This session encouraged dialogue on the multiple meanings of “strategies” as used in content area classes. Issues and questions were include:

• domain general vs. domain specific strategies
• clarifying definitions to achieve common understandings
• deep structure reasoning strategies that could bridge the gap
• learning and instructional implications in content classes

Geoff Knight and Jenny Peck
Foxes’ Community and Wildlife Conservation Trust

These two University of Kansas graduates talked about their time in East Africa, where they currently work with a non-governmental organization that, among other things, aims to improve the quality of education in the area. Jenny and Geoff talked about the challenges facing schools and administrations in their area and showed a video that further explained the work of their organization. They have lived in Tanzania for three years and will return in mid-February to continue their work.

Neal Kingston
Director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation, University of Kansas

Michael Faggella-Luby
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut

Dr. Faggella-Luby is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn). He is also a research scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER) and an associate research scholar at the Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED).

Dr. Faggella-Luby’s primary research interest focuses on embedding instruction in learning strategies into subject-area courses to improve reading comprehension for all levels of learners. He received the 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities and the 2007 Annual Dissertation Award from CEC’s Division of Learning Disabilities for his dissertation study Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction: Story-Structure Pedagogy in Secondary Classes for Diverse Learners. In 2009, he received the Neag School of Education’s Early Career Scholar Award for his continued work in this area.

Before joining the faculty at University of Connecticut, Dr. Faggella-Luby was a doctoral fellow at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning under the direction of Drs. Donald Deshler and Jean Schumaker. He earned his doctorate from the Special Education Department at the University of Kansas. Dr. Faggella-Luby is a former high school administrator and teacher of both English and Chemistry.

Michael Faggella-Luby
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut

Dr. Faggella-Luby is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn). He is also a research scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER) and an associate research scholar at the Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED).

Dr. Faggella-Luby’s primary research interest focuses on embedding instruction in learning strategies into subject-area courses to improve reading comprehension for all levels of learners. He received the 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities and the 2007 Annual Dissertation Award from CEC’s Division of Learning Disabilities for his dissertation study Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction: Story-Structure Pedagogy in Secondary Classes for Diverse Learners. In 2009, he received the Neag School of Education’s Early Career Scholar Award for his continued work in this area.

Before joining the faculty at University of Connecticut, Dr. Faggella-Luby was a doctoral fellow at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning under the direction of Drs. Donald Deshler and Jean Schumaker. He earned his doctorate from the Special Education Department at the University of Kansas. Dr. Faggella-Luby is a former high school administrator and teacher of both English and Chemistry.

Eamonn Kelly
Professor, George Mason University

Eamonn Kelly, professor of educational psychology at George Mason University, is interested in the intersection of where the creative space of innovative practices meets the pruning function of research methods (that is, design-based research). The 2009-2010 Fulbright New Century Scholar has written extensively about design research and was the lead editor of 2008’s Handbook of Design Research Methods in Education: Innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Learning and Teaching (published by Routledge). His current work includes three National Science Foundation awards investigating American Recovery and Reinvestment Act spending in education; the learning needs of megacities; and learning and assessment in cyberinfrastructure.

Ronald F. Ferguson
Senior Lecturer on Education and Public Policy, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Director and Co-chair, Harvard’s Achievement Gap Initiative
Economist, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Senior Research Associate, Kennedy School’s Wiener Center for Social Policy

Dr. Ferguson’s interests and research cover issues in education policy, youth development programming, community development, economic consequences of skill disparities, and state and local economic development. For several years, his research has focused on racial achievement gaps. His consulting and policy advisory activities target issues of education, employment, youth development, and urban development. He has worked with public school districts on racial and ethnic achievement gaps, provided expert testimony in school finance cases, and participated on National Research Council committees dealing with educational testing, school reforms, and youth development programming.