College of Education and Human Sciences Research

Expanding the boundaries of knowledge through discovery and understanding that results from research, scholarship and creative activity are central to the missions of the educational process — particularly for faculty at land-grant universities like South Dakota State. This expansion of knowledge leads to solving the issues that face us on a daily basis.

The faculty at the College of Education and Human Sciences are involved in a wide range of research, scholarship and creative activity. As a part of their ongoing professional activities, all faculty members are expected to take part in the development of new knowledge.

Faculty members are also strongly encouraged to seek external funding to support and grow their research programs. Currently, the college receives over $3 million in external grants and contracts annually, along with an additional $1 million in Agricultural Experiment Station funding.

The nature of the research projects varies with the faculty member and the department. Some of these include:

  • Nutrition studies related to diabetes.
  • Techniques for addressing psychological health.
  • Reggio-inspired practices in early childhood education.
  • The study of "informal" learning.

At the heart of the college’s mission lies research, scholarship and creative activity — essential drivers of undergraduate education, graduate research and the advancement of knowledge on the challenges confronting individuals and society as a whole.

If you are considering enrolling in graduate school and want to determine potential research areas available or want more information on ongoing activities, contact the department related to your area of interest.

Publications
2024

Book Chapter

van Zuiden, M., Beckstead, A.L., Eleuteri, S., Lavender-Stott, E.S., Freeman-Coppadge, D., Lefevor, T., Boromisa, E., Smithee, L., Aramburu Alegria, C., Zegura, I. and Wahlig, J. (2024). Find your best options for LGBTQIA+ singlehood and relationships. In A.L. Beckstead, J. Cheng, S. Giwa, M. A. Yarhouse and I. Zegura (Editions.), Relate to others with confidence: A guidebook for LGBTQIA+ people and those with a different label or no label (pp. 73-96). Rowman and Littlefield.

2025
  • Bastian G.E., Russell J.K., Roe A.J., Rani R. Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Purchasing Frozen, Fresh, Canned and Dried Produce in a Nationally Representative Sample of United States Households. Current Developments in Nutrition. 2025;9:104528. DOI: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104528.
  • Bastian G.E., Fitzgerald N., Baker S.S., Palmer-Keenan D.M. Validity and Reliability Assessment of a Food and Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents From Low-Income Communities. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2025;57(2):120-131. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2024.10.009.
  • Bott-Knutson R.C., Kotinek J.D., Appel H.M., Hart J.L., Knox P., Radasanu A., Roberts D.M., Nichols T.J., Fine L.E., Ziegler W.L., Bryk M., Sumner S., Budowle R., Cordingley K., Bastian G.E., Roerig N., Stroud A., Garbutt K. An Edifying Honors Collaborative. In: Zubizarreta J., Bryan V.M., eds. Where Honors Education and Faculty Development Meet [NCHC Monograph Series]. Lincoln, NE: 2025;57-82.
  • Becot F., Ruszkowksi S., Henning-Smith C., Bjornestad A. The Landscape of Farmer Mental Health Programs in the US Midwest. Journal of Agromedicine. 30(4):765-778, 2025. DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2025.2517842.
  • de Vargas B.O., Vaezi S., Freeling J.L., Zhang Y., Weidauer L., Lee C-L, Zhao J., Dey M. Design and Implementation of the Protein-Distinct Macronutrient-Equivalent Diet (PRODMED) Study: An 18-week Randomized Crossover Feeding Trial Among Free-living Rural Older Adults. Current Developments in Nutrition. 2025;9(5):104588. DOI:10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.104588
  • Dhakal S., Hossain M. and Parajuli S. Red Meat Consumption in Higher Healthy Eating Index Diets is Associated with Brain Health Critical Nutritional Adequacy, and Fecal Microbial Diversity. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 33428, (2025).
  • Dhakal S., Ghimire N. and Bass S. Association of Habitual Diet Quality and Nutrient Intake with Cognitive Performance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients, 17(19), 3139, 2025.
  • Dial B., Zawadzki M.J., Graham-Engeland J.E., Witzel D.D., Tobin J.N., Cassells A., Brondolo E. Discrimination Moderates Associations Between Momentary Anger Coping and Subsequent Interpersonal Interaction Quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. DOI: 10.1177/02654075251358123.
  • Dicks N.D.; Ketterling J.J.; Wooldridge J.D.; Shoemaker M.E.; Barry A.M. Evaluating Army Combat Fitness Test Scores: The Influence of Sleep, Nutrition and Body Composition in Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps Cadets. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Dec. 5, 2025. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005285.
  • Dicks N.D., Mahoney S.J., Barry A.M., Christensen B.K., Pettitt R.W., Hackney K.J. The Impact of Critical Speed and Lean Body Mass on Load Carriage Performance for Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps Cadets. Military Medicine, 190:e1799-e1805, 2025. DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usae568.
  • Esparza A.M., McMurray A. and Rambo-Hernandez K.E. (2025) Changes Within: How Within-Person Changes on Key Social Cognitive Career Theory Constructs Relate to First-Year Engineering Student Persistence Intentions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 161. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2025.104141.
  • Grote-Garcia S., Ortlieb E., Leiva Cardona S. What's Hot in Literacy: Misguided Trends in a Divided Field. Literacy Research and Instruction. 64(1): 1-16, 2025. DOI: 10.1080/19388071.2024.2409130.
  • Grote-Garcia S., Ortlieb E. and Panozzo M. What's Hot in Literacy: Foundational and Future-oriented Practices. Literacy Research and Instruction, 1-15, 2025. DOI: 10.1080/19388071.2025.2559861.
  • Hales P., Elfarargy H. and Durr T. Exploring Rural School Principals' Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence's Considerations for Implementation and Challenges in PK-12 Schools. Journal of Educational Leadership in Action. 2025;9(3). DOI: 10.62608/2164-1102.1171.
  • Kurth M.L., Witzel D.D., Cerino E.S. and Almeida D.M. Longitudinal Changes in Coping Strategies Across Midlife and Older Adulthood: Findings from the Midlife in the United States Study. Aging and Mental Health, 29(3): 423-434, 2025.
  • Kutnik P., Ramos Da Silva B.R., Shoemaker M.E., Gonzalez Barbosa-Silva T., Gonzalez M.C., Lobo D.N., Prado C. Enhancing Health Outcomes Through Optimized Body Composition in Prehabilitation. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 10:1-10. 2025. DOI: 10.1159/000545026.
  • Nichols T.J., Bott-Knutson R.C., Hart J.L., Radasanu A., Kotinek J., Appel H., Garbutt K., Bastian G., Budowle R. Transdisciplinary Experience Engages Students in Wicked Problem of Food Justice. NACTA Journal. 69;1:322-333, 2025. DOI: 10.56103/nactaj.v69i1.258.
  • Nusser V., Murphy C., Hechenbichler Figueroa S., Braunsperger A., Ihalainen J.K., Hulmi J.J., Wasserfurth P., Koehler K. Metabolic Signature of Short-term Low Energy Availability. Physiological Reports. 13(19):e70582, 2025. DOI: 10.14814/phy2.70582.
  • Robles P.L., Zawadzki M.J., Graham-Engeland J.E., Witzel D.D., Foor K., Brondolo E. Intersection of Age and Gender: Links Between Negative Interpersonal Interactions and Both Blood Pressure and Mood in Daily Life. Health Psychology. 44(5). 456-466, 2025. DOI: 10.1037/hea0001435.
  • Roiger T.C., Zwart M.B., Brown A.E., Haber H.A., Anderson N.R. Geographic Remoteness, Socioeconomic Status and Healthcare Access: Emergency Preparedness of South Dakota Secondary Schools. Translational Sprots Medicine. June 7, 2025:1-9. DOI: 10.1155/tsm2/4600636.
  • Romsa K., Jarecke S., Hendricks J.H., Romsa B. The Role and Influence of Faculty as Predictors for Retention and Satisfaction Among Generation Z. Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence. 9(1): 2025. DOI: 10.59620/2644-2132.1161.
  • Sackreiter H. Taking the Edge Off: Letting go of AI Fears to Support Teacher Education Students and Myself. Journal for Research and Practice in College Teaching. 10(2).
  • Shoemaker M.E., Pereira S.L., Mustad V.A., Gillen Z.M., McKay B.D., Lopez-Pedrosa J.M., Rueda R., Cramer J.T. A Pilot Study Evaluating Differences in Muscle Tissue Saturation and Blood Flow Between Older Adults with and without Sarcopenia. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 16, 2025. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1644712.
  • Thiel B., Smith A., Smalley S., LaRose S., Disberger B., Hasselquist L. and Kreifels M. (2025). Secondary Agricultural Educators’ Perceptions and Implementation of SAE and SAE for All. Journal of Agricultural Education, 66(2), Article 3. DOI: 10.5032/jae.v66i2.2744.
  • Trenhaile J., Trenhaile T., Munce T. Pilot Study of the Efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Intervention for Injured Division I Student-Athletes. The Sport Journal. 2025.
  • Turner S.G., Witzel D.W., Garza S., Pillemer K., Reid, M.C. Health Patterns of Dementia Caregivers with Chronic Pain: Latent Profile Analysis of PROMIS-29 Measure. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 0(0): 1:11. 2025 DOI: 10.1177/07334648251360819.
  • Vaezi S., Freeling J.L., de Vargas B.O., Weidauer L., Shoemaker M.E., Sanders W.M., Dey M. Impacts of Minimally Processed Omnivorous vs. Lacto-ovo-vegetarian Diets on Insulin Sensitivity, Lipid Profile, and Adiposity in Older Adults: Secondary Findings from a Randomized Crossover Feeding Trial. Clinical Nutrition. 2025:DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2025.10.010.
  • Vestal S., Burke R.S., Browning L.M., Hasselquist L., Hales P.D., Miller M.L., Nepal M.P., White P.T. Building Resilience in Rural STEM Teachers Through a Noyce Professional Learning Community. Education Sciences. 15(1), 2025. DOI: 10.3390/educsci1501008510.3390.
  • Witzel D.D., Chandler K.D., Geldhof J.G., Hooker K., Stawski R.S. Partner Strain and Support Associations with Affective Reactions to Daily Stressors. Family Relations. 1-17. 2025. DOI: 10.1111/fare.13151.
  • Witzel D.D., Segerstrom S.C., Kurth M.L., Crosby P., Choun S., Aldwin C. Aging and Subjective Cognitive Difficulties during COVID-19: Stress and Positive Experiences. Anxiety, Stress and Coping. 1-17, 2025. DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2025.2466629.
  • Witzel D.D., Bhat A.C., Graham-Engeland J.E., Almeida D.M. Age and Inflammation: Insights on "Age Three Ways" from Midlife in the United States Study. Brain, Behavior and Immunity. 127, 72-80, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2025.03.018.
  • Witzel D.D., Cerino E.S., Stawski R.S., Porter G., Black A.D., Livingston R.A., Rush J., Mogle J., Charles S.T., Piaxxa J.R., Almeida D.M. Daily Association Between Perceived Control and Resolution of Daily Stressors Strengthens Across a Decade of Adulthood. Communications Psychology. 130:1-9, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s44271-025-00313-7.
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College of Education and Human Sciences
Physical Address
1060 Campanile Ave.
Brookings, SD 57007
Mailing Address
Wagner Hall 249, Box 2275A
Brookings, SD 57007
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Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
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