2021 AERA Conference Program

2021 AERA Annual Meeting MLER SIG Sessions

Thursday, April 8, 2021 12-1pm EST

Roundtable: Disrupting the Status Quo in Middle Grades Education: Strategies to Mediate and Create Change
Chair: Matt Moulton
Q&A Moderator: Lisa Harrison

Negotiating Institutional Discourses: Critical Narrative Analysis of a Novice, Equity-Oriented Teacher’s Experiences
Susan Y. Leonard, University of Georgia

Home Literacy Initiatives of Middle School Families During the 2020 Quarantine Period: Transformation in Education?
Elizabeth Stewart, Texas Tech University
Jeasik Cho, Texas Tech University
Mellinee K. Lesley, Texas Tech University
Julie Smit, Texas Tech University

Literacy Practices as Tools for Becoming: Toward Anti-Racism for White Teachers
Katie Wester-Neal, Gordon State College

Middle Grades IRL: A Collective Self-Study of Practices and Problems of Practice in the Context of Middle Grades Teacher Education
Kristina Nicole Falbe, Illinois State University
Kristie Smith, Gardner-Webb University

Thursday, April 8, 2021 5-6pm EST

Roundtable: Teaching & Leading in the Middle Grades: Exploring Elements of the Middle Grades Concept
Chair: David Virtue, Western Carolina University
Q&A Moderator: Kimberly Stormer, Langston University

Creativity in Middle Schools: An Exploration of Teachers’ Creative Teaching and Learning
Jennifer Lingle, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

Enacting and Extending a Developmentally Responsive Leadership Model
Julia Rheaume, Red Deer College
Jim Brandon, University of Calgary

Illinois Horizon Schools: Ongoing Research from the Illinois’ Schools to Watch Program
Steven B. Mertens, Illinois State University
Kristina Nicole Falbe, Illinois State University

Middle Level Teacher Candidates’ Collaboration: “Each Day, I Am Becoming a Better Teacher”
Amanda Wall, Georgia Southern University
Taylor Norman, Georgia Southern University

Saturday, April 8, 2021 6:15-8:15pm EST

Middle Level Education Research SIG Business Meeting

Sunday, April 11, 2021 2:30-4pm EST

Paper Session: From Dialogue to Action: Centering Equity & Justice in the Middle Grades
Chair: Lisa Harrison, Ohio University
Q&A Moderator: Kristie Smith, Gardner-Webb University

A Call to Bring Equity Front and Center: An Analysis of AMLE’s 2019 Conference Sessions
Matthew John Moulton, Indiana State University
Susan Y. Leonard, University of Georgia

Brave Space: Bringing Middle School Students Together to Talk about Race
Beth Beschorner, Minnesota State University – Mankato
Robbie Burnett, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Kathleen Ferrero, Minnesota State University – Mankato

Lessons Learned from Teaching Social Justice Education in 6th Grade|
Jessica DeMink-Carthew, The University of Vermont
Eliaquin Gonell, University of Vermont

Purposeful Placements: An Exploration of Middle-Level Teachers’ Experiences with Culturally Responsive Instruction
Pamela Correll, Missouri State University
Kimberly Stormer, Langston University
Ximena Uribe-Zarain, Missouri State University

Violence in Our Community: Middle Level Students’ Voices on Walmart Shootings in El Paso TX
Sarah E. Peterson, University of Texas at El Paso
Roberto Tinajero, Paul Quinn College
Josefina V. Tinajero, The University of Texas – El Paso
Anjanette Todd, University of Texas at El Paso

Discussant: Kristina Falbe, Illinois State University

Monday, April 12, 2021 11:10am-12:40pm EST

Symposium: Using NAEP Data to Investigate Affective Factors in Middle School Students’ Academic Achievement
Chair: Judy H. Tang, Westat

Perseverance, self-discipline, confidence in reading and their relationships with middle school students’ reading performance
Cheng Shuang (Grace) Ji, American Institutes for Research
Juliet Holmes, American Institutes for Research
Bitnara Jasmine Park, American Institutes for Research

Relationship between Students’ Affective and Mathematics Motivation Factors and Mathematics Achievement
Bitnara Jasmine Park, American Institutes for Research
Ayse Cobanoglu, University at Buffalo – SUNY

Samuel Correa, American Institutes for Research
Mary Smith, American Institutes for Research                                                                       
Cheng Shuang (Grace) Ji, American Institutes for Research

The Narrowing Confidence Gap: Examining Gender Differences in Technology and Engineering Literacy, Self-Efficacy, and Course-Taking
Ryan Patrick Whorton, Educational Testing Service
Jan Alegre, Educational Testing Service

How do teacher preparation and instructional practices relate to students’ attitudes toward learning and achievement?
Juliann Dupuis, Notre Dame of Maryland University
Judy H. Tang, Westat
Ning Rui, Amazon

Discussant: William Ward, U.S. Department of Education