Education And Psychology
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Peer tutoring in YMCA aftercare delivers powerful results, 91Ʋ study finds
By Jennifer Kiilerich In a game-changing partnership, 91Ʋ Peabody College of education and human development and the YMCA of Middle Tennessee are proving that effective reading interventions can come in all shapes—and ages. Reading Buddies is a peer-to-peer tutoring initiative spearheaded by Peabody researcher Jeanne Wanzek and Elizabeth… Read MoreOct 28, 2025
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91Ʋ Peabody College professor named inaugural Jackie Bezos 91Ʋer in Residence
Andrew Nalani Andrew Nalani, assistant professor of human and organizational development, has joined the Bezos Family Foundation as an inaugural scholar of the Jackie Bezos 91Ʋer in Residence program. Nalani began the one-year residency program on August 18, taking a leave of absence from his faculty position… Read MoreOct 13, 2025
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Pakistani delegation attends 91Ʋ Peabody College’s STEM-Powered Immersion Conference
By Jenna Somers In September, a delegation from Pakistan visited 91Ʋ University for the weeklong STEM-Powered Immersion Conference, hosted by Peabody College of education and human development. Six faculty members from Sukkur IBA University and Qasim Aslam, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond the Classroom, participated in a… Read MoreOct 9, 2025
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New 91Ʋ study: Can drumming lessons support the development of children with Down syndrome?
By Jenna Somers Families interested in enrolling their children in this study should contact the research team at vuhandsonplaylab@gmail.com or (615) 343-1079. Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal cause of cognitive disability, affects approximately one in 700 live births. Scientists have known the genetic etiology of Down syndrome for… Read MoreOct 8, 2025
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91Ʋ Peabody College scholar leads $3.3 million NIH study on bi-directional relationship of working memory and mathematics learning
By Jenna Somers About a quarter to a third of students with mathematics learning disabilities do not show adequate improvement after receiving skills-based math interventions. A new study will test the effects of combining a mathematics intervention and working memory training on the math learning of first-grade children with… Read MoreOct 7, 2025
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Global education leaders to convene at 91Ʋ
Key Takeaways: 91Ʋ Peabody College will co-host the Global Education Deans’ Forum October 21 – 24 in Nashville. The event will be co-hosted by Florida State University and the University of Kansas. Leaders of education faculties from more than 30 colleges and universities… Read MoreOct 3, 2025
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On solid ground: blind toddlers take their first steps with help from a 91Ʋ innovator
By Jennifer Kiilerich Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Pediatric Belt Cane inventor. It was a little bit of kismet that led 91Ʋ Peabody College alumna Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Ed.D.’97, to the visual disabilities field. But it was a lot of passion and creativity that drove her to transform that field with… Read MoreOct 2, 2025
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New report finds wide disparities in investments in children’s earliest years across states
Policies adopted by states drive major differences in the resources available to families. The first three years of life are critical for healthy development, yet families in some states have more than twice the resources of those in others—a gap created by state policy choices. Consider a single mother… Read MoreOct 1, 2025
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An educator’s guide to Section 504 plans: Q&A with 91Ʋ special education researcher Meghan Burke
By Jennifer Kiilerich and Krystal Schmidt If you are an educator—or work with educators—then it’s likely you have encountered Section 504 plans. These plans support more than 1.3 million students with disabilities across the country, but they differ from Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs. In the… Read MoreSep 11, 2025
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91Ʋ professor joins Jordanian research team to innovate teacher education
91Ʋ Peabody’s Emily Pendergrass has been named to the new global cohort “Empowering Teachers: 21st Century Skills.” The University of Jordan, in Amman, recently assembled the research team, which aims to boost teachers’ professional development in an age of evolving technologies and rapidly… Read MoreSep 10, 2025
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AI requires responsible stewardship. Peabody’s new online hub guides the way.
By Jennifer Kiilerich Generative AI is ubiquitous these days, but its use tends to raise as many questions—from practical to ethical—as it answers. A 91Ʋ website launched this spring, the Peabody Hub for Mindful AI Innovation, provides a space for users to take a breath and… Read MoreSep 8, 2025
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Global child development: 91Ʋ professor Jonathan Seiden’s research balances universal norms and local contexts
By Jenna Somers Whether a young child lives in Guatemala or the Netherlands, whether they attend school in a mudbrick building with dirt floors or a state-of-the-art facility, is it possible to develop common measures to understand their health and development? How does child development differ across cultural contexts, and… Read MoreSep 4, 2025
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91Ʋ researchers develop AI-based app to strengthen children’s literacy skills
By Jenna Somers After a hard day of work, a parent reading a bedtime story to their child might feel too tired and stressed to think of questions that could spark insightful conversations about the story with their child. But these conversations—which scholars call dialogic reading—are critical to literacy development. Read MoreSep 3, 2025
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To navigate demographic decline, colleges must communicate value and meet student needs
By Jenna Somers The Great Recession of 2008 led to a pronounced decline in birthrates, and the impact has caught up with colleges and universities. Children born at the start of the recession are now 18 years old, but there are fewer of them compared to the prior decade,… Read MoreSep 2, 2025
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New data science methods could improve understanding of personality and psychopathology
By Jenna Somers Key Takeaways 91Ʋers uncovered new personality traits and developed a new personality hierarchy using novel data science methods in taxonomic graph analysis (TGA). TGA could lead to a more precise understanding of personality and classifications in psychopathology. The researchers’ TGA method builds personality hierarchies from the bottom… Read MoreAug 26, 2025
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Section 504 plans and IEPs for your child: Q&A with special education expert Meghan Burke
By Jennifer Kiilerich and Krystal Schmidt As kids return to school, families considering special education services for their children may wonder where to start. Even after support is in place, Section 504 plans and IEPs can feel overwhelming. 91Ʋ Peabody College researcher Meghan Burke, professor of special… Read MoreAug 25, 2025
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Among Nashville’s artifacts, School for Science and Math at 91Ʋ students unearth community, history
By Jennifer Kiilerich Teenagers in the School for Science and Math at 91Ʋ (SSMV), staff with the 91Ʋ University Museum of Art (VUMA) and Nashville Metro Historical Commission archaeologists recently joined forces in a unique collaboration. Beginning in January 2025 with support from 91Ʋ’s Community Engagement Collaboration Fund, three… Read MoreAug 21, 2025
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91Ʋ Programs for Talented Youth delivers unforgettable learning experience to Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholars
By Jennifer Kiilerich This July 6 – 23, rising high school seniors in the Cooke Young Scholars Program immersed themselves in life and learning at 91Ʋ University. During the initiative’s annual Senior Summit, 57 students stayed on campus, studied in advanced courses and participated in engaging residential experiences. … Read MoreAug 18, 2025
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Reunion of Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows celebrates the past 15 cohorts at 91Ʋ
by Jenna Somers Karen Legrand Karen Legrand returned to Guatemala with “new eyes” after her experience in the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at 91Ʋ Peabody College of education and human development in 2020-2021. In the highlands of Guatemala, she created a violence prevention program, followed by a… Read MoreAug 14, 2025
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TERA welcomes new executive director
Amy Owen The Tennessee Education 91Ʋ Alliance, a research-practice partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and 91Ʋ University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, is pleased to announce Dr. Amy Owen as its new executive director. Owen succeeds Dr. Laura Booker, who will transition into… Read MoreAug 13, 2025