Celebrating excellence in higher education 🎉
Festus Cobena Ainoo, a second-year M.Ed. student in Higher Education, earned TWO awards at the 2026 ACPA Conference for his leadership, research and commitment to global student success.
The UMass Amherst Bilingual Hub and Southbridge Public Schools hosted the first-ever Bilingual Hub Dialogues 2026 workshop, bringing educators and community partners together for reflection, collaboration, and shared learning in bilingual and dual language education.
Learn more:
Congratulations to faculty members Torrey Trust and Robert W. Maloy, and doctoral student Chenyang Xu, who received an outstanding paper award at the 2026 Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) National Conference!
>> Read more about their work! buff.ly/NlSb3II
Distinguished Professor Jack Schneider and second-year doctoral student Breanne Lucy have published a feature article in KAPPAN titled “Time Well Spent? Teachers’ Perspectives on Time-Saving Reforms” with co-author Ashley J. Carey.
👉 Check it out! buff.ly/AywmDSi
Dr. Jia Zhang has been selected as a 2026-2027 ISSR Scholar, recognizing her contributions to research and interdisciplinary collaboration at UMass.
We’re proud to share that LLC PhD candidate Gretchen Hohmeyer has co-authored a practitioner article highlighting the important role of backmatter in historical fiction and how it can enhance students’ engagement with history and social studies.
Check it out: buff.ly/0Pbkasn
Big congratulations to PhD candidate Jana Pickart, PhD! She’s been selected for the 2026 Institute on Trans Linguistic Research and Publishing at Penn State, where she’ll develop her manuscript on adult emergent multilingual learners and identity-making. 🎓📖
👏 Theresa Austin was elected Chair of the Language Ambassadors for the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) at the NABE 2026 Annual Conference in Chicago!
🔗 Learn more about the session: buff.ly/7MaW2fa
#UMassEDUC #MultilingualEducation #LanguageAdvocacy #NABE
🎓 Our Language, Literacy & Culture scholars took the stage at the University of Pennsylvania Ethnography Forum this February!
Faculty and doctoral students shared ethnographic research on language, culture, and classrooms around the world. 🌍
Associate Professor Javier Suárez-Álvarez co-authored a new paper in Psicothema that offers practical guidance on using generative AI in test construction while maintaining reliability, validity, and fairness to support responsible, transparent assessment design. 🤖 📚
📖 Open access:
We're pleased to announce that Associate Professor Jeanne Brunner has been appointed as the College of Education's Point Person for Academic Integrity! 📋
Instructors working through Academic Integrity policy and process questions now have a dedicated resource to turn to!
#UMassAmherst
Big news from the College of Education! 🎉
Associate Dean Justin Coles and Professor Kysa Nygreen have been named 2026 OFD Scholars, supporting mid-career faculty in writing their second books. Congratulations to both!
Learn more: buff.ly/sWoLVpu
Professors Denise Ives and Kysa Nygreen have released the latest issue of Equity & Excellence in Education, featuring a new section they have launched with the article, “On Academic Freedom and Autocratic Breakthrough.” Read here:
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/JST7A...
Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Justin Coles has been appointed co-editor for the 2027 and 2029 editions of Review of Research in Education, with topics on racism in educational research and advancing racial justice in education. Read more:
Congratulations to Beth Llorca on receiving an Honorable Mention for the NABE Outstanding Dissertation Award for her work on inclusive special education in dual language communities! She’ll be attending and presenting at the NABE Conference in February. 🎉 #UMassEDUC #UMassProud
The first cohort of the Para-to-Teacher program run by the UMass Amherst College of Education and University Without Walls is now in classrooms for an immersive year of co-teaching as they work toward licensure
Read more about this pathway for future educators and stronger schools: buff.ly/qT2fCoq
Honoring Dr. Jamila Lyiscott, currently at Notre Dame as an invited Coyle Fellow Writing Resident, developing her next book with Beacon Press. Proud to have her shaping justice-centered scholarship at UMass and beyond.
EDUC Associate Professor Keisha Green was joined by Professor Megan Gross and PhD student Yokaira López-Tifa at Swan Elementary in the Springfield School District for their 4th and 5th-grade career fair. The event was part of their Dream Week, which aimed to promote college and career readiness. ✨ 📚
Professor Emerita at the College of Education, Liane Brandon, was the Director of UMass Educational Television when she produced and co-directed the popular television series "Fine Print." The series has been restored and digitally archived online 30 years later! 📺
Read more: buff.ly/kZZ837P
Join Distinguished University Professor Stephen Sireci, Chancellor Javier Reyes and other special guests in celebrating the legendary Edmund Gordon!
📅 November 14
🕓 4:00-6:00 p.m.
📍 Carney Auditorium, Furcolo Hall
Read more and RSVP: buff.ly/i9iBfjN
James Francisco Bonilla '91EdD released his memoir, "An Eye for an I: Growing Up With Blindness, Bigotry and Family Mental Illness" TODAY! 📚
Read more and order: buff.ly/jhZNaVr
Brittany Collins ‘19 was awarded the NCTE Leadership Award for People with Disabilities for 2025!! 🎉 📚
Learn more: buff.ly/XrO4TCu
If we want to stem the problematic use of A.I. in K-12 and higher education, we need to understand why students use it. The latest from me and @ehutt.bsky.social.
9/17 at 8 p.m. ET: Don’t miss @torreytrust.bsky.social and co-author Robert Maloy as they join @bookcreator.com to introduce their new book, AI and Civic Engagement: 75+ Cross-Curricular Activities to Empower Your Students. bookcreator.com/2025/08/ai-l...
Associate Professor Enrique (Henry) Suárez recently spoke about his research on linguistic justice in science education during the summer webinar series for the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST).
To read more: buff.ly/8NRfwqU
Check out my newest open access (free!) slide deck: "When to, and when NOT to, use AI-generated media for teaching and learning."
docs.google.com/presentation...
#aiinedu #aiineducation #highered #edtech #k12 #EduSkyAI #edchat #teaching
The findings of Dr. Robert Maloy and Dr. Torrey Trust's analysis of over 300 AI-generated lesson plans crafted to suit the Massachusetts 8th grade “United States and Massachusetts Government and Civic Life” content standards, was recently featured in an Education Week article. 👏
Associate Prof. Justin Coles recently completed a Fulbright Specialist project at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: “Strengthening Civic Education through Teacher Development.” Coles led trainings for educators in life orientation & social sciences from 10 local school districts.
Dr. Keisha Green, Associate Professor of Teacher Education & School Improvement and Chair of English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) and Conference Chair, recently hosted the 2025 ELATE Summer Conference at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
For more: buff.ly/464OnIx
