paeplow has over 20 years of experience in program evaluation, 12 years as a university instructor, and 9 years serving on graduate committees. As the Senior Director for Program Accountability within the Wake County Public School System’s Data, Research, and Accountability Department, she collaborates with district program staff and university research partners to conduct evaluations and research studies. She serves as an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University teaching graduate courses on statistical analysis and data-based decision making. Working through universities and directly via her company, Dissertation Coaching Pros, she supports graduate students attending a variety of universities to finalize their degrees.
Dr. David Osman is a Director of Research and Evaluation at Gibson Consulting Group. Prior to Gibson, he was a classroom teacher and later Director of Research and Evaluation at Round Rock Independent School District (TX), where he worked side-by-side with district and school leaders to design and conduct internal program evaluations and applied educational research. At Gibson, he has led external evaluation studies with and for agencies such as Fulton County Schools (GA), Orange County Public Schools (FL), Kansas City Public Schools (MO), Rochester City School District (NY), Coppell Independent School District (TX), and the Regional Education
Laboratory Southwest (RELSW). He earned his PhD in Educational Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. He is an evaluator because believes that research and evaluation can drive meaningful positive change in school districts and improve students' lives. As a native Austinite, he enjoys following Austin FC and traveling with his family.
Dr. Nahoko Kawakyu-O’Connor teaches research and evaluation theory and skills to educators and counselors at the graduate level, and partners with school districts, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, and local and national foundations to support program evaluation efforts. She specializes in utilization-focused and participatory evaluation that is culturally responsive and explores structural and systemic factors that facilitate or hinder student, program, and organizational success.
Hosts/Facilitators:
Dr. Josephine C. Seddon provides leadership in program evaluation and student outcomes assessment at the university. She also guides the implementation and evaluation of educational research projects. Josephine has over three decades of experience across the disciplines (K-20) as a teacher, professional developer, and assessment and evaluation specialist in the Province of Ontario (Canada) and in New York State. Her research interests include STEM education, course-based undergraduate research experiences, teacher/faculty development, and the impact of technology on education and society.
Dr. Marc Sager is a Senior Research Specialist for the Dr. Elba and Domingo Garcia West Dallas STEM School, a research practice partnership with Southern Methodist University, Dallas ISD, Toyota, and the West Dallas Community. His research focuses on data science education, informal learning, and research-practice partnerships, aiming to bridge the gap between theory and practice. He has a background in food production and experience teaching secondary agricultural sciences in both formal and informal settings, his work uniquely intersects the realms of agriculture and education. He recently earned his Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Learning Sciences from Southern Methodist University.
Special note from Division H VP Virginia Snodgrass Rangel