Teacher Preparation Research Area
Dr. Paula Cristina Azevedo is currently researching teacherpreneurs’ use of social media platforms, such as Instagram, and the impact of teacherpreneurs in effective marketing and teacher leadership in PK-12 education. Additionally, in collaboration with colleagues, she created the Write Up! Institute, which provides Education doctoral students with academic writing support. She is researching doctoral students’ perception of academic writing and how the Write Up! Institute has impacted doctoral students’ perceptions and attitudes toward academic writing and research.
Dr. Nicci Dowd research focus is in the following areas: (a) culturally responsive and sustaining practices that foster more inclusive learning environments for ALL learners, (b) high-leverage practices to promote meaningful transition experiences for students with disabilities, (c) investigating principles of models of support and collaboration to assist new faculty toward tenure, (d) DEI initiatives in K-12 schools in Panama and Colombia.
Dr. Ana L Lado’s expertise is in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). She publishes adult and children’s language books. She recently authored an article about selecting picture books to teach Panamanian children for the Reading Teacher with Clara Hauth, and about Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) in Pakistan for The Definite Article. An invited publication is upcoming about using picture books for language and literacy development for the Reading in Virginia Journal. In 2022, she authored her second online database about picture books for teaching English on the School of Education webpage.
Dr. Elizabeth Langran research interests (link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth-Langran-2) include digital equity, technology and teacher education, global citizenship, and geospatial technology. Her co-authored book, Navigating Place-based Learning: Mapping for a Better World, was published in November, 2020 by Palgrave Macmillan (link: https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783030556723).
Dr. Jessica Marotta is researching and revising curriculum with faculty and student input within the EdD program. This program is uniquely designed for scholarly practitioners who want to make a difference in their current professions by learning current, applicable, and meaningful leadership strategies. Our EdD program is grounded in the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate’s (CPED) guiding principles and Dr. Marotta’s research examines how to better integrate these principles throughout the EdD program, the student learning outcomes, and their Dissertation in Practice. An additional aspect is creating activities to help students meet their research goals by the end of the program.
Dr. Usha Rajdev’s research focuses on Project Based Learning with engineering and design. STEM Across the Globe is ongoing in Uganda. A ‘Mosquito!’ module adapted from the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is based on tasks leading to understanding the life cycle of the mosquitoes, diseases contracted from them, preventative measures to minimize malaria cases in schools, and designing and building traps to capture the larvae. All participating institutions’ teachers were engaged in training and learning of available resources and collaborating before implementing the mosquito module within their schools. The overarching goal is to sustain this project, educate and mentor schools across Uganda.
