Curriculum and Instruction Faculty

JANICE F. ALMASI, Ph.D., University of Maryland

Dr. Almasi (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 2004 and is the Carol Lee Robertson Endowed Professor of Literacy Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Almasi also works in the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development. She teaches courses in elementary reading methods, reading theory, and reading research design. Her career began as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist in Maryland. She earned her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. She was the recipient of the International Reading Association's Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award in 1994 and the National Reading Conference's Outstanding Student Research Award in 1993. Her pedagogical and research endeavors have critically examined the contexts in which children learn from text. Her research focuses on patterns of social interaction, discourse, engagement, and cognitive processing during peer discussions of literature. She is currently working toward a developmental model of peer discussion.

 

GARY J. ANGLIN, Ed.D., Indiana University

Dr. Anglin (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 1980 and is now Associate Professor of Education and program coordinator of the Instructional Systems Design Program; full member of the Graduate School Faculty and past president of the Research and Theory Division, AECT. His current research interests are visual message design and cooperative computer-based instruction. Dr. Anglin's recent publications include: Visual message design and learning: The role of static and dynamic illustrations. In D.H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Instructional Technology. New York: Macmillan and Washington, The Association for Educational Communications and Technology and; Instructional technology: Past, present and future, Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. Dr. Anglin is chair of the instructional design program faculty.

 

 
JANA BOUWMA-GEARHART, Ph.D.

 

SHARON BRENNAN, Ed.D., University of Kentucky

Dr. Brennan (vita in Word) has served as Director of Field Experiences for the College of Education since 1984. She joined the faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in 1993. Dr. Brennan received Ed.D. and M.A. degrees from the University of Kentucky and a B.S. degree from Framingham State College, Framingham, MA. Her areas of academic interest and expertise include: teacher assessment, clinical supervision, professional development and curricular issues in elementary education.

 

 

ELINOR BROWN, Ph.D., University of Akron

Dr. Brown (vita in Word ) joined the faculty in 1999 as an assistant professor in teacher education and multicultural education. She holds an M.B.A. from Cleveland State University, M.A. in multicultural education and M.S. in secondary education from the University of Akron, and a B.B.A. from Cleveland State University. Dr. Brown has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in teacher education, cultural diversity, and professional development at Cleveland State University, John Carroll University, and the University of Akron. Her current research interests include International advances in education policies and practices that: foster equitable access to all levels of the educational continuum, educate all students to become ethical, non-exploitive transformation agents, and prepare disenfranchised and underrepresented students to become productive non-exploited 21st century citizens.

 

LESLIE DAVID BURNS, Ph.D., Michigan State University

Dr. Burns (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2005 as an assistant professor of literacy. He began his career as a high school English language arts teacher in Kansas, and holds a BA in English Literature from Washburn University of Topeka, Kansas, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Dr. Burns’s research interests include pre-service English education, teacher education curriculum and policy, teacher identity, adolescent literacy and literacy policy, cultural theories, critical discourse analysis, and the application of research and theory from the New Literacy Studies. Dr. Burns is chair of the English education program faculty.

 

 

SUSAN CANTRELL, Ed.D. University of Kentucky

Dr. Cantrell (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2003. She is an assistant professor in Curriculum and Instruction and is Director of Research for the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development. Dr. Cantrell began her career as an elementary reading and classroom teacher and earned her doctoral degree from the University of Kentucky. She teaches courses in reading methods for undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Cantrell's research interests include strategic processing in reading, effective programs and practices for improving reading comprehension, and teacher efficacy and development. 

 

JANINE CLINE, Administrative Support I

 

MOLLY FISHER, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Dr. Fisher (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 2009 as an assistant professor of mathematics education.  She began her career as a high school mathematics teacher in the Charlotte, NC area.  She obtained her B.A. in Mathematics, M.A. in Mathematics Education, and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, all from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Most recently, Dr. Fisher taught mathematics and mathematics education courses at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. When she joined the faculty in 2009 she had six years of high school mathematics teaching experience, two years of high school online teaching experience, and three years of college-level teaching experience.   Dr. Fisher’s research interests include teachers’ stress, burnout, and coping skills, especially among beginning teachers. See Dr. Fisher's website.

 

LAURIE HENRY, Ph.D., University of Connecticut

Dr. Henry (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2007 as an assistant professor of early adolescent literacy. She came to Lexington from Connecticut where she began her career as a middle school teacher. Dr. Henry has a B.S. in special education and an M.A. in education from the University of Connecticut where she also earned a Ph.D. in Cognition and Instruction with an emphasis on literacy and technology. Dr. Henry has served on the advisory board with readwritethink.org for the International Reading Association since 2003. Her research interests include the new literacies of online reading comprehension at the middle school level and social equity issues related to the digital divide.

 

KATHY HEINEMAN, Administrative Support Associate I

 

 

REBECCA McNALL KRALL, Ph.D., University of Virginia

Dr. Rebecca McNall Krall (vita in Word) joined the faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in fall 2003. Dr. Rebecca Krall came to the university after completing her doctoral degree in science education at the University of Virginia. She also holds a B.A. in elementary education from Virginia Tech and a M.Ed. in science education from the University of Virginia. She served as a classroom teacher in grades 6 – 8 for seven years in Virginia public schools prior to pursuing her graduate degrees. Dr. McNall Krall’s current research interests include examining strategies for preparing preservice science teachers to effectively use educational technology in science instruction, preparing preservice teachers to teach the nature of science, and exploring ways to use educational technology tools to support inquiry learning in elementary science.

 

 

LINDA S. LEVSTIK, Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Dr. Linda S. Levstik (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 1982. She came to Lexington from Columbus, Ohio where she was a consultant for teacher education program assessment with the Ohio Department of Education. Dr. Levstik holds a B.S. from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and taught in public and private schools in Ohio. She holds the M.S. degree from The Ohio State University. Her areas of academic interest and expertise focus on teaching and learning history. She was awarded the Jean Dresden Grambs Distinguished Career Research Award in 2007 for her scholarship in history education.

 

 

XIN MA, Ph.D., University of British Columbia

Dr. Xin Ma (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2003. He holds a Masters in Mathematics Education from the University of British Columbia in Canada and a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the same institution. Dr. Ma taught mathematics education and education statistics at St. Francis Xavier University and the University of Alberta in Canada before coming to the University of Kentucky. He became a Fellow of the ( U.S.) National Academy of Education in 2001 and received the Early Career Contribution Award from the Committee for Scholars of Color in Education, American Educational Research Association in 2003. Dr. Ma's research interests include mathematics education, school effectiveness, policy research, and advanced quantitative methods.

 

 

CHRISTINE A. MALLOZZI, Ph. D., University of Georgia

Dr. Mallozzi (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 2009 as an assistant professor of literacy education. She earned a Ph. D. in Reading Education, with certifications in women’s studies and qualitative research, from The University of Georgia. Dr. Mallozzi taught fifth and sixth grades in Cincinnati, Ohio while earning her M. Ed. in Literacy Education from the University of Cincinnati.  She was awarded the 2009 Carol J. Fisher Award for excellence in research from the University of Georgia and the 2007 Outstanding Student Research Paper from the Georgia Educational Research Association. Dr. Mallozzi’s research interests include teacher education, middle grades reading education, feminist theories, and discourse analysis.

 

 

 

JOAN M. MAZUR, Ph.D., Cornell University

Dr. Joan Mazur (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 1993 as an assistant professor in the Instructional Systems Design program. She had worked for six years at the Interactive Multimedia Group at Cornell University while pursuing her graduate degrees. Dr. Mazur holds a Masters in Educational Philosophy from Cornell and a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from that same institution. After obtaining her B.A. in English from SUNY Geneseo in upstate New York she taught secondary English at several rural and inner city schools. Dr. Mazur's current research interests focus on interface designand the use of interactive multimedia to support learning, research, and teacher professionalism in a variety of instructional contexts.

 

BETTY McCANN, Staff Support Associate II

 

 

NANCYE E. McCRARY, Ed.D., University of Kentucky

Dr. McCrary (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2005 as an assistant professor in elementary social studies and humanities education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Most recently, she served as an assistant research professor for the Commonwealth Center for Instructional Technology and Learning where her focus has been evaluating an interactive web-based instructional support system for K-12 teachers in Kentucky. Dr. McCrary has also served as an assistant professor in art education at the University of Kentucky and at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA.. She has a B. S. and M. S. in education from the University of Tennessee and over twenty years teaching experience in public and private K-12 schools. In addition to teaching, Dr. McCrary designed and directed a family-centered treatment program for emotionally and behaviorally challenged youth at St. Mary's Medical Center in Knoxville, TN., served as a consultant for the San Francisco Redevelopment Board on issues of accessibility for the Yerba Buena Children's Museum, and as an evaluator for the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges.

 

 

MARGARET MOHR SCHROEDER, Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Dr. Mohr-Schroeder (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 2006 as an assistant professor of mathematics education. She began her career as a junior high, high school, community college, and college mathematics instructor in Kansas. She holds a BSEd in Mathematics from Pittsburg State University of Pittsburg, Kansas, a MS in Mathematics also from Pittsburg State University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M University. Dr. Mohr-Schroeder's research interests include pre-service teacher Mathematics Education, mathematics knowledge for teaching, and assessment. Dr. Mohr-Schroeder is chair of the mathematics education program faculty.

 

 

KRISTEN PERRY, Ph.D., MIchigan State University

Dr. Perry (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2007 as an assistant professor of elementary literacy. She earned a BA in English from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Learning, Technology & Culture, with a specialization in Literacy, from Michigan State University. Dr. Perry began her career teaching in multi-age elementary classrooms in Denver, Colorado, and also served for two years in the Peace Corps in Lesotho in southern Africa. Her research interests include literacy as a socio-cultural practice, multiple literacies, family and community literacy, and African refugee communities.

 

 

ROSETTA F. SANDIDGE, Ed.D., University of Kentucky

Dr. Sandidge (vita in Word) is serving as interim dean for the 2008-2009 academic year. In addition, she continues to serve as associate dean for academic and student services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in vocational home economics education from Texas Christian University and an M.S. and Ed.D. in vocational education from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Sandidge is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Her areas of academic interest and research include teacher assessment, teacher induction, classroom management, and gender equity. She began her career at the college in 1983.

 

CHRISTINE SCHNITTKA, Ph.D., University of Virginia

Dr. Schnittka (vita in pdf) joined the faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in fall 2009. Dr. Schnittka came to the university after completing her doctoral degree in science education at the University of Virginia. She also holds a bachelor of engineering degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and a master of engineering degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia. She served as a science teacher for 10 years for students in grades 5 – 8 in Virginia prior to pursuing her doctoral degree. Dr. Schnittka’s current research interests include examining effective strategies for using engineering design activities in science classrooms, exploring students’ alternative science conceptions, investigating educational technology in science instruction, and discerning ways elementary school teachers can use trade books to incorporate science and literacy instruction. Learn more about Dr. Schnittka on her website.

 

 

MARY C. SHAKE, Ed.D., SUNY Albany

Dr. Shake (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the Fall, 1985, having spent one year as Academic Staff at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Dr. Shake holds a M.S. degree in Reading from the State University of New York at Albany, and a B.S. degree in Elementary Education and Home Economics from St. Joseph College in Connecticut. Dr. Shake's areas of academic interest include classroom literacy instruction, education reform, and teacher preparation for diverse classrooms. Dr. Shake is Chairperson and Director of Graduate Studies for the department. She is also chair of the reading and writing program faculty.

 

 

DOUGLAS C. SMITH, Ph.D., Arizona State University

Dr. Smith (vita in PDF) joined our faculty in 1987. His primary assignment is in our Instructional Systems Design program where he teaches instructional computing and electronic authoring. His research interests include the roles of education technologists, gender equity, and computer based instruction. Dr. Smith also coordinates the business content core for the master's with initial certification program. Dr. Smith is chair of the business and marketing education program faculty.

 

 

GERRY SWAN, Ph.D., University of Virginia, Charlottesville 
 

Dr. Swan (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 2007 as an assistant professor of STEM Education. He began his career with teaching experience at a boarding school in New Hampshire. Teaching in a one-to-one computing environment sparked his interest in the use of technology in education. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the University of Virginia. Dr. Swan's research interests include use of interactive media with instruction and computer managed instruction/research.

 

 

KATHLEEN OWINGS SWAN, Ph.D., University of Virginia, Charlottesville

Dr. Swan (vita in Word) joined the faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the fall 2004. Dr. Swan came to the university after completing her doctoral degree in social studies education at the University of Virginia. She also holds a B.S. in economics from Mount Saint Mary's College in Maryland and an M.A.T. in social studies education from Johns Hopkins University. She served as a classroom teacher in grades 6-12 for seven years in public, private and International schools prior to pursuing her doctoral degree. Dr. Swan's current research interests include examining strategies for training pre-service and in-service social studies teachers to effectively use educational technology in social studies instruction. Dr. Swan is chair of the social studies program faculty.

 

 

ROBERT TANNENBAUM, Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University

Robert S. Tannenbaum (vita in Word) was Director of Academic Computing Services at the University of Kentucky from 1991 to 2001. For the years 1999 - 2001, he served as a special advisor on academic computing issues and planning for the Chancellor of the Lexington Campus. On July 1, 2001, he became Director of Special Projects and Initiatives and Associate Director of Undergraduate Education in the Office of Undergraduate Education. He is also on the faculties of the Colleges of Engineering and Education. Dr. Tannenbaum has been using and teaching others to use computers at several universities for many years. He has taught in the UK Discovery Seminar Program for more than ten years, including courses on Multimedia, Civil Liberties, and Methods of Scholarly Inquiry.

 

MARY ANN VIMONT, M.Ed., University of Kentucky

Mary Ann Vimont (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 1980 and is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Director of the Economic Education Center sponsored by the Kentucky Council at the University of Kentucky. She is also Director of Student Activities, Alumni, Community Affairs & Public Relations for the College. Ms. Vimont's background is in teacher training and curriculum development. She has studied and visited many educational programs in Europe and Asia. Ms. Vimont worked several summers in a Teacher Center in Great Britain and is a charter member of the International Association for the Awareness of Economics for Young Children.

 

 

JENNIFER WILHELM, Ph. D., University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Wilhelm (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 2009 as an Associate Professor in Science Education and as an engagement and outreach faculty member of the University of Kentucky Partnership Institute for Mathematics and Science Education Reform. She holds an M.S. in Physics from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics/Science Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Wilhelm was an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University and was awarded the Texas Tech University’s Presidential Academic Achievement Award in 2009. Dr. Wilhelm's primary research interest involves the design of inquiry-based, project-enhanced, interdisciplinary learning environments. She investigates how people understand science and mathematics concepts as they participate in project work that demands the integration of multiple content areas. Dr. Wilhelm's research focuses on project pieces that are inherently interdisciplinary and fruitful for contextualized student learning. Some examples include examining the development of students' science and mathematics content understanding as they engage in studies of motion and rate of change; sound waves and trigonometry; and the moon's phases, the moon's motion, and spatial geometry.

 

Emeritus Faculty and Retired Staff

 

RONALD K. ATWOOD, Ed. D., Florida State University

Dr. Atwood (vita in Word) joined the faculty in 1966. He holds a B.S. and M.A. degree from Murray State, an M.S. from New Mexico Highlands and the Ed.D. from Florida State. His specialization is science education, elementary and middle school levels. Conceptual change and alternative conceptions are Dr. Atwood's recent research interests.

 

 

DEBORAH CHANDLER, Administrative Support Associate I

J. TRUMAN STEVENS, Ed.D., University of Virginia

Dr. Stevens (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in 1972 and was an associate professor of Science Education. Dr. Stevens received his B.S. from Georgetown College and his M.Ed. and Ed.D from the University of Virginia. His areas of academic interest include science teacher education (elementary, middle, and senior high schools), development and implementation of innovative methods and materials in science classrooms, science teaching and the development of reasoning (problem solving), safety in the science classroom, curriculum development, and science games and simulations.

 

WILLIS JOHNSON, Ed.D., Temple University

Dr. Johnson (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in August, 1997. A native of Richmond County, VA, raised and schooled in Philadelphia, PA, moved to Kentucky from Houston, TX in 1977. His degrees in mathematics education are from Temple University. His twenty years at Murray State University provided many opportunities to grow and to serve teachers throughout the country and world. Dr. Johnson has served in a variety of leadership roles with the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Council of Teachers of Mathematics, School Science and Mathematics Association, and systemic initiatives in both mathematics and science education grants funded by the National Science Foundation. His interests are technology applications to enhance teaching. Dr. Johnson served as the editor of Kentucky Journal for Teachers of Mathematics.

ANGENE H. WILSON, Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Dr. Wilson taught secondary social studies methods and supervised student teachers. Her research interests are international experience. Dr. Wilson was a Fulbright Scholar at the University College of Education, Winneba, Ghana for Spring, 1997.