AERA 2026

Image
GW at AERA | Los Angeles, California | April 8-12, 2026

 

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of scholars in the field of education research. It is a showcase for ground-breaking, innovative studies in a diverse array of areas -- from early education through higher education, from digital learning to second language literacy. It is where we go to encounter ideas and data that will shape tomorrow's education practices and policies, and where we go to connect with leading thinkers from the U.S. and around the world. Learn more about the 2026 AERA Annual Meeting >

 

GSEHD Sponsored events

GSEHD Salon 1 - The Science of Learning and the Learning of Science - How to embed Civics into the STEM Curriculum

Friday, April 10  |  Time TBD (afternoon)
Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, San Bernardino Room

Featuring:

  • Courtney Bell - University of Wisconsin Learning Sciences, former director of Wisconsin Center for Education Research, and former HS Chemistry, Physics, Biology Teacher
  • Sucan Yoon - University of Pennsylvania Learning Sciences with focus on science and technology 
GSEHD Salon 2 - International Perspectives on Civics and the Development of Civic Dispositions

Saturday, April 11  |  Time TBD (morning)
Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, San Bernardino Room

Featuring representatives from Azerbaijan and Israel

GSEHD Salon 3 - Teaching Civics and Controversial Issues in K-12 Schools

Saturday, April 11  |  Time TBD (afternoon)
Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, San Bernardino Room

GSEHD Salon 4 - Understanding the Landscapes of Civics Education - The Literature (Invite Only)

Sunday, April 12  |  Time TBD (morning)
Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, San Bernardino Room

Featuring:

  • Dr. Josh Glazer - Professor, Education Policy, GW GSEHD
  • Paul Goren - Managing Director, Forum on Democracy & Education, GW GSEHD
  • Amanda Baker -  Research Analyst, Forum on Democracy & Education, GW GSEHD
GSEHD Hospitality Suite

Saturday, April 11  |  1:30-4:30 pm
Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, San Bernardino Room

Take a break from the AERA meeting and recharge in our Hospitality Room, open for GSEHD conference attendees and their guests. Stop by and enjoy a comfortable space to relax, catch up with colleagues, or grab a light refreshment. 

""


To view the daily schedule of GSEHD faculty, student, and alumni participation and presentations, select the dates listed below.

  All times are listed in Pacific Time (PDT)

 

Session Time + LocationSession Information

  9:45-11:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 8

Dr. Deniece Dortch

Discussant
Paper Session: Transforming Postdoctoral and Early Career Pathways

   9:45-11:15 am

   JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 6

Dr. Lionel Howard

Symposium: Racialized Emotions, Trauma, and the Ethics of Feeling in Teacher Education
Paper: At the Frontlines of Healing: Educator Perspectives on Addressing Racial Stress and Trauma in Schools

   9:45-11:15 am

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level Two, Room 303B

Dr. Benjamin Jacobs

Discussant
Symposium: Beyond Binary Thinking: Jews, Antisemitism, and Navigating Difference

   9:45-11:15 am

  Los Angeles Convention Center
Talk: Level One, Exhibit Hall A - Stage 2
Poster: Level Two, Poster Hall - Exhibit Hall A

Zhongxin Zheng (Doctoral Candidate)

e-Lightning Ed-Talk Session 2 +
Poster Session: Instructional Technology SIG Poster Presentations
Poster: Developing Prompt Engineering Competence Framework: Comparing China, EU, and U.S. Educators’ Digital Literacy Standards

   1:45-3:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Floor: Gold Level, Gold 1

Dr. Laura Engel, Sümeyye ARPACI

Roundtable Session: Bridging Global and Local Education: Testing, Digital Skills, and Teacher Impact
Paper: Global Patterns of Digital Competence: Comparative Insights from ICILS 2023

  1:45-3:15 pm

  InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, 5th Floor, K-Town

Dr. Elisabeth Kutscher

Symposium: Incorporating Transformative Frameworks into Mixed Methods Research: Challenges, Insights, and Recommendations
Paper: Advancing Equity for Disabled College Students: An Application of Guiding Questions for Transformative Mixed Methods

   1:45-3:15 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree D

William Zhou (Doctoral Candidate, Curriculum & Instruction)

Chair
Roundtable Session: Wellbeing, Equity, and Justice: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching and Research in the Arts

  3:45-5:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 1

Nemain Morgan Curtis

Paper Session: Unforgetting Professional Ethics: Educators Resisting Policy Mandates Misaligned with Justice
Paper: Between Mandate and Method: Teachers’ Sensemaking with Science of Reading Rollout

  3:45-5:15 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree Hall C

Dr. Natalie Milman

Journal Talks Session 1: Meet the Editors
Journal: Contemporary Issues in Technology And Teacher Education

Session Time + LocationSession Information

  7:45-9:15 am

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree D

Dr. Jennifer Clayton, Shaun Shepard (EdD '24), Dr. Abe Tekleselassie, Dr. Rebecca Thessin, Dr. Leslie Trimmer

Roundtable Session: Reimagining Preparation Programs for Equity and Social Justice Leaders
Paper: Using Role Plays to Develop Administrative Candidates who Lead for Equity

   9:45-11:15 am

  Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, La Brea

Dr. Christine Nganga

Symposium: Mapping the Long Haul: Cartographies of Mentoring Journeys
Paper: Sisterhood Spirit Mapping Our Health, Wealth, and Inspiration

   2:15-3:45 pm

   JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Gold Level, Gold 1

Zhuoyu Yang

Roundtable Session: Teaching with AI: Identities, Challenges, and Burnout
Paper: Exploring EFL After-school Teachers’ Identity Reconstruction and Emotion in the Context of AI: A Self-determination Theory Perspective

   4:15-5:45 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree D

Dr. Natalie Milman, Dr. Jessa Henderson (PhD '24)

Roundtable Session: Leadership Without Walls: Virtual, Vocational, and Cross-Cultural Contexts
Paper: A Research Synthesis Examining P-12 Virtual School Leaders

   6:15-7:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 8

Dr. Deniece Dortch (Chair), Zhongxin Zheng (Doctoral Candidate) (Participant)

SIG Business Meeting: Graduate and Postdoctoral Education Across the Disciplines Special Interest Group Business Meeting

Session Time + LocationSession Information

  7:45-9:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 2nd Floor, Platinum A

Dr. Lisa Rice, Xinia Li, Stacey Martino (Doctoral Candidates, Special Education)

Paper Session: Inclusive Education Through Instructional Practices and Peer Relationships
Paper: Understanding Peer Relationships for Adolescent Girls with ADHD: Content Analysis on Voices Shared on TikTok

   9:45-11:15 am

   Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, Los Cerritos

Dr. Joshua Glazer, Dr. Matthew Shirrell

Symposium: Learning from “failure”: Exploring challenges in unsuccessful research-practice partnerships
Paper: Shifting the Goalposts: Evolving Conceptualizations of Failure and Success in Research Practice Partnerships

   9:45-11:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Ground Floor, Gold 4

William Zhou (Doctoral Candidate, Curriculum & Instruction)

Discussant
Roundtable Session: Arts based educational research for unfolding provocation(s)

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Gold Level, Gold 1

Krishna Belino Cart

Roundtable Session: Reframing Teacher Growth: Simulation, Mentorship, and Online Learning for a New Era
Paper: D.E.S.I.G.N. Coaching: A Relational Framework for Reflective, Data-Informed Practice in K-12 Education

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Gold Level, Gold 3

Minh Kim

Roundtable Session: Culture and Tradition Across Societies
Paper: Culturally Adapting Simonton’s Creativity Framework: Assessing Japanese Creativity through Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 1

William Zhou (Doctoral Candidate, Curriculum & Instruction)

Chair
Paper Session: Varieties of Arts-Integrated Learning Experiences

   1:45-3:15 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree D

Dr. Tal Vaizman (CASJE Research Fellow)

Roundtable Session: Religious Identity, Pedagogy, and Lived Practice
Paper: Religious Jewish Mothers as Music Mentors and Ethical Curators in the Streaming Era

  3:45-5:15 pm

  Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, Palos Verdes

Dr. Jennifer Clayton, Shaun Shepard (EdD '24), Dr. Abe Tekleselassie, Dr. Rebecca Thessin, Dr. Leslie Trimmer

Paper Session: Leadership Preparation, Change, and Organizational Conditions
Paper: Facilitating the Growth of Equity-Centered Leaders in a University/District Partnership Program

  3:45-5:15 pm

  Westin Bonaventure, Level 2, Echo Park

Dr. Christine Nganga, Naudia Fairclough (MAEd '17; Doctoral Candidate, Educational Leadership & Administration)

Paper Session: Navigating System Level Politics for Equity and Social Justice
Paper: Intentional Leadership Actions: Equity-Focused Transformative Leadership Practices

  3:45-5:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 2

 Zhongxin Zheng (Doctoral Candidate)

Chair
Paper Session: Pathways to Possibility: Equity, Identity, & Career Pathways

Session Time + LocationSession Information

   7:45-9:15 am

   JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Ground Floor, Gold 4

Ioannis Koutroulis

Roundtable Session: Admissions in Focus: Equity, Predictive Insights, and Holistic Review
Paper: The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Medical School Admissions: Can We Be Fair and Efficient?

   7:45-9:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 2nd Floor, Platinum J

Xinia Li (Doctoral Candidate, Special Education)

Symposium: Unforgetting the Past, Disrupting the Present: Border-Crossing Approaches to Inclusive Education Policy, Research, and Practice
Paper: Redrawing Educational Borders: Reimagining Eligibility and Placement of Students with Disabilities in Dual Language Programs

   9:45-11:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Gold Level, Gold 3

Dr. Christine Nganga, Naudia Fairclough (MAEd '17; Doctoral Candidate, Educational Leadership & Administration)

Roundtable Session: Mentoring Frameworks and Campus Dynamics
Paper: A Humanizing Pedagogy of Justice-Oriented Mentorship

   9:45-11:15 am

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level Two, Poster Hall - Exhibit Hall A

Marina Sanchez

Poster Session: Counseling Poster Session B
Poster: “Listening beyond words”: Unforgetting histories in bilingual counseling

   9:45-11:15 am

  Los Angeles Convention Center
Talk: Level One, Exhibit Hall A - Stage 2
Poster: Level Two, Poster Hall - Exhibit Hall A

Chenxi Zhou

e-Lightning Ed-Talk Session 16 +
Poster Session: AI and Technology Integration in K-12 Education
Poster: A Systematic Review of AI Integration in STEM Education: Motivation, Engagement, Efficiency, and Adaptivity

   9:45-11:15 am

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree D

William Zhou (Doctoral Candidate, Curriculum & Instruction)

Roundtable Session: Theoretical Analyses of Learning Environments
Paper: Folding Migration: Affect, Subjectivation, and Informal Learning at the Museum of Chinese in America

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 2nd Floor, Platinum C

Dr. Michael Feuer

Speaker
Invited Speaker Session: The Art of the Possible: Remembering Lee Shulman

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Ground Floor, Gold 4

Ji Young Kim

Roundtable Session: Evaluating and Validating Measures of Student Learning and Performance
Paper: Cross-Cultural Validation of the 2022 PISA Creative Thinking Assessment: Evidence from Five Asian Regions

  11:45 am-1:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 2nd Floor, Platinum J

Xinia Li (Doctoral Candidate, Special Education)

Chair
Paper Session: Reimagining Inclusion and Equity in Early Childhood Education

  1:45-3:15 pm

  Westin Bonaventure, Lobby Level, Santa Barbara C

Taryn Graves

Paper Session: Social Issues and the Learning Sciences
Paper: Community sexual health educators’ strategies for cultural disruption in rural, conservative Utah communities

  3:45-5:15 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level One, Petree D

Mengying Cao

Roundtable Session: Educational Leadership in Rural and Remote Communities
Paper: Understanding the Urban-Rural Education Divide in China: A Knowledge Systems and Leadership Perspective

Session Time + LocationSession Information

   7:45-9:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 3rd Floor, Plaza III

Dr. Joshua Glazer (Chair, Session Organizer, Presenter), Dr. Matthew Shirrell (Presenter)

Symposium: Beyond Lortie: New sociological perspectives on professions and their application to teaching
Paper (Glazer): Teaching is Both Public and Professional: How Can it be Both?
Paper (Shirrell): The Rise (and Fall?) of Professionalism: Logics of Work in Popular Discourse About Teachers in the United States, 1990-2019

   7:45-9:15 am

   JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Gold Level, Gold 3

William Zhou (Doctoral Candidate, Curriculum & Instruction)

Chair + Presenter
Roundtable Session: Affect, Embodiment, and Art in Education
Paper: Topologies of Subjectivation: Epistemic, Temporal, and Political Foldings of Migrant Becoming

   9:45-11:15 am

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 2nd Floor, Platinum B

Dr. Natalie Milman

Discussant
Paper Session: Critical and Equity-Focused Perspectives on AI in Education

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level Two, Room 308B

Dr. Deniece Dortch

Panelist
Invited Speaker Session: Women's and Gender Studies Departments and the Work They Do

   11:45 am-1:15 pm

  Los Angeles Convention Center, Level Two, Room 304B

Ebtissam Oraby

Symposium: Islamic Epistemologies, Decolonial Pedagogy, and Many Ways of Knowing
Paper: Pedagogical Possibilities of Muslim Science Epistemologies and Storywork Curriculum

   1:45-3:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, Gold Level, Gold 1

Amanda Baker, Paul Goren, Katie Kinnaman (Forum on Democracy & Education)

Roundtable Session: Curriculum as Policy, Curriculum as Power: Whose Knowledge Counts?
Paper: How Did We Get Here and What's Next? A Landscape Analysis of Civics Education

  1:45-3:15 pm

  JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, 4th Floor, Diamond 10

Dr. Joshua Glazer (Chair), William Berry (Presenter, Session Organizer)

Symposium: Politics, History, and Systems Improvement in 21st Century School Reforms
Paper: Educational System Building in the Shadow of History: Race, Control, Politics, and School Reform