CEHD Research in Press: May 2026

NEWS 

Dr. Elizabeth Suazo-Flores received funding for a Fall 2026 UND CONNECT project supporting the Spanish Storytime initiative, a community–university partnership between UND and the Grand Forks Public Library. The program provides monthly Spanish-language Storytime sessions that promote language development, cultural engagement, and experiential learning opportunities for UND students while meeting the growing community demand for Spanish-language resources and heritage language support. Led by Dr. Suazo-Flores and Dr. Christie Cole in collaboration with librarian Kirbie Sondreal, the project fosters inclusive, intergenerational learning experiences that celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity.

Drs. Cheryl and Josh Hunter received an Excel Energy grant of $5,000.00 to UND Alumni Association and Foundation to support Cultivating Community: Pollinator Habitats, Green Space Renewal, and Intergenerational Sustainability Education. This grant will give a significant jump start on their Pollinator Walk and interpretive signage.

Dr. Akorede Teriba was awarded a 2026 School of Graduate Studies Summer Professorship for the project Navigating AI in Graduate Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of AI Use, Beliefs, and Implications for Mentorship and Well-Being. The project examines how graduate students currently use artificial intelligence in their academic work, how they believe AI should be ethically and effectively integrated into education, and how beliefs and values shape patterns of AI engagement. The award highlights the project’s potential to contribute to student success and broader conversations regarding the role of AI in higher education.

Dr. Roehl Sybing‘s latest book, Writing Positionality for Qualitative Inquiry: A Meta-Analysis of Written Research, will be published by Routledge on June 4, 2026. This book is the product of critical analysis of expressions of positionality in published ethnographic studies in various social science fields to provide researchers with guidance on how to situate researcher positionality in the research process for persuasive research writing. Dr. Sybing’s work captures the importance of transparency and reflexivity in research through a full consideration of the researcher’s identities, knowledge, and perspective.

Dr. Renuka de Silva has been invited to speak at the Department of Education Grantee Showcase at the Discretionary Project Directors Meeting in Washington DC. She will speak as member of a panel representing the Native American Teaching Retention Initiative (NATRI). The director of the Office of Indian Education in the invitation email stated, “your work in steering your discretnionary grant and fostering meaningful innovation has been instrumental in strengthening the impact of the Office of Indian educaiton’s discretionary projects. Projects, like yours, play a vital role in advancing Native student success, uplifting local priorities, and helping communities build programs that honor culture, language, and future opportunity.”

The latest issue of The Cicadian (Volume 1, Issue 2: Vernal Equinox) continues the journal’s mission of fostering interdisciplinary creative scholarship rooted in relationships with nature, place, and embodied experience. Featuring poetry, photography, creative nonfiction, soundscapes, and scholarly reflections, the issue brings together diverse voices exploring ecological connection, renewal, pedagogy, and storytelling through both artistic and academic lenses. Published in alignment with seasonal cycles, The Cicadian invites readers to reflect on humanity’s evolving relationship with the natural world during a time of ecological fragility and change.

SPOTLIGHT

Gro.UND’s 2025 Impact Report from directors Drs. Joshua and Cheryl Hunter. The GRO.UND Learning Gardens continued to flourish this year as a vibrant outdoor classroom that welcomed more than 700 visitors, including students, educators, families, and community groups. The 902-square-foot garden produced over 700 pounds of fresh food and nearly 100 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, all of which were shared with local schools, food pantries, libraries, and families. Beyond food production, the garden fostered literacy, experiential learning, and community connection through nature-based education that encouraged participants to engage with learning in embodied and relational ways. Looking ahead, GRO.UND plans to expand to a new location at Education NW alongside the University Children’s Learning Center, further strengthening opportunities for inclusive, nature-centered learning across generations. Sincere gratitude to our GSA, Lacey Anderson, that developed the report, and Kenya Zarns that helped bring it to life.

The CEER Overview 2025-2026 – Interim May 26 (Center for Education Engineering Research) at UND continued to expand its impact during the 2025–2026 academic year through interdisciplinary research, outreach, and partnerships focused on broadening pathways into engineering education. Established as a North Dakota State Board of Higher Education-designated center in 2025, CEER secured major external funding, including NSF-supported projects examining teacher professional learning and rural student engagement in engineering, while also developing new grant proposals and statewide collaborations. The center provided professional development opportunities for faculty and K–12 educators, hosted STEM outreach activities for students across North Dakota, and advanced research related to culturally relevant engineering design and teacher self-efficacy. Through partnerships with organizations such as Montana State University, the KEEN Foundation, and regional education agencies, CEER continues to strengthen engineering education, experiential learning, and community engagement across the region.

LATEST SCHOLARSHIP

CEHD faculty are in bold, and CEHD students are underlined. 

Grants

Lopez, P., Rutten, L., & Stermer, K. (2026). Rural Outreach and Opportunities for Teacher Success (ROOTS). Strategic Investment, University of North Dakota. $142,387.

Hunter, J., & Hunter, C. (2026). Cultivating community: Pollinator habitats, green space renewal, and intergenerational sustainability education (Grant No. N/A). Xcel Energy Foundation. ($5,000)

Publications

Zaman, M. Vojacek, L., Zacher, S., & Summers, R. (2026). Building the North Dakota teaching force: Insights from the Rural Student Teaching Experience (RTSE). Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 37(1), 20-27.

Liu, F. (2026). AI literacy and foreign language boredom in AI-assisted academic English learning: The roles of engagement and task value. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1795301. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1795301

Rawlins Williams, L. A. (2026). Disaster preparedness and life care planning: Bridging the critical gap in rehabilitation and disability management. Journal of Life Care Planning, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.70385/001c.160135

Macharia, P., Block Ngaybe, M. G., Ravi, P., Moraa, H., Hamzazai, W., Moikobu, B., et al. (2026). Perspectives of adolescents and young people on digital health interventions and their impact on health knowledge. PLOS Global Public Health, 6(4), e0005611. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0005611

Sybing, R. (2026). Writing positionality for qualitative inquiry: A meta-analysis of written research. Routledge.

Ahiase, G., & Stupnisky, R.H. The role of grit in STEM faculty research success: A US longitudinal study. Research in Higher Education, 67, 18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-026-09897-3

Presentations

Grave, S. (2026, April 21). Fostering success: Understanding autism in childhood and adolescence: A virtual training for foster, adopting, and kinship caregivers [Invited presentation]. Children and Family Services Training Center & North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services.

Zaman, M. (2026, April). International College Students’ Perceived English Language Competence and Academic Self-Efficacy in the U.S. Midwest. Paper accepted for presentation at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Los Angeles, CA.

Boz, T. (June, 2026). Building AI Literacy in K-12 Classrooms. Presentation at the IgNite ND 2026 conference, June 3, 2026, Valley City State University, Valley City, ND.

Hung, W. (June, 2026). Teachable Machine for enhancing student learning with AI. Presentation at the IgNite ND 2026 conference, June 3, 2026, Valley City State University, Valley City, ND.

Williams, L.A. (May, 2026).  Strengthening disaster preparedness for aging populations. National Council on Aging (NCOA), Aging + Action Training Conference, Arlington, Virginia.

Williams, L.A. (March, 2026). Teaching through the storm: Advancing teacher mental health and resilience in crisis contexts. In Proceedings of the 2026 International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED), Valencia, Spain (ISBN: 978-84-09-82385-7; Abstract ID 0495). 10.21125/inted.2026.0495.

Ravi, P. (April 13, 2026). Oral health for all ages: A life course approach [Invited virtual guest lecture]. World Oral Health Day celebrations at the Department of Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences, SGT University, India.

Robinson, J., Potes, S., Smirnoff, D., Shein, P., Miller, J., & Chlebek, N. (2026, May 5). Connecting science knowledge through storytelling from around the world, part 2 [Webinar series]. National Association for Research in Science Teaching.

Robinson, J. & Brecklin, C. (2026, May). Expanding pathways for rural students into engineering. Poster to be presented at the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Annual Summit. New Orleans, LA.

Inouye, M., Cabrera, L., Lee, M.J., Gist, J., Zaman, M., & Summers, R.(2026, April). From Isolation to Connection: Strengthening Rural Teacher Collaboration Through Large-scale Virtual Professional Learning.  Proposal accepted at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Los Angeles, CA.

Cabrera, L.N., Gist, J., Robinson, J.,  Lee, M.J., Hammack, R. J., Boz. T. (2026, accepted). Supporting Student Motivation Through Community-Relevant Elementary Engineering Lessons. Proposal accepted at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Los Angeles, CA.

Iveland, A., Macias, M., & Summers, R. (2026, accepted). From Isolation to Community: Sustaining NGSS Professional Learning for Rural Educators. Paper accepted at National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) in Anaheim, CA.

Iveland, A., Macias, M., & Robinson, J. (2026, accepted). Making Engineering Meaningful: CRED Framework Lessons for Rural Elementary Teachers. Paper accepted at National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) in Anaheim, CA.

Elsayed, R., Macias, M., Iveland, A., & Summers, R. (2026, April). Impacts of Professional Learning on Rural Elementary School Teachers’ Enactment of Student Agency. Paper accepted at the 2026 National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual International Conference, Seattle, WA.

Lee, M.J., Inouye, M.C., Hammack, R., & Gist, J. (2026, April). Two Years of Online Professional Learning: Elementary Teachers’ Professional Growth in Science and Engineering Teaching. Paper accepted at the 2026 National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual International Conference, Seattle, WA.