Faculty research: June 2025
The research papers and publications listed below are a sampling of recent contributions by faculty representing Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation.
Professor Lauren McArthur Harris led a research team that examined how teachers use internet resources to engage with complex historical topics, supporting interdisciplinary connections between technology, history and social studies education. The research was recognized with the 2025 National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship Award in the social studies category. Harris’ team included MLFC Professor Leanna Archambault, Jami Carmichael and J’Shon Lee (both doctoral students in the Learning, Literacies and Technologies, PhD program), and Catharyn Shelton (an LLT alumna, now associate professor at Northern Arizona University). Presented by the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, the NTLI Fellowship Award recognizes outstanding scholarship at the intersection of technology and teacher education. The project was developed with the support of an MLFC internal grant.
“Partnering for Progress: Exploring the evolving role of OPMs in higher education”
eLearn Magazine
Leanna Archambault, professor
Online program managers — companies that partner with colleges and universities to create, deliver and manage online programs — have seen their role grow dramatically with the increasing popularity of online courses in higher education, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, many institutions are unaware of OPMs, the services they provide and the benefits and costs of such services. With this article, Archambault and her co-author, Associate Professor Jered Borup of George Mason University, explore both the benefits of engaging an OPM and the concerns and challenges involved; particularly those regarding financial arrangements. The authors also provide a succinct framework of the main functions of OPM partnerships with colleges and universities across the U.S.
“School Participatory Budgeting: Constructive Conflict in Civic Education for Inclusive Democratic Communities, the United States”
Constructive Conflict Pedagogies for Building Democratic Peace: Teaching strategies from around the world (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025)
Tara Bartlett, clinical assistant professor; Daniel Schugurensky, professor with ASU’s School of Public Affairs (and an MLFC affiliate professor)
Bloomsbury Academic’s open-access “Constructive Conflict Pedagogies …” offers contributions by leading scholars and practitioners in Canada, Chile, Columbia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the U.S., covering an array of topics with local and global significance. With Chapter 17, Bartlett and Schugurensky, a professor in ASU’s School of Public Affairs, explore school participatory budgeting, a student-led process involving deliberation and decision-making on public budget allocations. The authors investigate two cases in Arizona to demonstrate how school participatory budgeting promotes citizenship learning, civic engagement and participatory democracy; provides an educational model for fostering peaceful conflict resolution; and encourages students to become proactive contributors to their school communities.
“Exploring extracurricular clubs in high schools as third spaces for developing youth activism and critical engagement”
Journal of Research on Adolescence
Tara Bartlett, clinical assistant professor
Bartlett and Miri Yemini (professor at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology) investigate how extracurricular clubs in high schools function as third spaces for learning. Their reflexive thematic analysis of 12 discussion groups with 63 high school students involved in extracurricular clubs suggest that club participation fosters critical engagement, activism-related knowledge and skills, and a justice-oriented approach to local and global issues, with promise for enhanced global citizenship. They note specific conditions that influence youth interest, retention and action, and implications that highlight the need for educational institutions to support third-space opportunities.
“Strategies for Successful Dental Visits for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Early Childhood Education Journal
Juliet Hart Barnett, professor
Early childhood teachers play a vital role, not only in implementing dental care education for young children as part of their instruction, but also for collaborating and sharing practical strategies with families to provide caregiver education on oral hygiene practices. With this article Barnett highlights the unique circumstances faced by children with ASD that hinder successful dental visits, and proposes the adoption of research-informed strategies as an effective and safer alternative to the sedation protocols commonly used. The insight aims at improving oral health outcomes for all children, including those with autism spectrum disorder.
The MLFC community is invited to submit updates on recently-published research and scholarly accomplishments through the Scholarship Roundup page. Information shared may appear in future news highlights or other college communications.