The World Education Research Association (WERA) and ANPEd will host the 2025 Focal Meeting at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) in João Pessoa, Brazil. Ahead of the main program, delegates will have the opportunity to take part in three pre-conference workshops on October 26, 2025, led by internationally recognized scholars. Registrations are now open for registered delegates. Register through the button below by scrolling down and choosing the workshop you would like to attend under ‘Activities.’
These workshops will provide hands-on learning and critical discussions at the intersection of educational research, policy, and practice. From building readiness in schools, to navigating the ethics of AI, to strengthening causal research design, participants will gain skills and insights that resonate with the challenges and opportunities of contemporary education.
📍 Date and time: October 26, 2025, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (local time)
📍 Location: Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), João Pessoa, Brazil
Workshop offerings:
How to Assess and Build Educator and Organizational Readiness
Language: English
Course Director: David Osher (Learning Policy Institute / Harvard Graduate School of Education & Yale Education Collaboratory)
Time: 10:00–13:00
Research in the science of learning and development shows that under the right conditions, students can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. Achieving this requires creating environments that support every child’s right to inclusive and quality education, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4. Yet translating this knowledge into practice is not always simple. This half-day workshop, led by one of the leading voices in the science of learning and development David Osher, will highlight key findings from the science of learning and implementation research, share practical tools for planning and assessing learning environments, and explore strategies for building readiness to adopt new practices. Participants will also engage with curated resources and have the chance to apply ideas within their own cultural and organizational contexts, while interacting directly with the facilitator and peers.
Publicações acadêmicas na era da IA: ferramentas, ética e estratégias para pesquisadores da área de educação (in Portuguese)
Language: Portuguese
Course Director: Gustavo E. Fischman (Arizona State University)
Time: 10:00–13:00
This workshop is designed for emerging education scholars navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of academic publishing in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Participants will explore how AI tools can support various stages of the research and publication process—from literature reviews and writing assistance to data analysis and journal selection. The session will critically examine the ethical challenges AI introduces, including concerns around authorship, academic integrity, bias, and transparency. Through practical demonstrations, discussions, and guided activities, participants will learn how to responsibly integrate AI into their research workflows while adhering to publishing standards and ethical norms. The workshop will also cover strategies for enhancing research visibility, selecting suitable journals, and responding effectively to peer reviews in a rapidly evolving academic environment. Participants will leave with practical knowledge, ethical guidelines, and resources to navigate scholarly publishing in an academic world simultaneously assisted and challenged by AI.
Designing an Evidential Causal Study in Education Research
Course Directors: Barbara Schneider (Michigan State University) & Lydia Bradford (Northwestern University)
Time: 10:00–13:00
Language: English
This seminar provides guidelines and hands-on opportunities for refining research questions, theoretical and logic models. The outline will go as follows: 1) Research design considerations and research questions, 2) Theoretical models, and 3) Logic models and will include developing the participants’ own research studies within these three design aspects. Participants are encouraged to come with a research question interested in developing an evidential study. Results of the workshop will provide participants with information and skills for conducting robust evidential research. Dr Schneider is a well-known researcher in the areas of experimental and quasi-experimental study design (Schneider et al., 2007), and she and Dr. Bradford have worked on the design and evaluation of several large-scale cluster randomized control trials in education (Schneider et al., 2022; Krajcik et al., 2023).