SEL Capstone

Ben Kirshner began his educational career in a youth program in San Francisco’s Mission District and has since developed a research agenda focused on empowering marginalized youth through partnerships with educational settings. His projects include design-based research with action civics teachers, intergenerational participatory research, and ethnographies of community-based youth organizing. Notably, in a study funded by the Spencer Foundation, he collaborated with secondary school teachers to create opportunities for students to discuss and address educational barriers like unsafe school climates and inadequate facilities. Currently, through his work with CU Engage, Ben aims to establish sustainable university-community research partnerships that tackle persistent public challenges and enhance education systems. His 2015 book, Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality, won the Social Policy award for Best Authored Book from the Society of Research on Adolescence.

Emily Claire Price is an instructor, research assistant, and Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. She teaches courses across multiple departments, including Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice (EFPP), Learning Sciences and Human Development (LSHD), and Curriculum and Instruction (C&I). Her research primarily focuses on developing equity-oriented approaches to social-emotional learning (SEL) for early elementary students and pre-service teachers. Additionally, she aims to expand the understanding of childhood and children's capabilities.With a background as an early childhood teacher and instructional coach, Emily holds a B.A. in English from Bryn Mawr College and an M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania in urban elementary education. She teaches several courses related to social-emotional learning, including "Expanding SEL," "SEL Capstone," and "SEL for Students: A Path to Social Emotional Well-Being." Through her work, Emily Claire Price is dedicated to fostering inclusive educational practices that promote the well-being and development of all students, preparing future educators to implement effective SEL strategies in their classrooms.

Daniel (Dan) Liston, PhD is Professor of Education in the Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice (EFPP) program and in the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) program. Professor Liston's research interests include curriculum theory, teacher education, reflective teaching, and educational foundations. Specifically he examines justifications for distinct curricula; provides articulations for and critiques of teacher education; and explores the social and political contexts of schooling. Recently he has begun to explore the various ways reason and emotion interact to affect the practice of teaching and the education of teachers. Professor Liston currently co-directs (with Paul Michalec and in conjunction with Susan Kaplan and Rev. Paul Kottke) Colorado Courage and Renewal, a program of professional development and renewal for public school personnel, clergy, and others in the serving professions. Professor Liston’s teaching interests focus on curriculum theory, education in film, spirituality in education, and the social and political foundations of schooling. Professor Liston has been a member of various professional organizations including the American Educational Research Association, the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE), and the American Educational Studies Association. He is a past and current member of the Editorial Review Board of Educational Theory. During his time at CU, Professor Liston has received the AACTE Outstanding Writing Award, CU’s SOAR and the “Best Should Teach” teaching awards, and the university-wide Robert L. Stearns Award for extraordinary achievement in teaching, service, research and work with students. His research has resulted in publication of six books (single and co-authored, and edited) and numerous articles.

Randy Testa has been teaching since he was 23 years old – he’s taught third graders, undergraduates, masters and doctoral students –in suburban Chicago, Denver, New Hampshire and Cambridge, Massachusetts. He’s also worked in the movie business, doing professional development with educators around the use of commercial film adaptations of books widely read in public schools. His abiding love in teaching and research focuses on the moral and spiritual dimensions of teaching and the ways in which movies can enhance teachers’ capacities for self-reflection. Testa attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and the Harvard Graduate School of Education for both his Ed. M. (in Reading Education) and Ed. D. (The Study of Teaching). His educational heroes are Vivian Gussin Paley and John Dewey. He has authored and/or edited 4 books including two on the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, along with numerous articles.