海角社区

Collaboration as the Catalyst: Advancing Accessibility Research Across Organizational and Educational Contexts | June 15, 2026
 
Abstract: In this session, Dr. Katherine Aquino and Dr. Adam R. Lalor, co-editors of The New Accessibility in Higher Education: Disrupting the System for an Inclusive Future, explored how collaborative scholarship can catalyze meaningful change in organizational environments, particularly within higher education. Drawing on years of a research partnership, Drs. Aquino and Lalor discussed how their shared commitment to accessibility and disability equity is enhanced, rather than constrained, by their distinct disciplinary perspectives, methodological approaches, and professional trajectories.
 
Centering insights from their new Oxford University Press volume, the presenters highlighted emerging frameworks for understanding accessibility as a dynamic, systemic responsibility rather than a transactional accommodation process. They discussed the ways in which institutional practices, policies, and cultures shape disabled students鈥� experiences, and how scholars can actively participate in reshaping these environments toward greater equity.
 
Because Project TIDES supports postdoctoral researchers working at the intersection of disability and STEM education, the speakers connected their work to broader questions of research identity formation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and developing a sustained line of inquiry. They shared concrete examples of how their own research partnership has evolved (spanning higher education policy, organizational theory, disability studies, and student experience research), and offered practical strategies for building and nurturing collaborative scholarly relationships.

The session concluded with time for questions and a focused consultation period with TIDES postdoctoral fellows, emphasizing how early-career scholars can strategically and collaboratively shape their research pathways toward transformative impact.
 
Presenter Bios: Katherine C. Aquino, Ph.D., is a social scientist and educational researcher. She currently serves as the Executive Director for Research Training and Development in the School of Graduate Studies at Rutgers University. She previously served as Associate Professor in the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership and the Associate Dean for Innovation and Partnerships in the School of Education at St. John鈥檚 University. Dr. Aquino holds a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in School Psychology, a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy, and an Advanced Certificate in Instructional Design and Delivery. Her research focuses on disability and accessibility in the organizational environment and investigates the complexity of disability in the postsecondary setting. Katherine has significant experience in program development and review, accreditation, and assessment initiatives, and works with organizations to ensure data integrity, compliance, and program effectiveness.

Adam Lalor, Ph.D. serves as Vice President of Neurodiversity Research and Innovation at Landmark College and is a research faculty member within the College鈥檚 online, certificate program in Learning Differences and Neurodiversity. With two decades of experience in higher education, he has served in instructional, research, and administrative capacities. Dr. Lalor鈥檚 research focuses on college success for disabled students, the preparation of educators to serve disabled students, and neurodiversity. His research has appeared in the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, LD: A multidisciplinary Journal, and the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Co-author of the book From Disability to Diversity: College Success for Students with Learning Disabilities, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder, he is sought after by colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, corporate entities, and the government to serve as a speaker and consultant. An advocate for neurodivergent and disabled people, he serves in leadership positions within the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) and the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). Dr. Lalor received his doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut鈥檚 Neag School of Education.

Multiple representations in Mathematics Intervention | June 1, 2026
 
Abstract: In this talk, Auburn University Professor of Special Education Margaret Flores discussed how to make mathematics accessible to elementary students with disabilities and students who received Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS) interventions. Using multiple representations assists students in developing understanding and procedural knowledge of mathematics concepts. Flores showed examples from research studies that include concepts such as multi-digit operations, place value and rational numbers.
 
Presenter Bio: Margaret Flores is a Professor of Special Education, head of the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation and Counseling, and Special Education Program Director and Doctoral Program Coordinator at the Auburn University College of Education. Her research includes academic interventions for students with disabilities and students who struggle. She taught special education in resource and self-contained settings prior to working in teacher-preparation. Dr. Flores earned a B.A. in Psychology from Auburn University. She earned her M.Ed. and teaching certification from Georgia State University. She taught in the Atlanta area prior to earning her Ph.D. from Georgia State University. She taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio prior joining the faculty at Auburn in 2008.

Charting My Universe: Research, Methodology, and the Making of a Critical Creative Scholar | May 11, 2026
 
Abstract: What does it mean to be a scholar who builds worlds? This talk invited attendees into the universe Dr. Kat Stephens-Peace (she/her) is actively constructing as a higher education faculty member and researcher, Caribbean research methodologist, arts-based research methodologist, and accessibility-focused intellectual. Rather than present a linear career narrative, Dr. KSP offered a map of research agendas, theoretical commitments, and methodological orientations that do not sit nearly alongside one another so much as they orbit, intersect, and illuminate. Drawing upon her grounding in Black Disability Studies, Literature, Critical and Intersectional ADHD Studies, and creative qualitative inquiry, Dr. KSP traced the intellectual and personal coordinates that have shaped how she sees higher education, who she researches with, and who she researches for, and accessibility鈥檚 place as not only a focus of her work, but a philosophy that runs throughout.
 
This talk provided an honest account of navigating academia as a multi-passionate faculty member who refuses to collapse into one lane or frame. Attendees encountered the throughlines connecting her research projects, understandingn what her work contributes to while challenging the field of higher education. Dr. KSP shared the intellectual traditions she draws on, as an interdisciplinary, disability focused, higher education researcher. This talk was an open door into a universe still in formation.
 
Presenter Bio: Dr. Kat J. Stephens-Peace is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education, in Educational Leadership at Teachers College, Ball State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2022), as well as an Ed.M. from Teachers College, Columbia University in Higher and Postsecondary Education (2018).  She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, concentrating in Caribbean Literature and Writing, Sociology, and Ed Policy (2014), Dr. Stephens-Peace is also a strong community college advocate, having transferred from Borough of Manhattan Community College (2012) where she majored in Creative Writing and Literature.

Dr. Stephens-Peace is a critical qualitative-creative.  She is a transdisciplinary education researcher, scholar, and educator.  Her areas of research inquiry are informed by her being a Caribbeanist in Higher Education, and her focus on disabled and crip, inclusive, international, and decolonized Black Studies, with an attention to the Global South.  Recent research projects have positioned Dr. Stephens-Peace as an student-identity and student-success focused researcher with respect to her work on Black women graduate students with disabilities (neurodivergence continuum), as well as Black Caribbean international and immigrant student populations. Her interests in arts based methods and alternative methods are prevalent in her work and use of poetry & digital media.  She has presented her research and theoretical papers at various national and international conferences.  Additionally, her work has appeared in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, and she have provided leadership and service to organization in the education space.

Open Science in Education Research: An Introduction to Why, What, and How | April 27, 2026
 
Abstract: Advocates of open science have aspired to make research more transparent, accessible, and efficient through practices such as open-access publishing, preregistration, data sharing, and materials sharing. In this presentation, we will discuss challenges in research that have given rise to the recent open-science movement (e.g., publications behind paywalls, low rates of reproducibility), key open practices that seek to address those challenges, and how to engage in those practices as education researchers. We will discuss pros and cons of each open practice.
 
Presenter Bio: Bryan Cook is a professor at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. His work focuses on facilitating and examining the use of open science and crowdsourcing in education research, researching research (i.e., meta-research) in education, and identification of evidence-based practices in special education. Recent accomplishments include working with research partners across the country as PI on a crowdsourced replication study funded by IES investigating teaching science facts to elementary students with high-incidence disabilities, receiving a $2.5 million leadership grant (in partnership with Temple University) from the U.S. Department of Education to train doctoral students with a focus on identifying and implementing evidence-based practices for students with disabilities, and co-authoring an article in Educational Researcher examining questionable research practices among education researchers (Makel et al., 2021) that was featured in an online Forbes article.

Conceptualizing STEM Education: From Discipline to (the) Learning Science(s) | Dec. 3, 2025

Abstract: Many different stakeholders鈥� ranging practicing scientists to educators to policymakers鈥� have sought to conceptualize what STEM education means and how effective educational practices can support STEM learning. In this talk, three common models for representing STEM education are presented and discussed. Disciplinary-based educational research draws on perspectives from within STEM disciplines and asks how effective educational strategies can support outcomes important to the field. The science of broadening participation seeks to ensure access to STEM learning for all students and that pathways to STEM careers are widely available. Finally, the learning sciences have often drawn on insights from an array of diverse disciplines to demonstrate how effective instructional practices and evidence-based models of student learning can shape outcomes that matter across STEM fields (& beyond). 
Presenter Bio: Justin Dimmel is associate dean for academics and student engagement in the University of 海角社区 College of Education and Human Development, where he also serves as an associate professor of mathematics education and instructional technology in the School of Learning and Teaching. Dr. Dimmel has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education. He is the founder and director of the Immersive Mathematics in Rendered Environments (IMRE) Lab, which designs virtual and augmented reality math and science learning environments, and investigates how VR and AR technologies can transform STEM education. In addition, he led a team that developed the SunRule, an interactive sculpture that harnesses the rays of the sun to help users explore multiplication and division. The project was chosen for U海角社区鈥檚 MIRTA accelerator, a program designed to advance research along the path to commercialization, turning lab innovations into real-world products and services with public benefit. In 2022, Dimmel received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the organization鈥檚 most prestigious award for early career faculty.

History of Special Education and Disability Research: The Influence and Impact on Education | Nov. 12, 2025 

Abstract: Special education and disability research have a rich history that has not only informed these fields but education and social sciences broadly. This session will provide a broad overview of the common types of research within special education followed by a discussion on how this research (and its findings) impacts education and policy for all students. 
Presenter Bio: Sara Flanagan is an associate professor of special education at the University of 海角社区, College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Flanagan鈥檚 research and expertise focuses on Universal Design for Learning across the PK-20 education setting, literacy and technology interventions for students with and without disabilities, and teacher preparation at the in-service and pre-service levels for both. Dr. Flanagan has published numerous book chapters and articles, and presented at conferences on these topics. Dr. Flanagan is currently the past-president of the Council for Learning Disabilities and the PI for the 海角社区 SEEDS program, which provides mentoring and support for new special education teachers in 海角社区. Dr. Flanagan鈥檚 work is supported through organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the 海角社区 Department of Education.

Disability as a Multivalent Construct: Diagnosis, Identity, and Environment in the Representation of Disabled Realities | Oct. 8, 2025
 
Abstract: This presentation highlights the many different ways that disability is conceptualized in social sciences research. By highlighting variations in both definition and operationalization of the term 鈥渄isability鈥� and related constructs, it becomes clear that disability is part of a complex web of meaning with clear implications both for daily life and for academic research. Moreover, by demonstrating the varying ways we can and should conceptualize disability, this presentation will highlight how inattention to various facets of disability experience can be understood as a key feature of normal social science. The presentation closes by arguing that this inattention has real and lasting consequences for how and when disabled people can receive diagnoses, think about disability as a feature of their identity, and experience constructed environments. 
Presenter Bio: Ezekiel 鈥淶eke鈥� Kimball is Professor and Dean of the University of 海角社区 College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Kimball鈥檚 research focuses on how to create the conditions for student success in PK-20 education systems. He is a leading expert on disability identity development, postsecondary STEM learning environments, and how academia leverages scholarly knowledge for social impact. Dr. Kimball鈥檚 research has resulted in 2 books and more than 75 journal articles and book chapters. His work has been supported by organizations such as  the National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Kimball is a past editor of the  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability.