COE Research Table
Faculty Name Research Description Dept. View Full Summary Keywords
Laura Deportes Research Questions: Is teacher efficacy a malleable construct, something we can influence with intervention? How can we increase our capacity to support inclusion of students with diverse needs? What are the barriers to success for students in identified Gap Groups? EFEX  View Summary Intervention research, school improvement, teacher efficacy, global models of inclusion
Katie Dredger My research focuses on the following questions: What are the characteristics of differentiated texts used with the secondary classroom? How do exemplary teachers balance reading theory and practice in the secondary classroom? How do exemplary teachers motivate adolescents to read? How do exemplary teachers use new literacies to offer spaces where students collaborate, communicate, and create meaning in authentic ways? MSME View Summary Text differentiation, Adolescent motivation to read, Reading in the content Areas, Qualitative and Quantitative text complexity measures, New Literacies
Joy Myers Research Interests: Using Informational Texts in Elementary Classrooms Reading and Writing Workshop Pre-Service and In-Service Literacy Teacher Education EERE View Summary Using Informational Texts in Elementary Classrooms, Reading and Writing Workshop Pre-Service,  In-Service Literacy Teacher Education
Tiara Brown Research Interests: Early Childhood Education; Adapted Curriculum; Special Education; Intervention Research; Paraprofessionals; Global Models of Inclusion EFEX View Summary Early Childhood Education, Adapted Curriculum, Special Education, Intervention Research, Paraprofessionals, Global Models of Inclusion
Kristina Doubet Research Questions:1. How do inclusive, innovative secondary programs for English Language Learners emphasize learning strengths over language deficits? What innovative approaches are successful programs using to foster community among students from all cultures, languages, and backgrounds? MSME View Summary Differentiated Instruction, English Language Learners, Equity and Excellence, Flexible Grouping, Performance-Based Assessment, Middle and Secondary Education, Strengths-Based Approaches, Digital Learning
Sarah Lupo What features of text complexity are associated with students’ comprehension of texts? - What are the differences in students’ comprehension when reading easier or more challenging texts? - How do these differences vary across different groups of students? How do elementary teachers use companion texts of varying complexity to teach both content and literacy? EERE View Summary Text Complexity, English Language Learners, Teacher Beliefs, Content Area Literacy, Comprehension Instruction, Performance Assessments, Classroom Discourse, Interdisciplinary Education
Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger What resources do emergent bilingual students mobilize in their oral reading and retelling of texts, when they are provided with opportunities to incorporate all their languages and literacies? How do family literacy practices shape the ways children demonstrate knowledge during assessment events? EERE View Summary Emergent bilingual students, oral reading and retelling of texts, family literacy practices, teachers literary pedagogical beliefs, childhood teachers support young writers
Amanda Sawyer 1. How does Social Media and Internet resources influence teaching in modern society? 2. What are the levels of cognitive demand of the top 100 pins on Pinterest? 3. What are the influences on preservice and in-service teacher’s mathematical beliefs? 4. What practices can be implemented in the classroom to help reduce students’ mathematical anxiety? MSME View Summary Social Media, teacher mathematical beliefs, student mathematical anxiety
Melanie Shoffner My research is grounded by one overarching question: how to prepare secondary English teachers to educate for the complexities and challenges of the world around them.  I am interested in the development of reflective practices and teacher dispositions, in both preservice and practicing teachers, as well as the use of study abroad as experiential education.  I am also interested in exploring teacher constructs and the implications of those fictional constructions for teacher education. MSME View Summary Secondary English teacher education, development of reflective practices, study abroad as experiential education, development of teacher dispositions, social and cultural constructions of the teacher
Smita Mathur Play-based learning and Play Diplomacy: What do people learn during play? How can we leverage the innate, joyful, educational, and emotionally uplifting qualities of play to promote more just and harmonious communities. EERE View Summary Play, social justice, diplomacy, children, education
Mark Lewis My research interests include examining and critiquing representations of adolescence and youth in young adult and adult literature, defining the multifaceted literary competence of secondary students, and identifying effective ways to support linguistically diverse learners. EERE Young adult literature; literary competence; bilingual learners; middle level education

Back to Top