The College of Education welcomed 13 new tenure-line faculty members this fall. View their biographies at https://issuu.com/pennstateeducation/docs/new_faculty_18-19?e=1154367/65610071 online, as well as below:
Brian Belland, associate professor of education (educational psychology), earned a doctorate in educational technology from Purdue University. His research interests include machine learning to inform scaffolding customization; scaffolding argumentation during problem-based learning in middle and high school science; synthesis of scaffolding research across STEM education and education levels; and scaffolding in preservice teacher education.
Amy Voss Farris, assistant professor of education (science education), earned a doctorate in learning, teaching and diversity with a focus in the learning sciences from Vanderbilt University. She investigates the intersections of scientific modeling and computing in K-12 classrooms and how learners’ experiences in computational modeling can support them as they integrate ideas and practices across STEM disciplines.
Maithreyi Gopalan, assistant professor of education (education theory and policy), earned a doctorate from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs from Indiana University, Bloomington. Her research examines the causes and consequences of racial and socioeconomic disparities in student outcomes using interdisciplinary perspectives. Specifically, she is interested in bringing psychological insights to bear on applied social and educational policy issues.
Jason Griffith, assistant professor of education (children’s literature), earned a doctorate in English education from Arizona State University after teaching middle and high school English for 12 years. His research interests include writing pedagogy, adolescent literature, multimodal text intersections, particularly in narrative nonfiction and storytelling, and empowering literacy practices for middle and secondary students, as well as preservice teachers.
Matthew Kelly, assistant professor of education (educational leadership/finance), earned a doctorate in education policy and the history of education from Stanford University. His research interests include the history and politics of school finance and governance, the causes and consequences of uneven resource distribution in schools, and long-term trends in the relationships between economic and educational inequality.
ChanMin Kim, associate professor of education (learning, design and technology), earned a doctorate in instructional systems from Florida State University. She studies methods to help preservice early grades and elementary teachers learn to integrate robotics and computer programming into classrooms. Her research also involves using programming and debugging as a vehicle for social learning of children on the autism spectrum.
Matthew McCrudden, associate professor of education (educational psychology), earned a doctorate in learning and technology from University of Nevada-Las Vegas. His research examines the processes that we use while we study and how these processes are related to our ability to comprehend new ideas, connect new ideas to what we already know, and to retain ideas for future use.
Amber O’Shea, assistant professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), earned a doctorate in educational psychology from Temple University. Her research interests include understanding the impact of supported education on health and post-secondary outcomes for college students with mental illness and interventions for promoting educational success and engagement among college students with psychiatric disabilities.
Stephanie Schroeder, assistant professor of education (social studies education), earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from University of Florida. Her research interests include democratic and citizenship education, pre-service teacher education and education activism.
Tanner Vea, assistant professor of education (learning, design and technology), earned a doctorate in learning sciences and technology design from Stanford University. His research interests include examining the political and ethical dimensions of designing learning environments, investigating the role of learning in political participation, and engaging educators and learners in human-centered design to address socially meaningful challenges.
LaWanda Ward, assistant professor of education (higher education), earned a doctorate in higher education and student affairs, and a juris doctor, from Indiana University. From a social justice perspective, her research interests include exploring legal issues in American higher education such as race-conscious admissions in a “post-racial” society, free speech and academic freedom.
Ericka Weathers, assistant professor of education (education theory and policy), earned a doctorate in education policy from Stanford University. She uses quasi-experimental methodologies to explore the role of structural inequality in education. Her current work examines the relationship between segregation and school finance and racial disparities in special education and school discipline.
Xiangquan “James” Yao, assistant professor of education (math education), earned a doctorate in mathematics education from Ohio State University. His research interests include the development of mathematical cognition; teaching and learning mathematics with technology; and mathematics preservice teacher education.