2021- 2022 Division K Award Winners

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Outstanding Dissertation Award

Arturo Nevárez (California State University Stanislaus) 

The award recognizes Dr. Nevárez’s dissertation, Reading “Racial Grammar”: Latinx students’ racial literacy development in ethnic studies classrooms to name and resist racism for its methodological rigor and important insights into the pedagogical practices of Ethnic Studies teachers that support Latinx students’ development of their racial literacies. Dr. Nevárez deftly uses Critical Race Theory and LatCrit to frame the dissertation’s methodological approach and to draw clear connections to theory while providing practical implications for districts, teachers, and teacher educators. 

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Honorable Mention Award

Rachel Snyder Bhansari (Portland State University)  

The Honorable Mention award recognizes Dr. Snyder Bhansari’s dissertation, Feeling their way towards justice: The emotional journeys of critically conscious bilingual teachers, for the exceptional quality and creativity of its research design, measures, and analysis and its important insights into how pedagogical decisions for justice are mediated by teachers’ critical consciousness, identity, and emotion. The dissertation makes clear the ethical dimensions of being in community with teachers in its examination of how justice is (re)defined, experienced and enacted in the everyday work of teaching.

Committee: Alexis Patterson Williams (chair), Mildred Boveda, Arturo Cortez, Heather Hill, Josephine Pham, Manali Sheth

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Early Career Award

Abiola Farinde-Wu (University of Massachusetts, Boston)

The award recognizes Dr. Farinde-Wu’s inspiring, high quality, and impactful research on recruiting and retaining Black teachers.  Dr. Farinde-Wu’s research is of critical importance to the field. Her use of innovative frameworks and approaches, including Black feminist epistemology and a whole career-span perspective is not only relevant to teacher recruitment and retention, but also to supporting equitable learning opportunities for all students in schools. Dr. Farinde-Wu purposefully connects her scholarship and teaching to provide race-conscious teacher education.

Committee: Janine Remillard (chair), Hosun Kang, Saili Kulkarni, Riika Hofmann, Kimberly White-Smith

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Mid-Career Award

Gloriana Gonzalez Rivera (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

Dr. Gonzalez Rivera’s scholarship was recognized for its potential to transform our understanding of the relationship between teacher thinking, mathematics instruction and teachers’ professional development. In her work, teachers are given the opportunity to actively reflect on students’ thinking about what they are learning, practice having conversations with students about their own thinking, and consider new strategies that might more effectively help students learn skills and correct misconceptions. Dr. Gonzalez’s careful exploration of how teachers’ deep and thoughtful reflection actually impacts their teaching has significant implications for teacher education.  It brings to light the important relationship between student learning ad teachers’ strategic, focused, and collaborative reflection on how students learn.

Committee: Marvin Lynn (chair), Dan Battey, Tambra Jackson, Michelle Knight-Manuel, Louie F. Rodriguez

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Exemplary Research in Teaching and Teacher Education 

Peter Smagorinsky (University of Georgia)

The award recognizes Dr. Smagorinsky’s book, Learning to teach English and the language arts: A Vygotskian perspective on beginning teachers’ pedagogical concept development (Bloomsbury, 2021). Dr. Smagorinsky’s integration of theory, research, and pedagogy drives his examination of “taken-for-granted” understandings of teaching English and the Language Arts (ELA). His specific and relatable teaching examples directly articulate the overarching ideas of the theories under consideration. Dr. Smagorinsky’s book offers insights to build the 21st century education of ELA teachers to meet the needs of diverse students in different contexts.

Committee: Mara Teresa Tatto (Chair), Hilary Conklin, Lorena Guillen, Ilana Seidel Horn, Erica Litke, James Martinez

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Innovations in Research on Equity and Social Justice in Teacher Education

Angela Calabrese Barton (University of Michigan)

Edna Tan (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)

The award recognizes Dr. Calabrese Barton and Dr. Tan for their work to reframe research on STEM teaching and teacher education and its implications for practice in both classrooms and communities. Their rightful presence framework is a powerful tool for guiding justice-oriented studies of teaching and learning. The research-practice partnerships that Drs. Calabrese Barton and Tan forge with communities serve as a model for equity-focused, engaged scholarship in teaching and teacher education.

Committee: Joseph Nelson (chair), Roderick Carey, Ruchi Rangnath, Kevin Roxas (recused)