COLLEGE PARK, MD (August, 2016) The College of Education is excited to welcome a number of new faculty members to our college for the 2016-17 academic year. The new faculty bring a diverse set of research interests and academic experience to our college. The college looks forward to their scholarship and to the relationships they build with students, the faculty, and the broader community.
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology
Kelly S. Mix, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, HDQM
Alma mater: University of Chicago
The new chair of the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, Dr. Mix joins COE from the University of Chicago, where she was a professor of educational psychology. Her research focus is on the development of mathematical cognition and number concepts in young children.
“I started my career as an elementary school teacher with a specialization in STEM teaching. As I gained experience as a teacher, I began to wonder why some teaching methods were more effective than others, or why some children struggled to learn concepts that came easily to others,” Dr. Mix said of her decision to obtain a doctorate in developmental psychology and pursue this line of research.
In particular, Dr. Mix credits the scholarly achievements of the faculty and the intellectual environment as her motivation for joining the College of Education’s faculty.
Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership
Campbell Scribner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, TLPL
Alma mater: University of Wisconsin
History and philosophy of education, legal and political theory and local control of schools, social studies education
Dr. Scribner joins the college faculty from Ohio Wesleyan University. He was drawn to UMD College of Education because of the opportunities to work with graduate students and pursue research in his areas of specialization. A historian of education, Dr. Scribner is broadly interested in questions of democratic governance and local, state, and federal policy.
“I taught high school history for four years, and have always been fascinated by schools as places of personal and community growth,” Dr. Scribner said. In 2016, he published The Fight for Local Control: Schools, Suburbs, and American Democracy.
Magdalena Gross, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, TLPL
Alma mater: Stanford University
Most recently, Dr. Gross served as the director of the Masters in Teaching program in Social Studies at Brown University. Her research focuses on global history education.
“I work with teachers and students to understand how societies tell and remember stories about the difficult past,” Dr. Gross said. “By moving beyond traditional approaches to research about the teaching and learning of war and conflict, I hope to demonstrate how and what children learn about the violent past in and outside of school—through their voices and narratives as well as analyzing the influence of the Internet, films and social media.”
Dr. Gross grew up listening to stories about World War II and about post-war immigration from Poland to the US, which motivated her research interest in how people and nations remember difficult history and how that influences identity and community cohesion.
Imani Masters Goffney, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Alma mater: University of Michigan
Dr. Goffney, who joins the College of Education from the University of Houston, chose to pursue her research agenda on equitable teaching practices in mathematics education at the college’s Center for Mathematics Education.
“My research agenda seeks to specify the nature of ambitious instruction that improves the quality of mathematics teaching and opportunities for learning for students often poorly served by schools, particularly African American and Latino children, low-income students, and those for whom English is a second language,” Dr. Goffney said.
Dr. Gofney’s interest in ensuring access for and reaching those who are marginalized stems from values instilled by her parents, who taught her to be deeply concerned about the community. She also cites as motivation her experiences at Spelman College, which “helped [her to] convert concern into advocacy by learning different ways to intervene on social issues through volunteerism and programs.”
Claudia Galindo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Alma mater: Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Galindo joins UMD College of Education from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she worked for the Program of Language, Literacy, and Culture. Her research interests focus on educational theory and policy education, inequality in education, immigration, and quantitative research methodology.
Department of Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education
Gulnoza Yakubova, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor
Alma mater: Purdue University
Dr. Yakubova most recently worked as a faculty member at Duquesne University.
“I chose to work at UMD's College of Education because of its commitment to preparing the next generation of scholars, educators, and other education professionals through research and practice-oriented programs and the opportunities and support provided for interdisciplinary research and innovation,” Dr. Yakubova said.
Her scholarship focuses on examining the effectiveness of innovative instructional strategies for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and transition practices for adolescents and young adults with ASD. Her current research line focuses on video-based instructional strategies and technology that supports students with ASD in increasing functional academic, problem solving and participation in school and community settings.
Dr. Yakubova’s interest in ASD was originally sparked by learning about Temple Grandin, an expert in animal behavior who has autism, and was furthered by interactions with children with ASD and their families.
Candace M. Moore, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
Alma mater: University of Georgia
Dr. Moore, most recently at the University of Georgia, was drawn to UMD as a result of its “thriving scholarly community and commitment to advancing a social justice agenda in education.”
Her two-tiered research agenda is focused on qualitative research methodologies, including critical research, narrative research and epistemological pathways; and on inclusive campus environments, which spans issues related to black student identity development, historically Black colleges and universities, LGBTQ student development and student athlete transitions.
“As a former Student Affairs administrator, I am committed to educating, learning from others, and promoting inclusive education environments in higher education,” Dr. Moore said. “It is important for me to bring my practical skills to the classroom, informing an intentional pathway of applying theory to practice in higher education spaces.”
Judi Anderson, M.Ed.
Professional Development Coordinator, Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education Program
(Co-appointment with the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology)
Alma Mater: Chestnut Hill College
Dr. Anderson most recently served as the director of professional development at Teaching Strategies, LLC, which is located in Bethesda, Md.
“UMD has an excellent reputation for effectively preparing education students with a strong foundation in teaching and learning practices,” Ms. Anderson said, in explaining her decision to join the the College of Education faculty.
Her work at the college will include measuring the efficacy of early childhood and special education field experiences and internships through ongoing assessment of student competencies and an analysis of student evaluations.
“What drives our work in early education is keeping the end goal in mind as we intentionally support, assess, and respond to children’s learning and development, which is to promote positive outcomes for all young children,” Ms. Anderson said.
Ms. Anderson’s undergraduate degree in teaching, as well as an internship at an environmental education center, led to her interest in finding new approaches to sustaining children’s and adults’ learning and to her career path as a professional development trainer and university instructor.
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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact
Audrey Hill, Associate Director of Communications, at: audreyh@umd.edu
