The Weekly Recap
News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week
Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we share community updates, provide details on faculty engagement, and highlight news mentions and recently published research.
New Announcements
DESE Commissioner Update: Pedro Martinez, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, is poised to become the next Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), following a 9-0-2 vote by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday. Learn more here.
In the News
Reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase undermines its true purpose, The Conversation, (written by Clinical Professor Detris Adelabu, Clinical Assoc. Professor Felicity Crawford, and Clinical Assoc. Professor Linda Banks-Santilli), April 22, 2025
New Books
Global Perspective on SEL: Social and Emotional Learning as Foundation for Future Readiness (co-edited by Professor V. Scott Solberg and Research Scientist Chong Myung Park)
This book provides a global perspective on social and emotional learning (SEL) skills through a cross-cultural study of educator perceptions conducted by career development researchers from 19 countries. It emphasizes SEL as essential for both educational success and workplace readiness. Covering research from the Global South, Asia, and the Global North, the book offers comparative analyses and culturally responsive strategies for developing SEL and future-readiness skills. Each region contributes specific recommendations for implementing SEL and career development programs. The book also introduces a transformative research model that reexamines career development theory and practice in diverse sociopolitical and cultural contexts.
Research That Matters
Skill Level and Learning in Taekwondo: Skill level influences the learning of a taekwondo-based serial task (co-authored by Assoc. Professor Edson Filho)
In this study, researchers explored how skill level influences the learning of a new Taekwondo sequence. They found that skilled athletes learned the sequence more quickly and showed greater improvement and retention compared to beginners. This advantage is likely due to their superior "chunking ability," which allows them to group movements more effectively. Skilled athletes also demonstrated more efficient information processing. Interestingly, both groups primarily learned through an online (real-time) learning process. Overall, the findings suggest that existing expertise in a sport can make it easier to learn new, related motor skills.
Upcoming Events
April 26 - 1965 Freedom Rally. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Rally led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruth Batson, Alan Gartner, Reverend Virgil Wood, and Dr. Ralph Abernathy. The rally took place on April 23, 1965, with over 20,000 people marching on Boston Common to protest racial imbalance in housing and schools. On April 26th, from 10:30 to 2:30 PM, Embrace Boston calls upon over 10,000 voices to unite in solidarity for hope and action. As Dr. King urged in 1956, Boston must “be the testing ground for the ideal of freedom.” This rally serves as a testament that Boston continues to be a powerful force for freedom, equality, and human dignity.
📅 Date: April 26th, 2025
🕒 Time: 10:30 AM - 2:30 PMMay 1 - BU Wheelock Community of Educators Reception. Boston University’s annual Community of Educators Reception honors the site supervisors, BU faculty, and community partners who support BU Wheelock students in their fieldwork. We invite our partners to join us as we recognize and thank you for the essential role you play in preparing future educators. RSVP here.
📅 Date: May 1st, 2025
🕒 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
📍Dahod Family Alumni Center at the Castle, 225 Bay State Road
May 7 - Preparing a Strong Special Education Workforce: Learning from NCES. Join the SPACE Office for the third session in the Research that Matters: Insights from Community-Engaged Scholarship webinar series. Moderated by Jessica Wong, Director of BU Federal Relations, this session will feature a conversation between research partners Elizabeth Bettini, Associate Professor at BU Wheelock, and Tuan Nguyen, Associate Professor at the University of Missouri College of Education. Together, they will discuss key findings from two recent research projects examining the special educator workforce.
📅 Date: May 7th, 2025
🕒 Time: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
📍Webinar, register here
May 8 – The Conversation on Higher Education. Join The Conversation U.S. and Johns Hopkins University Press for a launch event and discussion of The Conversation on Higher Education at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA. Editor Mary Churchill, Associate Dean, BU Wheelock will be joined by Tim Poynton, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director for School Counseling, UMass Boston and Pam Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College. The event will be moderated by Beth Daley, Executive Editor, The Conversation U.S. Register here.
📅 Date: May 8th, 2025
🕒 Time: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
📍Coolidge Corner Theater, Brookline, MA