The University of Delaware’s School of Education Colloquium Series will continue this spring, resuming on Wednesday, Feb. 24, with a presentation by Kelly Mix, professor of educational psychology at Michigan State University.

The spring series will begin with two presentations on early STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning from the disciplinary perspective of the learning sciences and educational psychology.

The series will then continue the fall theme, “Writing Research: Where We Are and Where We Are Heading,” and foster conversations about the present state of writing research and productive paths for future work.

Mix’s presentation titled “Spatial Ability and Mathematics: Can Educators Leverage the Connection?” examines how spatial training may improve mathematics learning outcomes in elementary students.

Though the link between spatial ability and mathematics is well-established, researchers have not yet determined whether the many spatial and mathematical skills are equally related or how to best implement spatial training. Mix will review a range of studies on the relationship between space and math to determine how educators might best use this connection in the classroom.

Mix’s presentation and the following colloquia will begin at 1 p.m. in Room 207 of UD’s Willard Hall Education Building. A discussion and question-and-answer period will follow each speaker’s presentation at 2.

Students, faculty and community members with interests in early educational psychology, STEM, English, composition, and literacy are encouraged to attend. These events are free, and no advance registration or RSVP is required.

The speakers and topics for upcoming presentations are as follows:

March 7: Susan L. Calvert, professor of psychology and director of the Children’s Digital Media Center at Georgetown University, “Children’s Early STEM Learning: Lessons from Media Characters.”

March 9: Bridget Dalton, associate professor of literary studies in the School of Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder, “Multimodal Composition: Developing New Literacies and Research Methods.”

May 4: Steve Graham, Mary Emily Warner Professor in the Division of Leadership and Innovation in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, “The Role of Strategies, Skills, Knowledge, and Will in Writing Development: Supportive Studies.”

For more information about this series or to download the event posters, visit the School of Education Colloquium Series webpage.

You may read this article on UDaily.

Article by Jessica Henderson.

Photos courtesy of the speakers.