Research & scholarly collaboration
Led and managed literacy projects, developed an independent research agenda, and co-authored publications and grant proposals.
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Current projects & scholarly exchange
Research, practice & possibilities
Literacy, multilingual learners, and the ways research can inform better educational opportunities.
University of Texas at Tyler · 2022–2024
Connecting literacy research with practice.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Literacy Education
Associate Director, K–16 Literacy Center
From May 2022 to August 2024, I worked in the College of Education and Psychology at UT Tyler, supporting the K–16 Literacy Center’s research, teaching, and outreach.
Literacy center leadership
Worked with the center’s director and endowed chair to oversee activities and assist with fundraising for literacy initiatives.
Schools & communities
Supported work to advance literacy instruction and student achievement at university, school, and community levels.
Research projects
Funded · May 2026
AI-driven synthesis of English learner research
Advancing the science of science and preparing for NSF CAREER resubmission.
Funded · November 2025
Students’ use of AI for learning in Nepal
Examining patterns of practice and access in students’ use of AI for learning.
Funded · May 2025
Crossing borders: International teachers
Understanding the motivations and retention factors of international teachers, in collaboration with Ligia Alberto.
Funded · December 2024
A vector database for English learner teaching literature
Building a foundation for machine learning applications in educational research.
Funded · November 2024
North Carolina southeastern consortium for multilingual learner education
A community engagement initiative with Eleni Pappamihiel.
Proposed research
Proposals submitted for review; funding decisions are pending in the September 2026 CV.
Submitted · August 2026
Auditing claim-measurement alignment in scientific literature
A knowledge-graph framework validated on a 712-study corpus.
Submitted · July 2026
Mapping the architecture of scientific knowledge
A GraphRAG framework for auditing claim-measurement alignment in educational research.
Work in development
Manuscripts under review 2
- Helping newcomer Latinos adapt to schools in the United States: An exploration of mental health services integrated into a suburban high school.With Eleni Pappamihiel
- Context, composition, and COVID-19: A multilevel analysis of PISA 2018–2022 reading achievement.
Manuscripts in preparation 8
- From theory to practice—or not? How translanguaging is operationalized in empirical English learner research.With Kouider Mokhtari and Eleni Pappamihiel
- Ties that bridge, ties that bind: Social capital in the entry and retention of international school teachers.With Ligia Alberto
- What do we know, and how do we know it? A large-scale evidence map of instructional strategies for English learners.
- Beyond program labels: How bilingual education research aligns instructional claims and outcome measures.
- Toward a framework of AI literacy standards for academic reading: Implications of MARSI-R for curriculum, instruction, and institutional policy.With Kouider Mokhtari
- Development and validation of the international teacher motivation and retention survey (ITMRS).With Ligia Alberto
- Crossing borders by chance: Planned happenstance, unplanned entry, and decision regret in international teaching careers.With Ligia Alberto
- Triangulating change: A historical drive into school needs overtime.With C. Thompson and H. J. Higgins
Selected presentations
Reading and metacognition in the age of artificial intelligence
Kouider Mokhtari & Nirmal Ghimire
CSOTTE Teacher Education Conference · Denton, Texas
Scaffolding, not outsourcing: Using AI to enhance metacognitive reading comprehension across disciplines
Kouider Mokhtari & Nirmal Ghimire
Alliance for Innovation in Teacher Education Expert Webinar Series, ISTE + ASCD · 675 attendees
Digital divides and educational resilience: Global evidence from COVID-19 school disruptions
Nirmal Ghimire, Kouider Mokhtari, & N. Eleni Pappamihiel
AERA Annual Meeting · Los Angeles, California
Literature reviews and secondary data: Evidence-based policy research for Nepal
Nirmal Ghimire
Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship · Facilitated by Nepali Academics in America
View presentation ↗Evaluating the predictive power of metacognitive reading strategies across diverse educational contexts
Nirmal Ghimire
Beyond the Pages: Bridging Research to Practice · UNCW Watson College of Education
Read the related article ↗Assessing L2 reading strategy use in digital text reading
Kouider Mokhtari, A. Alamer, Nirmal Ghimire, & A. Alsagoafi
TESOL International Convention and Expo · Long Beach, California
Predicting students’ metacognitive reading skills: A multi-dimensional analysis using the PISA 2018 dataset
Nirmal Ghimire & Kouider Mokhtari
AERA Annual Meeting · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Improving English learner achievement through One-Plus teacher preparation program
Nirmal Ghimire & Joyce W. Nutta
TESOL International Convention & Expo · Tampa, Florida