News and Events

December 2024

IAEP Center Webinar 

Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Carrie Holmberg moderate a IAEP series “Assessment for Deeper Learning” webinar on “Blending Instructional and Assessment Purposes in the Age of AI: What We are Learning in California Public Schools from the Wisdom of Practice” featuring discussants Wes Kriesel and Kunal Dalal, both administrators of artificial intelligence and innovation for the Orange County Department of Education.

Sponsored by the Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) these distinguished panelists share their experiences and insights on assessment for deeper learning (AfDL) for communities that serve diverse students in secondary and tertiary settings. The panelists will explore how AI can assist in promoting ambitious teaching, instruction and assessment for deeper learning in public education.

Our panelists address these questions together: 

• What do you think students see as most promising about AI and how are they using it today?
• What is most promising about the age of AI for the development of deeper learning in today’s middle and high school settings?
• How, if at all, are AI technologies supporting assessment for deeper learning? 
• What do we still not know –in instructional and assessment contexts– about AI-assistive technologies to support deeper learning?

Event speakers bios and contact information:

Wes Kriesel is an administrator of artificial intelligence and innovation for the Orange County Department of Education, bringing over 25 years of experience in public education. His work in advancing outcomes for students, families, and staff is guided by inclusiveness, storytelling, and innovation. Previously, he served as Director of Innovation and Instructional Support at Fullerton School District, leading innovative and personalized learning initiatives, and held roles focused on 21st-century learning and virtual education development at Santa Ana Unified School District. Kriesel holds a Clear Administrative Services Credential and both an M.A. and B.A. in English from UC Irvine. His expertise spans educational innovation, AI integration, and personalized learning approaches. Outside of work, Wes enjoys photography, his dogs, his Jeep, and spending time with his wife – in reverse order of importance.

Kunal Dalal is an experienced educator and leader in the field of K-12 education, focusing on AI integration. He works with the Orange County Department of Education, leading AI initiatives across multiple districts. Kunal serves on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland, and has a background in entrepreneurship, including founding Accidentally Extraordinary, a small headphone company. He holds two master's degrees in education from Harvard University and UC Berkeley. In his personal life, Kunal enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, cooking, and dadding.

November 2024

IAEP Center Webinar

Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Carrie Holmberg moderate a IAEP series “Assessment for Deeper Learning” webinar on “Developing Student Writers in the Age of AI: Which Approaches, if Any, Make Sense for Deeper Equity?” featuring discussants Hillary E. Walker (The Bay Area Writing Project), Chris Mah (Stanford University) and Kevin Dublin (The Living Room SF). 

Sponsored by the Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) these distinguished panelists share their experiences and findings on the role of artificial intelligence in the teaching of writing to young people in public school settings and the changing ways teachers have been managing the complex challenges of teaching writing in the age of AI.

Our panelists address these questions together: 

• What is most promising about the age of AI for the development of student writers in today’s middle and high school settings?
• In helping teachers to learn about and use AI tools for writing, which approaches seem to make the most sense? 
• In helping students develop their writing skills and identities as writers, what works and what doesn’t work when using AI tools?
• What do we still not know enough about in the development of students as writers in the age of AI?

Event speakers bios and contact information:

Hillary Walker directs the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP) at UC Berkeley, where she has successfully led professional development for educators who are committed to deepening the role of writing instruction across various subject areas. Hillary has recently been exploring how AI can assist teachers who teach writing and are working to support K-12 students who are developing as writers.

Chris Mah is a PhD student at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a BAWP Teacher Consultant. Chris researches connections between learning technologies, teacher education, and writing. His recent research explores the intersection of feedback and the effectiveness of AI writing supports in secondary schools. Prior to graduate study, Chris taught high school English in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Kevin Dublin is an educator and author of Eulogy (2023) and How to Fall in Love in San Diego (2017). He is the director of The Living Room SF and has taught writing in the form of composition or creative writing at Duke University, San Diego State University, East Carolina University and in the community through the Elder Writing Project.

September 2024

IAEP Center Co-sponsors AI-assisted Writing Workshop

Dr. Carrie Holmberg served as an invited facilitator-presenter at the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP) Weekend Workshop series on Saturday September 28, 2024. As part of her role as Assistant Director of Assessment at the IAEP Center, Dr. Holmberg has been working on building collaborative relationships with Hillary Walker at UC Berkeley’s BAWP and Dr. Bronwyn LaMay at the San José Area Writing Project (SJAWP) and extending IAEP Center’s efforts to build capacity for pre- and inservice Language Arts teachers across northern California. 

Carrie’s workshop with BAWP colleagues focused on the question, “Can Generative AI Help New Teachers Coach Writers More Thoughtfully?” The 75-minute session generated insights with these guiding questions: 

• How did you use AI to help one or both of the focus students’ writing samples?
• Where in the writing process do you envision your AI boost/intervention happening?
• What questions emerge for you in this process of using AI to support student writing?
• As you considered offering feedback on these students’ first writing drafts, did you notice a gap between the human-generated suggestions and machine-generated suggestions? If so, in what ways?
• How might one address and improve human and machine-generated feedback “in the writing process” that promotes asset-based approaches?

For more information, contact Carrie.Holmberg@sjsu.edu at the IAEP Center

September 2024

IAEP Center Webinar

Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Carrie Holmberg moderate a IAEP series “Assessment for Deeper Learning” webinar on Assessment for Deeper Learning: Making sense of machine driven feedback in the age of AI, featuring discussants Dr. Fabienne van der Kliej (Australian Council for Educational Research), Dr. Jill Willis (Queensland University of Technology) and Daniel Taylor-Griffiths (University of Queensland). 

Sponsored by the Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) these distinguished panelists share their experiences and findings on the role of assessment for deeper learning with a focus on AI-assisted feedback. The panelists address these questions together in the session: 

• What does feedback look like in the age of AI?
• How will AI assisted resources, tools and technologies deepen feedback processes, cycles, and routines?
• Will AI assistive technologies better support the quality of directionality, configurations, and modalities of feedback? 

Event speakers bios and contact information:

Dr. Fabienne van der Kleij is a Senior Research Fellow within ACER’s Centre for School and System Improvement (CSSI), leading a workstream focussed on evidence and innovation. With a PhD in feedback in computer-based assessment, Fabienne's work centres on the intersection of student learning, student voice and digital technologies. She conducts literature reviews, consults with key educational stakeholders, and develops evidence-based tools like the School Improvement Tool: Elaborations for student engagement and wellbeing. Before joining ACER Fabienne worked as a Research Fellow in academia (The University of Queensland, 2020; Australian Catholic University, 2014-2019), where she conducted research into educational assessment and teacher and school leader professional learning in feedback to improve student learning. She has published extensively on assessment and student learning in quality international peer-reviewed journal articles, practitioner outlets, and book chapters. Fabienne was recently awarded Fellowship status of the Association for Educational Assessment Europe, the highest level of professional recognition for expertise in and contributions to the assessment profession. Email contact: Fabienne.vanderkleij@acer.org

Dr. Jill Willis is a Professor of Education at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia. Her research investigates how reflexivity can lead to greater agency in the context of school structures like classroom assessment, learning spaces, and evaluation processes. She currently leads research on accessibility in assessment, and student evaluations of vertical schools and is a member of the Centre for Inclusive Education. Jill has a strong track record in collaborating in international and multi-disciplinary teams. She is proud to be part of the international research team led by Professor Christopher DeLuca to propose four assessment capacities for assessment education in the 2023 book “Learning to Assess: Cultivating Assessment Capacity in Teacher Education”. Email contact: jill.willis@qut.edu.au

Daniel Taylor-Griffiths is a PhD Candidate, Sessional Academic and Research Assistant at the University of Queensland, and is currently completing a placement with ACER’s Centre for School and System Improvement (CSSI). Having worked in various academic, student support, and policy roles at several Australian universities, he is driven by the need to mobilise educational psychology principles and evidence to support effective educational policy and practice. His primary interest is in developing students’ self- and co-regulatory capabilities to facilitate the successful transition to higher education. Daniel’s PhD focuses on self- and co-regulatory feedback mechanisms that facilitate student motivation and engagement, with an aim to promote student wellbeing engagement through self-reflective feedback practices. Email contact: Daniel.TaylorGriffiths@acer.org

May 2024

IAEP Fellow Sofia Fojas Featured in EdSource Article on the Impacts of Arts Education

Sofia Fojas, a 3rd year doctoral student at the College of Education’s Ed.D. program in leadership has been studying the role of arts coordinators across California as part of a multi-year fellowship guided by Dr. Lorri Capizzi and Dr. Brent Duckor since summer 2021. 

Sofia’s dissertation research situates art coordinators as part of a wider leading from the middle reform framework (Fullan & Rincón-Gallardo, 2017 [pdf]; Hargreaves, 2024) and she studies the critical role her colleagues’ beliefs and experiences play in deepening equity and excellence for at promise children and teens in the State-wide systems of support.

In a recent EdSource article on “Mariachi program teaches history and culture as well as music” Sofia lent her voice to the importance of making an impact in our local schools and supporting the culture of our communities. In the interview with KAREN D'SOUZA, she notes:

“I am really driven by the ideal of a free and public education, and the arts need to be part of that,” said Sofia Fojas, arts coordinator for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. “Music and the arts are part of being human. It’s a universal language, a way to bridge the different cultures we see in the classroom in California. It’s really about the importance of arts and culture and engaging youth who traditionally have not had access.”

“Everybody needs to understand the importance of art,” said Fojas. “Arts is culture, and when you deny people arts, you’re denying them culture, and those cultural artifacts are the things we leave behind. So if we deny youth the ability to participate in the arts, we’re denying future generations the ability to see what we’ve left behind.”

May 2024

IAEP ELTE Cooperation Agreement Reached and Ties Deepened with International Researchers

Representatives from SJSU’s Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) Center and Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) met in Budapest, Hungary to secure a cooperation agreement to conduct research on AI in K-12 and higher education settings. Executive Director Dr. Brent Duckor and Assistant Director Dr. Carrie Holmberg of the IAEP Center met with Dr. Anikó Zsolnai, the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology and her colleagues to launch a cross-national exchange of research on innovations and risks related to AI technologies in tertiary and higher education contexts. The primary focus on the collaboration between ELTE and SJSU IAEP faculty leads will be on the production and dissemination of shared research in various channels including webinars, international conference presentations, peer reviewed journal articles, guest lectures delivered in courses that include educational sciences Master’s degrees.

Dr. Brent Duckor noted that the IAEP Center is dedicated to global perspectives on AI, particularly in the areas of assessment, evaluation, and testing, as these new technologies will inevitably impact and transform ‘business as usual.’ “We seek international partners with strong research programs to help inform our own thinking about AI-infused educational ecosystems. Hungarians such as Andy Grove at Intel have long influenced Silicon Valley from its inception. It is exciting to learn from and improve our AI research focus at IAEP with committed ELTE faculty here at San José State University.”

Dr. Carrie Holmberg who currently leads IAEP’s professional development and certificates programs will be working with the ELTE team to better serve international stakeholders who may wish to upgrade their use of AI technology in classroom assessment settings. At the Budapest meeting, Dr. Holmberg emphasized the values and care the IAEP Center has for equity and excellence together:  “There are promising ‘solutions’ emerging aimed at reducing teacher and faculty workload using potentially rich feedback protocols and processes with AI. Our goal is to offer practical and responsible uses of AI grading and evaluation tech to teachers committed to integrity, growth, and genuine intellectual development.”

Both Duckor and Holmberg also presented a working paper on “Can machines serve as guides-on-the-side? at the 20th Conference on Educational Assessment at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. Coupled with two sponsored workshops, these contributions continue to build ties to networks and broader communities of educational researchers across Europe.

March 2024

IAEP Center Webinar

March 21st, 2024

Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Carrie Holmberg moderate a IAEP series “Assessment for Deeper Learning” webinar on Assessment for Deeper Learning: Rethinking Possibilities and Practice for EL Students Today, featuring discussants Dr. Muñoz-Muñoz (San José State University), Dr. Sofía González-Otero (San Mateo-Foster City School District) and Dr. Ma Bernadette Salgarino (Santa Clara County Office of Education). 

Sponsored by the Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) these distinguished panelists share their experiences and findings on the role of assessment in positively transforming EL outcomes, while also addressing practices that may impede EL student success. The panelists address these questions together: 

• What does high quality assessment for learning mean for EL serving practitioners?
• Which assessment for learning approaches lead to positive outcomes for EL serving students?
• Are there any areas for concern we need to know about when it comes to traditional classroom assessment practices?
• How might we rethink classroom assessment for achieving EL-focused equity, inclusivity and excellence?

Event speakers bios and contact information:

Dr. Eduardo R Muñoz-Muñoz is an Associate professor at San José State University. He holds a Ph.D. with a dual specialization in Race, Inequality and Language in Education and Sociology of Education from Stanford University. Dr. Muñoz-Muñoz serves as the Coordinator of the Critical Bilingual Authorization program “Bilingüismo y Justicia” at the Lurie College of Education, as well as the site director of the Stanford World Language Project (SWLP). He researches the transformative power of critical multilingual teachers for our society´s democratic education project and has begun examining the critical role of classroom assessment in shaping language learner outcomes. Email contact: eduardo.munoz-munoz@sjsu.edu

Dr. Sofía González-Otero is the Coordinator of Multilingual Learner Services at San Mateo-Foster City School District. She holds a Ph.D. in Equity and Innovation in Education from the University of A Coruña (Spain), co-supervised by Stanford University. In her previous role as a Data and Research Associate at New Teacher Center, Smarter Balanced Consortium, Dr. González-Otero’s work focused on developing and analyzing instructional resources in grades 3-8 and high school in the areas of English Language Arts and Mathematics. As an Instructional and Senior Research Associate at Stanford’s Understanding Language and Center to Support Excellence in Teaching (CSET), she also supported different organizations, districts, and schools to address the needs and progress of multilingual students. Email contact: sgonzalezotero@smfc.k12.ca.us

Dr. Ma Bernadette Salgarino is Assistant Director of iSTEAM at the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). Dr. Salgarino is the President of CA Mathematics Council, a former HS mathematics teacher, a National Board Certified Teacher, a member of the Mathematics Curriculum Framework Committee (2013 & 2023), and SBAC item writer and reviewer. Her leadership within the Bay Area East Side Alliance was instrumental in co-creating a system aimed at promoting and sustaining Assessment for Learning practices. Email contact: bandres-salgarino@sccoe.org

February 2024

CCEE IAEP Workshop Presentation

February 13, 2024

The Center for Innovation in Applied Education Policy (IAEP) Center focuses on interdisciplinary and interprofessional research projects to build a system of support from within the CSU to better meet the needs of vulnerable at-promise students. Working with the California system of support providers, Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Lorri Capizzi are connecting with CCEE directors, staff, and stakeholders to share new ‘educative’ leadership tools for communicating practitioner-centered research to better serve at-promise students. Director Matt Navo will curate the discussion of the newly launched IAEP Center’s most recent multi-module project, sponsored in part by the Center to Close the Opportunity Gap (CCOG), that focuses on meeting the needs of students in foster care. The design team at SJSU’s IAEP Center is creating the module series “Weaving Connections: Collaborative Support for Foster Youth in California Schools” to start the interprofessional focused conversations to promote transformative perspectives on the needs of foster youth. These on-line resources will demonstrate how teachers, school counselors, school social workers, school administrators and school psychologists can work together by seeing how each of their roles and responsibilities inform practice. The hour-long workshop will invite feedback from CCEE leads on how to customize and tailor these modules to current projects across the network and broader community.

January 2024

NZCER Webinar 

January 18, 2024

Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Carrie Holmberg led a national webinar on Meaningful Feedback for Continuous Improvement in the Classroom, featuring discussants Dr. Bronwen Cowie (University of Waikato) and Dr. Gavin Brown (University of Auckland). Sponsored by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) Duckor and Holmberg spoke to their findings on feedback, with practical actions that kaiako can implement right away in their classroom to support students’ peer- and self-assessment and learning progressions based on their new book Feedback for continuous improvement in the classroom.