Dr. Joanne Arhar, Ed.D.

Area: VOSS - TLCS, MCED

vita [pdf]

I started my career as a high school English teacher in the Cleveland area after graduating from Case Western Reserve with a degree in English Education. While I was teaching, I continued at CWRU and earned a degree in American Studies. Later, I attended Cleveland State University where I earned a secondary school principal's certificate. My first administrative position was at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, followed by an internship in Washington DC for the American Association of School Administrators, and a year as an administrator at a middle school in Colorado. I returned to Ohio to earn my doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Cincinnati and took my first academic position at the University of South Florida. After four years, I again returned to Ohio to teach at Kent State where I have worked since 1994 as a faculty member in Curriculum and Instruction, coordinator of Middle Childhood Education, and now Associate Dean and Director of Teacher Education. My research interests have focused on the education of early adolescents, preparing teachers for the middle grades, and using action research to improve teaching and learning.

William Bintz, Ph.D

Area: TLC

vita [pdf]

I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. I have extensive classroom teaching experience including teaching high school English in Chicago, Illinois and San Juan, Puerto Rico; middle school language arts in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; and grades 4-6 at an Alternative School in Bloomington, Indiana. I have also been a Visiting Lecturer in Language Education at the Armidale College of Advanced Education in Armidale, Australia, as well as an assistant professor at Western Kentucky University, James Madison University, and the University of Kentucky. My personal experiences and professional interests include using award-winning literature to teach across the curriculum K-12, collaborative teacher research, and reading comprehension assessment. I have published numerous articles and book chapters in leading literacy journals such as Language Arts, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and Middle School Journal; presented at many international, national, and state conferences; and conducted professional development workshops throughout the United States. Most recently, I have been involved in several collaborative research projects, most notably a project, funded by Eisenhower and Improving Educator Quality grants investigating the use of award-winning and high-quality literature to integrate literacy, math, and science, 4-8.

Elizabeth Brooks, Ph.D

Area: TLC , MCED

I received my BA in History from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, MAT in Social Studies (concentration in History) from UNC-Chapel Hill, and my Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Kent State University in December 2005. I have taught secondary social studies across three states (North Carolina, Georgia, and New York), participated in a National Science Foundation grant focused on issues-centered teaching and learning, and, during the first years of my teaching career, was part of two faculty teams specifically selected to ease the early days of school integration. Since coming to Kent in 1990, I have served as a Teaching Fellow and then as Non-tenure Track Faculty in the elementary, middle childhood, and adolescent-young adult teacher education programs. I also guide the initiatives of EHHS's three-tiered partnership structure, manage the work of our local affiliate (Kent Area Professional Education Partnership [KAPEP]) of the Holmes Partnership, and coordinate the adolescent-young adult social studies practicum. My research interests are focused on social studies teacher education and the curriculum work of social studies teachers.

Aeran Choi, Ph.D

Area: TLC

vita [pdf]

Aeran Choi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. She earned her M.Ed in Science Education at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, Korea and her Ph.D. in Science Education at University of Iowa. Her primary research interests include writing-to-learn science, student argument in scientific inquiry, and student use of multiple modal representations. She taught high school integrated science and chemistry for ten years in Seoul, Korea before earning her Ph.D.

Alicia Crowe, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI, MCED

vita [pdf]

I am an Associate Professor of Middle and Secondary Social Studies Education in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University and currently the coordinator of the ADED program. I love to teach. It is wonderful to be a part of the growth of new and experienced teachers. I am very interested and do research in teacher education, social studies education, teacher learning, and technology integration in social studies education at both the secondary and pre-service levels.

Kenneth Cushner, Ed.D.

Area: TLC

vita [pdf]

I received the B.A. from Kent State University in 1973, and began teaching biology and general science in schools in Switzerland and Australia. I returned to Kent State to pursue a Master's degree in Guidance and Counseling and then taught fifth and sixth grade in the KSU Lab School. Following a few years of teaching and traveling internationally with young people, I received a scholarship through the East-West Center to pursue the Doctorate at the University of Hawaii, where I studied Curriculum and Instruction and Cross-Cultural Psychology. I returned to Kent State University in 1987 to teach social studies and multicultural education. I have authored or co-authored seven different books, including Human Diversity in Education: An Integrative Approach, 6th ed (McGraw-Hill, 2009); Beyond Tourism: A Practical Guide to Meaningful Educational Travel (Scarecrow Education, 2004); and Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide, 2nd ed (Sage Publications, 1996). I served as Director of the Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching from 1995 - 2000, am a Founding Fellow and President of the International Academy for Intercultural Research, and have organized and led international travel programs on all seven continents. In my spare time, I enjoy music (percussion and guitar), travel, and photography.

Andrew Gilbert, Ph.D

Area: TLC , MCED, CI

vita [pdf]

Dr. Andrew Gilbert taught for four years in the Washington DC metro area before pursuing his PhD at New Mexico State University. While in New Mexico, he worked extensively in K-8 classrooms developing and teaching innovative approaches to science with children. He has been teaching Early and Middle Childhood Science at Kent State University since the fall of 2003. He also teaches graduate courses in several program areas at KSU. His research looks at the complex issues involved in enacting science in the classroom context. These research topics represent a range of issues that include: inquiry-based science teaching, social justice and equity, the separation of theory and practice, and international education. His work has been published in various outlets including: Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Curriculum Inquiry, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Early Childhood Research and Practice.

Dr. Mary Hricko

Area:

Wendy Kasten, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf] | http://www.personal.kent.edu/~wkasten

Wendy C. Kasten earned her B.S. degree at Rowan University in New Jersey, her M.Ed from the University of Maine, and her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona (1984). She is 1996-2002 president of C.E.L.T., (Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking), an invitational society of literacy educators who advocate meaning-centered views of learning. She is active in the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Reading Conference. Kasten taught elementary school in Maine, and previously taught at the University of South Florida, and was a visiting faculty fellow to Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. She is co-author of several books, including The Multiage Classroom: A Family of Learners (1993 with Clarke); Implementing Multiage Education: A Practical Guide (1998, with Lolli);Action Research for Teachers: Traveling the Yellow Brick Road (2001; 2005 w/ Holly and Arhar); and Living Literature (2005, w/Kristo & McClure) Articles can be found in Reading and Writing Quarterly; Anthropology and Education Quarterly; Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Literacy, Teaching and Learning, The National Reading Conference Yearbook, and others. She is Associate Editor of Reading and Writing Quarterly. Areas of interest and research include: writing, action research, literature based reading instruction, children's literature, literature circles, multiage education, struggling readers, reading assessment, independent reading, and teacher reflection. Personal website address is: http://www.personal.kent.edu/~wkasten

Claudia Khourey-Bowers, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf]

My career as a science educator has taken many interesting turns. It began with a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from The Ohio State University, followed by a stint working in a neuroanatomy research lab at NEOUCOM, and a master's degree in biology from the University of Akron. From there, I launched my teaching career in Canton City Schools, where I also worked in science curriculum and professional development. My experiences in the classroom and in professional development raised questions about the teaching-learning dynamic that I felt warranted further study. This took me to Kent State University, where I earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in science education. I am now beginning my ninth year at Kent State University-Stark as a faculty member, where my teaching responsibilities are split between Middle Childhood nd C & I program areas. My line of inquiry explores the relationships existing across teacher beliefs, teacher knowledge and pedagogy, and the role of teacher content knowledge on student achievement, classroom culture, and inquiry/integration.

William Kist, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI, MCED

http://www.williamkist.com

Patricia Koontz, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf]

Kent State University has been home to me for more years than any other academic institution. Receiving my undergraduate, masters and doctorate from Kent State has been a source of pride knowing the excellent professors and opportunities KSU has afforded me. As a student teacher I took advantage Kent State's international student teaching program and student taught in Cali Columbia, South America. Prior to joining Kent State as a professor, I was a chemist; a mathematics teacher at Hillman Jr. High in Youngstown; a mathematics, chemistry, and physics teacher at North High School in Akron; and a mathematics teacher for autistic children in Kent City Schools. I am presently the Director of the Mathematics Specialist Program (the only such master's degree program in Ohio) as well as the co-director of the Northeast Ohio Center of Excellence for the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (NEOCEx). I serve on the Ohio Mathematics Education Task Force and the Ohio Resource Center math review board. Two of my most recent books are Teaching Science to Children: an Inquiry Approach co-authored with A. Friedl and Science and Society in the Twentieth Century co-authored with W. Sherman.

Anne Reynolds, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf]

I received my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Education at James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia. I taught for 19 years in Queensland, Australia, as an elementary teacher, a high school mathematics and accounting teacher, and as a resource teacher for students with special needs. In 1990, I came to the United States to complete my Doctorate in Mathematics Education at Florida State University. In 1993, I joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma and concentrated my efforts in mathematics education in the early childhood, special education, and middle grades programs at the undergraduate level as well as teaching and advising in the mathematics education graduate programs. I joined the faculty at Kent State University in the Fall 2004, where I teach mathematics education courses in the MCED, ECED, and C & I programs. My research interests are focused on how students learn mathematics, particularly the imagery involved in making sense of mathematical ideas, and in learning in a problem centered setting.

Teresa Rishel, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf]

Teresa Rishel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Middle Childhood Education and Multicultural Education. Dr. Rishel joined the Kent State faculty in 2003. Her educational experience includes serving as an elementary principal and teaching elementary and middle level grades. She earned her Master of Science in Elementary Education and her PhD in Curriculum Studies at Purdue University. Her undergraduate degrees include Elementary Education (St. Joseph's College, Indiana) and Physical Education & Health K-12 (Ball State University, Indiana). Dr. Rishel's interests include guiding middle level preservice teachers as they transition into effective novice teachers. She is interested in reflective thinking, curriculum theory, multicultural issues of education and social justice. Her research interests include adolescent suicide in relationship to teaching, leadership, and curriculum, with a focus on affective environments. Dr. Rishel presents her research nationally and at several Midwestern universities, as well as in education classes at Kent State.

Alexa Sandmann, Ed.D.

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf]

After graduating from Copley High School, I earned undergraduate degrees in English and Education, as well as a master's degree in Reading from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Before earning my doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati, I taught for five years in the public schools. Before coming to Kent State in 2004, I taught for two years at Northern Kentucky University and twelve years at the University of Toledo. I have served in varied leadership roles across the state: President of the Ohio Council of the International Reading Association, having been a local council president several years before that; member of various state reading and writing committees; and Praxis III assessor. I present consistently at the national conventions of International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Middle School Association, as well as state literacy events. I directed the Toledo Area Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, for ten years. I am currently the director of the National Writing Project at Kent State University.

Steven Turner, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf] | http://www.educ.kent.edu/TLCS/faculty/turner.html

Steven L. Turner is an assistant professor in the Teaching, Leadership and Curriculum Studies Department. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Curriculum and Instruction and Middle Childhood Education. He joined the KSU faculty in 2005. He earned his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia (2005) and his M.Ed from Boston University (2000). His dual undergraduate degree was Honors Liberal Studies and Special Education from Longwood University (1998). His research interests include the Learning Sciences and methods for preparing K-12 teacher candidates to integrate ethical and appropriate high-stakes test preparation without narrowing curriculum or teaching to the test. His current research project examines the misalignment between how teachers teach and how students learn.

Lori Wilfong, Ph.D

Area: TLC , CI

vita [pdf]

Lori G. Wilfong, Ph.D., began her career in East Los Angeles, CA, teaching English as a second language to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders for the Los Angeles Unified School District. This sparked her interest in motivating adolescent readers and led to positions in Rootstown Local Schools and Maple Heights City Schools as a literacy coach and literacy specialist. Upon completion of her doctoral degree in Literacy Education from Kent State, Wilfong began her current position in the Middle Childhood Education and Curriculum & Instruction programs at the Stark Campus. She remains an active consultant in several area urban school districts, furthering her research interests in multicultural literature and education, fluency, and reading in the content areas.