BCNM at AERA 2018
An amazing BCNM contingent, including alum Jennifer Higgs, faculty Bjoern Hartmann and Designated Emphasis student Leah Rosenbaum, attended the 2018 Annual Meeting hosted by the American Educational Research Association.
Higgs presented her paper, "Talking to Learn in the 21st Century: A National Study of Digital and Face-to-Face Talk," on April 14 during the roundtable session on digital texts and digital talks. In it, she disseminates how collaborative digital technologies in K-12 spaces can expand the classroom talk into digital settings. Using a mixed-method approach, Higgs studies how e-readers support classroom discussions to understand the reality of implementing digital talk with students and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of California at Davis.
Rosenbaum and Hartmann's event, "Evaluating Learning in College Makerspaces: A Literature Review," occurred on April 17 during a time focused on the methods, tools, and strategies when analyzing maker activities. The two reviewed over 50 papers about undergraduates' Maker-based learning experiences, seeing new opportunities for research despite the scarcity of empiricial studies. They looked at and categorized the papers based off their methodology and purpose.
AERA 2018's theme was "The Dreams, Possibilities, and Necessity of Public Education" and the event took place from April 13-17 in New York City. You can read more about the program and the other incredible presentations here.