2026 Symposium Presentation Schedule

June 15-18, 2026

2026 German-American Symposium program (PDF)

2026 German-American Symposium Presentation Summaries (PDF)

Paper Presentations: Snyder Lecture Hall (COED 065)
Monday, June 15th
12:00 – 1:00Official Welcome and Opening RemarksMalcolm Butler, Jörg-U. Keßler, Jennifer Armentrout, Dawson Hancock
1:15 – 200University in search of communities: Reflecting on social-spatial learning and engagement from an educational perspectiveAdriana Medina, Anselm Böhmer, Christoph Knoblauch
2:00 – 2:45Feedback redefined: Investigating the feedback loop and reflective practice among U.S. and German preservice teachersKirsten Abel, Kate Gilbert, Anja Vocilka
2:45 – 3:15 ~ Break (COED 007)
3:15 – 4:00Cross cultural perspectives on mental health and help-seekingRumbidzai Mushunje
4:00 – 4:45What sustains foreign language teachers in the profession? A cross- national qualitative study of teacher retentionKristin Davin, Scott Kissau, Jue Wang, Benjamin Ade-Thurow
Tuesday, June 16th
9:00 – 9:45Cultivating global scholars: Lessons from a virtual research symposiumScott Kissau, Chuang Wang, Anni Lenz, Bianca Roters
9:45 – 10:30Expanding the lens: Experiences of leadership transitions in higher educationLeslie Zenk, Susan Harris-Hümmert
10:30 – 11:00 ~ Break (COED 007)
11:00 – 11:45Promoting academic vocabulary development among adolescents at- risk for failure in schoolChris O’Brien, Rebecca Höhr
11:45 – 12:30Exclusion and (be)longing in “post-racial” _German schools: Why Atraa refused to teachSpencer Salas, Nicanora Wächter, Atraa Al-Hashimi
12:30 – 1:30 ~ Lunch (COED 110)
1:45 – 2:30Assessing teacher stress in Germany and the U.S.A.Rich Lambert
2:30 – 3:15Geographies of childhood in teacher education: Reflecting on shared journeys and cultivating sustainable bondsAdriana Medina, Erik Byker, Anselm Böhmer, Christoph Knoblauch
3:15 – 3:45 ~ Break (COED 007)
3:45 – 4:30 Literacy in unlikely placesAnni Lenz, Brandon Watkins
Wednesday, June 17th
9:00 – 9:45 AI debate bot hallucinations: Now with 50% less nonsenseErik Byker, Benjamin Ade-Thurow, Mario Manzocco
9:45 – 10:30Caregiver perspectives on AAC: A cross-cultural scoping review Hedda Meadan, Virginia Walker, Markus Scholz, Annika Endres, Erika Kramer, Shura Baigalmaa
10:30 – 11:00 ~ Break (COED 007)
11:00 – 11:45Global docs: Sowing the seeds of our German-American collaborationsAdriana Medina, Tina Heafner, Minke Jacobi, Kerstin Merz- Atalik, Anselm Böhmer, Christoph Knoblauch
11:45 – 12:30Relationships between pre-service teachers’ _perceived competencies, affective dispositions, and readiness to integrate artificial intelligence in classroom practiceAyesha Sadaf, Daniel Maxwell, Heiko Holz, Can Küplüce
12:30 – 1:30 ~ Lunch (COED 110)
1:45 – 2:30The periodic table of emotions: Fostering human-first classroomsIan Binns
2:30 – 3:15From Symposium to edited book: Global education collaborations panel discussionErik Byker, Adriana Medina, Benjamin Ade-Thurow, Christoph Knoblauch, Anselm Böhmer, Anastasia Proctor
3:15 – 3:45 ~ Break (COED 007)
3:45 – 4:30The evolution of literacy initiatives in Cato College, with scholarship, service, and engagement as anchorsMalcolm Butler
4:30 – 4:45Closing RemarksProvost Jennifer Troyer, Malcolm Butler, Jörg Keßler, Dawson Hancock