Badar-Kauffman Conference on Special Education Research

Kent State Hotel and Conference Center

March 25-27, 2026

Purpose/Goals: The goal of the Badar-Kauffman Conference is to provide a highly interactive learning experience that is useful to presenters and audience members alike. All participants have the shared goal of advancing the rigor and utility of scientific research, logical thinking, and conceptual analysis in special education. Attendees are expected to engage with presenters in critical discussion on conceptual, methodological, and practical issues.

Session Formats: All sessions are intended to be highly interactive. Presentations will occur in the following formats throughout the conference:

Oral presentations – Presentations by individuals or groups on a central study or group of studies on a closely related topic. All oral presentations must reserve 30 minutes for questions/comments from attendees. Each oral presentation will be assigned a moderator to elicit questions, provide commentary, monitor time, and keep the discussion focused on the session topic.

Poster Session - Poster sessions are highly interactive presentations of work from experienced and emerging scholars. Interactions between the presenters and the audiences during the poster session will provide information to support presenters’ study and future submissions to peer-review journals

Networking sessions – Networking sessions are designed to help early career researchers build their network of professional contacts, collaborators, and friends. We encourage all attendees to participate.

Panel discussion – A select group of scholars will reflect on the content of presentations, summarize important take-aways, and discuss ways in which the work presented may impact special education research in the future.

Participation: All presenters are expected to manage time appropriately and reserve ample time for discussion. Audience members are encouraged to engage presenters in collegial, good natured, and professionally useful critique. Moderators have been assigned to each session to facilitate discussion and ensure a productive experience for all. Attendees are expected to participate in sessions throughout the entirety of the conference. Please be respectful of each presenter by arriving prior to the start time and staying until the presentation is complete.

The Early Career Scholar Award (ECSA) is awarded annually to the most outstanding poster presentation led by a doctoral student researcher. The poster must present research in which data were collected and analyzed (meta-analyses, research syntheses, and secondary data analyses are eligible). Eligible recipients must be the first author listed on the poster. Posters will be evaluated through online submissions. Poster files must be uploaded for evaluation by 8:00am on Monday, the week of the conference. Evaluation of oral presentations occurs during the poster session.

ECSA recipients receive (a) a framed award presented at the closing session, (b) are invited to present a featured oral session for the next BKC, (c) waived registration for the next BKC, and (d) 3 nights hotel stay during the next BKC.

Past winners of the ECSA are ineligible for ECSA in future years.

The Early Career Scholar Award winner receives a framed award presented at the closing session, an invited oral session at the next BKC, waived registration, and 3 nights hotel stay during the conference for the following year.

Additional Conference Rules and Information

Revised role for moderators and time - Moderators play a critical role in ensuring discussion and interaction between presenters and participants. Presenters have 30-35 minutes to present their research. Presenters must then turn over the remaining time and the microphone to the moderator. The moderator serves in a role similar to an associate editor for a manuscript review. Moderators are tasked with providing brief feedback (affirmations and suggestions for improvement), soliciting questions from the audience (reviewers), and facilitating discussion. Moderators are not responsible for keeping time. A separate individual will be assigned to keep time in each session.

Oral presentation eligibility - Doctoral students may present oral sessions if accompanied by a supervising faculty member. Doctoral students may be in any author position. 

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Thursday, March 26, 2026

5 p.m. Dinner (on your own)

8 p.m. PowerPoint Karaoke - Bell Tower Brewing Co.

Concurrent Presentations

10:15 Break and Transition Time

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Notes: *Everyone is encouraged to attend.

Thursday, March 26, 2026 - Morning

11 A.M. Break

12:20 Lunch (on your own)

Thursday, March 26, 2026 - Afternoon

4:40 Break

5:50 p.m. Dinner (on your own)

8 p.m. Power Point Karaoke (No singing involved)

Friday, March 27, 2026

7:00am, Continental Breakfast, Back hallway

9 a.m. Break

12:00pm    Business Meeting & Wrap-up (all should attend) 

Poster 1: The Efficacy of a Fraction Sense Intervention for Students with Disabilities 
Sarah Cox, Michigan State University

Poster 2: Participation of K-12 Students with Disabilities in Extracurricular Activities: Parent and Guardian Perceptions
Gretchen Jessel, Kent State University

Poster 3: “Hands-On” Reading: Book Features and Gestures in Preschoolers’ Cardinality Development
    Kelly-Ann Gesuelli, University of Florida
    Julianna Hakel, University of Notre Dame

Poster 4: Increasing Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence using Strategic Incremental Rehearsal
Christy Conway, The Ohio State University
Moira Conrad, The Ohio State University

Poster 5: Integrating Literacy Through Morphology: Mapping Instructional Pathways in Secondary Classrooms
Jamie Smith Levitan, University of Maryland

Poster 6: Spelling and Writing Interventions That Make a Difference: A Systematic Review 
Marcella Gallmeyer, The Ohio State University

Poster 7: Opportunities for Teacher Knowledge About Writing Development
Zachary Hesse, Michigan State University
Katie Valentine, Florida State University

Poster 8: Teacher Professional Development in Science Writing using Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD)
Rachel Korankye, Kent State University

Poser 9: What Works for Training Paraeducators: A Systematic Review
Sara Martin, The Ohio State University

Poster 10: Sink or Stay: What First-Year Special Educators Really Need
    Sylvie Cierny McDonald, The University of Alabama
    Marissa Filderman, The University of Alabama

Poster 11: Preparing Teachers for Student Mental Health: Policy and Practice Gaps 
Halie Welsh, East Texas A&M University
Kendra Saunders, East Texas A&M University

Poster 12: Executive Function Intervention in Schools: Connecting Practice and Theory
Kathy Harvey, Florida State University
Garrett Hall, Florida State University

Poster 13: Social Withdrawal and Social Isolation in Adolescents with and at risk for EBD 
Oktaviani Hidayah, Kent State University

Poster 14: Emotional Intelligence in SEL: Advancing Inclusive Practice in Teacher Preparation
           Naglaa Mohamed, The University of Akron

Poster 15: Pre-Service Teacher Preparation In Universal Design For Learning Across Contexts
Alexander Gariba, Kent State University

Poster 16: A Statewide Examination of Preservice Training for Transition Planning and Programming 
Dylan David, Kent State University

  Poster 17: Evaluation of School Readiness for Participation in Reading Research in Kyrgyzstan
           Mukadas Tashieva, American University of Central Asia

  Poster 18: Bridging Perception and Proficiency: IRIS Impact on IEP Goal Writing
             Jacqueline Little, University of North Carolina at Charlotte