Multnomah County Partnership for Education Research (MCPER)

School of Education NWEA Research-Practice Partnership

In addition to performing district-based research, the Partnership also participates in professional conferences and publishes our work in professional journals and additional educational resources. A summary of our most recent accomplishments is below.

Conference Presentations

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

2023 – Former University of Portland research Fellows Sue Romas and Beth Cavanaugh are excited to present at the annual AERA conference in Chicago in April of 2023. The title of the poster presentation is The Challenges of Integrating Play-Based Learning in Kindergarten Education. 

2018- University of Portland Assistant Professor Nicole Ralston and EdD research fellow Matt Thul presented at the annual AERA conference in New York in April of 2018. The title of the presentation is Measuring the Effects of Teachers’ Four-Year Participation and Implementation of Equity Training. The presentation will focus on the effects of equity trainings on 88 Pacific Northwest schools over a four year period. An equity survey measured changes in teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and practices.

2017- Partnership members were excited to present three separate research projects at the 2017 AERA conference in San Antonio, TX. The titles of the presentations were:

  • District-driven Problems of Practice: What can Practitioner-scholars Learn and How do Districts Benefit?
  • Professional Learning that Empowers Teachers with Choice: A Conference Approach
  • Raising Community Literacy Using a Collaborative Intervention Model

Critical Questions in Education (CQIE)

2018- University of Portland EdD research fellow, Matt Thul presented at the CQIE conference held in Portland, Oregon in March 2018. The title of his session was: Reading Instruction that Works for All Learners. In the presentation, Matt addressed misrepresentations surrounding learning to read in education today and provide learning strategies for reading that fits with students’ neurobiological learning systems.

Washington Educational Research Association (WERA)

2018- The University of Portland was excited to present at Washington Educational Research Association’s (WERA’s) Research Practice Partnership Colloquium in Seattle, WA in February 2018. The title of this session is: District-University Partnerships: An Effective Model for Research Practice Partnerships.

2017- The University of Portland presented at Washington Educational Research Association’s (WERA) in Seattle, WA in November, 2017. The title of this session was called: Trauma and Teaching: How to Effectively Support Teachers.

Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN)

2017- University of Portland faculty members presented on the partnership at the annual Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN) Conference in Portland, OR in October 2017. The title of their presentation was: Building Capacity Through Partnership: The Multnomah County Partnership for Education Research.

Oregon Association of Teacher Educators (ORATE)

2023 – University of Portland EdD research fellows presented at the ORATE conference in March 2023. The title of the presentation was Exploring the changing educator roles and experiences after COVID. The presentation analyzed in-service teacher practices during COVID learning and examined ways to incorporate and continue successful practices as pre-service and in-service teachers re-enter classrooms post–COVID.  

2023 – University of Portland EdD research fellow Nicole Soriano presented at the ORATE conference in March 2023, the title of her presentation was Research-Based Practices to Develop Pre-Service Teachers’ Racial and Cultural Competence. The presentation identified four categories of research-based instructional strategies and activities to develop racial and cultural competence within pre-service teachers. 

2022 – University of Portland EdD research fellows presented at the ORATE conference in February 2022. The title of the presentation was Aligning Rubrics With Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. The presentation explored and provided tools to support educators in evaluating and creating culturally responsive curricula across the subject areas to strengthen culturally responsive teaching practices.

2018- University of Portland EdD research fellows presented at the ORATE conference in February 2018. The title of the presentation was Creating Equitable School Climates. The presentation described how to create an equitable school and classroom climate by engaging the whole village – students, parents, school personnel, and community members – through research-based strategies and assessments.

2018- University of Portland EdD research fellow Matt Thul presented at the ORATE conference in February 2018. The title of his presentation was All Visuals are Not Created Equal. The presentation examined how typical classroom visuals restrict learning for visual students and provide alternative visual methods that meet the needs of visual learners.

2017- ORATE President, University of Portland’s own Dr. Nicole Ralston, led the 2017 ORATE conference through another successful year. MCPER presentations included:

  • Using Self-reflection as a Method for Educating Pre-service Teachers in Culturally Responsive Teaching
  • Trauma and Teaching: How to Effectively Support Educators
  • Increasing Gray Matter Matters: Using Brain Research to Enlighten Classroom Practice

uLead Summit of Educational Leadership

2017- The annual uLead Summit of Educational Leadership conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada was a great opportunity for MCPER leaders to forge international partnerships. University of Portland faculty and Partnership leaders Dr. Jacqueline Waggoner and Dr. Nicole Ralston shared their research entitled:

  • Using Data to Move Schools Forward

Doctoral Fellow Rebecca Smith also presented the following paper:

  • Professional Learning of Catholic School Educators: An Investigative Study

Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE)

2023 – University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Nicole Soriano, presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE) in January 2023 in Honolulu. Her presentation was titled:

  • Research-Based Practices to Support Historically Underserved Students to Undergraduate Degree Completion

2023 – University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Michelle Harris, presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE) in January 2023 in Honolulu. Her presentation was titled:

  • Using Restorative Practices to Cultures of Continuous Improvement in Education

2023 – University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Gonzalo Aquino, presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE) in January 2023 in Honolulu. His presentation was titled:

  • College Affordability for Low-Income Students 

2022 – University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Nicole Soriano, presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE) in January 2022. Her presentation was titled:

  • The Impact of Culturally Responsive Teaching in Secondary Schools

2018 – University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Danielle Trollinger, presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE) in January 2018 in Honolulu. Her presentation was titled:

  • Getting Kids to School: Defining and Preventing Early Chronic Absenteeism

2017 – University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Matt Thul, presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE) in January 2017 in Honolulu. His presentation was titled:

  • Movement’s Role in Learning: A Neuroeducational Perspective

National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)

2016- Doctoral Fellow Zuly Naegele presented at the 2016 National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) Conference in Ohio. Her presentation was titled:

  • Increasing Ethnic Studies Courses in Schools

Zuly also presented at the University of Portland’s Diversity Dialogues week with a presentation called:

  • A Dialogue About the Ethnic Studies Ban in Arizona

Publications

Partnership members work hard to share our research with other Education professionals around the world. We have published our work in peer reviewed journals and in other online platforms.

  • Merideth, C., Cavanaugh, B., Romas, S., Ralston, N. C., Arias, E., Tarasawa, B., & Waggoner, J. (2021). Family perceptions of participating in a structured summer kindergarten transition program. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01268-0 
  • Ralston, N. C., Shortino, M., Smith, R., & Waggoner, J. (2021). “We’re actually teaching science!”: A partnership approach to investigating a new model for embedding language in science. School-University Partnerships, 14(1), 45-55. 
  • Ralston, N.C., Tarasawa, B., Waggoner, J.M., Smith, R., & Naegele, Z. (2016). Developing practitioner-scholars through university-district research partnerships.  Journal of Public Scholarship in Higher Education.
  • Tarasawa, B., Ralston, N.C., & Waggoner, J. (2016).  Leveraging university-school district research partnerships: Exploring the longitudinal effects of an early kindergarten transition program. Journal of Applied Research on Children, 7(1), 1-14.
  • Ralston, N.C., Weitzel, B., Waggoner, J., Naegele, Z., & Smith, R. (2016).  The partnership pact: Fulfilling school districts’ research needs with university-district partnerships.  AILACTE (Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education) Journal.
  • Ralston, N.C., Waggoner, J., Tarasawa, B., & Jackson, A.A. (2016). Concurrent validity of the independent reading level assessment framework and a state assessment. Journal of At-Risk Issues, 19(2), 1-8.
  • Tarasawa, B., & Waggoner, J. (2015). Increasing parental involvement of English Language Learner families: What the research says. Journal of Children and Poverty. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2015.1058243

Education Week Blog Contributions

  • University of Portland Assistant Professor Nicole Ralston and Professor Jacqueline Waggoner provided a researcher’s perspective towards equitable Advanced Placement programming and supporting first-time Advanced Placement students in a blog for Education Week. Click here to learn more.
  • University of Portland, School of Education Doctoral Students, Kieran Bennett and Jessica Lorenz shared their perspectives on how to support education practitioner-scholars in a blog for Education Week. Read their story here.
  • Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the Gresham-Barlow Public School District, Teresa Ketelsen provided a practitioner’s perspective towards equitable Advanced Placement programming in a blog for Education Week. Read more about her perspective here.
  • University of Portland Assistant Professor, Nicole Ralston, shared findings from a study involving equitable Advanced Placement programming for a Pacific Northwest school district in a blog for Education Week. Click here to learn more.

Northwest Evaluation Association Blog Contributions

  • University of Portland School of Education’s Doctoral Fellow, Zuly Naegele, is one of few Latinos in higher education and even fewer Latinas. According to a 2014 report, of the 3% of Americans with a doctorate degree, only 7% were Latinos compared to 73% who were White. As Zuly works to complete her Doctor of Education, she hopes to add to that number “one day soon.” Please click on the link to read about her thoughtful reflections on seeing life through a multicultural and equity lens. Read her story.
  • University of Portland Doctoral Fellow, Rebecca Smith shared her experiences as a student, a teacher, and a researcher in a blog by the Northwest Evaluation Association, NWEA.  To learn more, click here: Reflections from a Doctoral Fellow