UC Davis experts: Education

The University of California, Davis, has campus experts available to provide commentary related education.

• Educational testing
• Bullying and school relations
• Children's fears
• Special education efforts
• Bilingual history

Educational testing

Professor Jamal Abedi of the UC Davis School of Education is an expert in the "how-to" of K-12 educational testing. Among the leading scholars in his field, he studies nuisance variables -- things that interfere with students' ability to properly show what they know and can do. Specializing in testing for English-language learners, Abedi looks at testing, and learning disabilities; linguistic and cultural biases of the assessments; the effect of the testing method (e.g. computer, paper-and-pencil, hands-on); the pattern of responses; the effect of format, from font to organization; and the design and wording of questions. The professor is the author of many publications in the assessment of and accommodations for English-language learners. Abedi is on the advisory committees for several major test-publishing companies and advises a number of states on testing for English-language learners and children with disabilities. Contact: Jamal Abedi, School of Education, (530) 754-9150, jabedi@ucdavis.edu.

Bullying and school relations

Adrienne Nishina, an assistant professor of human development at UC Davis, focuses on peer relations from sixth grade through high school. The clinical psychologist studies short-term and long-term effects of victimization, coping strategies, psychological and physical health issues and academic adjustments. Nishina also can talk about how the balance of ethnicities affects students' feelings of school safety. She is involved in an ongoing UCLA study in the Los Angeles school district following the paths of students as they transition from middle school to high school and beyond, hoping to find the keys to success for low-income, ethnically diverse school populations. Contact: Adrienne Nishina, Human and Community Development, (530) 752-7003, anishina@ucdavis.edu.

Children's fears

In the wake of violence like the Virginia Tech shootings, it is important to reassure elementary school students about their safety without misleading them, says Anna Kato of the UC Davis School of Education. A lecturer and supervisor of student teachers, Kato served on the commission on school violence of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. "Violent things happen. ... Acknowledge children's experiences and fears," said Kato, who teaches on classroom management as part of a course on effective teaching. The former elementary school teacher said teachers should create an environment for learning that is safe -- both physically and emotionally. Kato holds a doctorate in education with an emphasis in counseling. Contact: Anna Kato, School of Education, (530) 752-3401, atkato@ucdavis.edu.

Special Education Efforts

Richard Figueroa, a professor of education at UC Davis who focuses on bilingual special education. If bilingual education is eliminated from California's public schools, he says, many children will be wrongly diagnosed as mildly retarded or learning disabled simply because they don't speak English well enough. Figueroa, co-author of the book "Bilingualism and Testing: A Special Case of Bias," advises the Los Angeles Unified School District on how to provide special education for children who are from Hispanic and potentially bilingual families. Contact, Richard Figueroa, Education, (530) 752-6293, (fluent Spanish speaker) rafigueroa@ucdavis.edu.

Bilingual history

Lenora Timm, linguistics professor at UC Davis and an expert in bilingualism, particularly the value of bilingualism. She researches multilingual and bilingual societies and can discuss global and historical perspectives on bilingualism. Contact Lenora Timm, Linguistics, (530) 752-4540, latimm@ucdavis.edu.

Media contacts:

• Claudia Morain, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu

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