Project Description:
Burke, M. (PI), Boon, R. (PI), & Bowman-Perrott, L. (PI) (2021-2026). BU: Davis, T. (Co-PI), Gerow, S. (Co-PI), & Sulak, T. (Co-PI). TAMU: Tong, F. (Co-PI), Eslami, Z. (Co-PI). UTSA: Ewoldt, K. (Co-PI), Huang, B. (Co-PI), Neely, L. (Co-PI). Project DIVERSE: Doctoral Scholars Implementing Socially Valid Evidence-Based Practices and Research for Improving the Language, Literacy, and Social-Emotional Outcomes of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Consortium Doctoral Leadership grant. (Funded, Total award $3,766,943).
Project DIVERSE Summary
Project DIVERSE will prepare 15 doctoral scholars focused on developing expertise in evidence- based practices (EBPs) focused on academic language, assessment, and social, emotional, and behavioral support for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Learners with disabilities. Project DIVERSE focuses on a "needs based" language and disability inclusive approach to special education that (a) cuts across disability areas, (b) emphases individualized intervention of learning and/or behavior difficulties within a prevention science framework, and (c) focuses on evidence-based practices to improve special education services for CLD learners with disabilities. Project DIVERSE represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between (1) Department of Educational Psychology at Baylor University (BU), (2) Department of Educational Psychology (Bilingual/ESL and Special Education Divisions) at Texas A&M University (TAMU), and (3) Departments of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching and Department of Bilingual-Bicultural Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Existing doctoral programs at the three participating universities will be leveraged to prepare fifteen doctoral scholars (five per university) to assume leadership positions at institutions of higher education with preparation in evidence-based interventions and advanced research methods focused on high need CLD learners with disabilities. Project DIVERSE scholars will participate in a rigorous, research-intensive, competency-based doctoral program that combines coursework in foundational and advanced research methods and active research participation with in-depth training in evidence-based practices. These doctoral scholars will be prepared to conduct socially valid educational and behavioral research that will contribute success, wellbeing, and flourishing of this population of learners.
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Yes, we have a flyer (I've attached it for you). Yes, we have one student in the SPED Emphasis Area program and one BESL Emphasis Area program who will be Project DIVERSE doctoral scholars beginning this fall (for our TAMU subcontract). The SPED student just finished her first year in our program, and the BESL student will be a new doctoral student in the fall.
We've had a "big grant meeting" with all Co-PIs at Baylor, UTSA, and TAMU. I've been working with the lead PI, and other co-PI at UTSA on getting students set up with their pre-scholarship agreements, recruiting, and possible collaborative efforts for our doctoral scholars and students at a university in Ecuador.
Since we were just funded in October of last year, we are still focused on recruitment efforts
