'Reimagining Teaching, Learning, and Leadership' on the GSE's 22nd Annual Research Day

LEAD students present research posters

Photo: Doctoral students in Cohort 1 of the Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) program presented research posters.

April 11, 2022

UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education hosted its 22nd Research Day on April 7 and 8, with the theme: "Reiminagining Teaching, Learning, and Leadership: Expanding Accessibility and Equity through Research." 

The event—organized by GSE doctoral students Corrinne Aramburo, Nic Saldivar, Astha Agarwal, Allison Bradford, and Julissa Navas—kicked off in person with welcoming remarks from GSE Assistant Professor Michelle Wilkerson and keynote addresses from CSU Channel Island's Dr. Tadashi Dozono and Stanford University's Dr. Lakshmi Balasubramanian—both UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education alums. Dozono talked about engaging racially marginalized students in social studies classrooms and Balasubramanian presented research on inclusive education for students with diverse disabilities. 

Participants joined for a virtual session on April 7, which featured student speakers from UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Connecticut, Purdue University, and the University of Washington. More than a dozen students from UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Kent State University, and West Virginia University spoke about their research and 22 students presented posters in person on April 8.   

“GSE Research Day was an amazing exhibition of the passions and talents of GSE students," said Dr. Lihi Rosenthal, director of the GSE's Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) doctoral program. "The student-organized event featured inspiring keynotes by two GSE alums and presentations by students across the school, from undergraduates to doctoral candidates. As Michelle Wilkerson put it during her opening remarks, it was proof that academic conferences could be both scholarly and humanizing at the same time.”

All of UC Berkeley's LEAD doctoral students participated in the poster session. Among their presentations: nives wetzel de cediel presented on "Transforming Organizational Culture: Making the Case for Embodied Transformative Leadership in Higher Education." Francis Rojas presented on "Extracurricular Student Activities: Impact on Students in Diverse Communities." And LEAD's Mai Xi Lee joined School Psychology's Quennie Dong to present "Dismantling the Model Minority Myth: AAPI Educators Perspectives on anti-Asian Violence & Wellness." 

Professor Dor Abrahamson and students Sehej Bindra, Brittney Cooper, Eli Pleaner, Yangyang Yang presented a poster about their "Design-based Research Forum." 

The day's discussants included Dr. Soraya Sablo Sutton, Dr. Lihi Rosenthal, Dr. Alejandra Ojeda-Beck, Dr. Mayumi Hagiwara, Professor Abrahamson, Dr. Renee Starowicz, Dr. Karen Draney, Dr. Laura Sterponi, Visiting Professor Ozge Hacifazlioglu, Dr. Tom Green, and Professor Bruce Fuller.