Professional Interests
As a cognitive psychologist and former public school teacher, my primary interest is enhancing student learning by working with teachers who are transforming their classrooms. A faculty member in Secondary Education, I work directly with current and future teachers in the Masters programs in areas of assessment, learning and cognition, and related teaching methods; in the Educational Specialist program I teach advanced assessment design and application. My focus is to help teachers enhance instruction through reflecting on current practice, delving deeply into the research underlying current methods. Having studied and taught math and science, I am especially interested in improving STEM teaching and learning. For the past several years I have been heavily involved in collaborating to develop our MAT for Woodrow Wilson STEM Fellows. Previously, I was Director of the Piedmont's first Quality Enhancement Plan, working with faculty and staff across the college to improve students' critical thinking. All of these roles continue a line of work I began as founding director of the Nashville Schools for Thought project, where I was responsible for a research group that translated research into classroom practice in collaboration with classroom teachers and administrators. Modeling constructivist methods, we provided ongoing professional development, developing curriculum and assessment collaboratively with teachers.
I earned a Ph.D. in Psychology: Cognition and Development in 1994 at Emory University, where I focused on social and developmental aspects of knowledge construction. For my Master's Thesis and follow up research I evaluated the effectiveness of the French in Action video-based curriculum versus traditional methodologies in beginning French classes. In a controlled study for my dissertation I analyzed the teaching interactions of different socioeconomic groups of African American and white mothers with their preschool children while reading books and telling narratives.
In addition to academic qualifications, I have fourteen years of teaching experience in public school middle grades and in adult education. I have written curriculum in mathematics basic skills, English as a Second Language for adult learners, social studies, and teacher education.
I earned a Ph.D. in Psychology: Cognition and Development in 1994 at Emory University, where I focused on social and developmental aspects of knowledge construction. For my Master's Thesis and follow up research I evaluated the effectiveness of the French in Action video-based curriculum versus traditional methodologies in beginning French classes. In a controlled study for my dissertation I analyzed the teaching interactions of different socioeconomic groups of African American and white mothers with their preschool children while reading books and telling narratives.
In addition to academic qualifications, I have fourteen years of teaching experience in public school middle grades and in adult education. I have written curriculum in mathematics basic skills, English as a Second Language for adult learners, social studies, and teacher education.