Creating Inclusive Excellence in Teacher Education Conference
Presenter Biographies
Building the Classroom through Community and Culture
Presenters: Robyn Hubbard, Maya Alalouf, Allison Voigt, and Caitlin Hamilton
Maya Alalouf grew up in Clarkston, Michigan and is currently a senior at Michigan State University, majoring in special education with focuses in mathematics and urban education. She works as a Technical Intern in Education in the Center for Teaching and Technology as well as a research assistant in the Center for the Study of Curriculum. Next year, Maya will be interning in Chicago Public Schools. After completing her internship, she plans to move to California to teach special education in the Los Angeles Unified School District. In Maya’s spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her friends and family. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Caitlin Hamilton is a Michigan native, born and raised in Clarkston. She is a senior in the MSU College of Education studying elementary education with her specialization in language arts. Caitlin is a member of the Urban Educators Cohort Program. She has also completed her Spanish teaching minor as of last semester. To complete this minor, Caitlin studied at the Universidad Internacioal Menéndez Pelayo in Spain last summer and completed coursework while living with a host family. She currently works as the student supervisor for the Technical Interns in Education in the Center for Teaching and Technology. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Robyn Hubbard is currently an undergraduate senior in the MSU College of Education studying elementary language arts with an emphasis in urban education. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan where she attended Detroit Public Schools. For those reasons, Robyn’s own educational upbringing serves as her main inspiration for wanting to teach in an urban school setting. Robyn spends most of time in the Center for Teaching and Technology as a Technical Intern in Education. In her free time, she loves to bake, travel and read. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Allison Voigt (Allie) is an undergraduate senior in the College of Education. She originally hails from Farmington Hills, Michigan. Allie is majoring in Elementary Education Language Arts with a minor in TESOL and a specialization in Urban Education. After graduating in May, (on her 22nd birthday!) she will be studying abroad and student teaching in Cape Town, South Africa. In August, she will be moving to Chicago to complete her fifth-year internship at an elementary school in CPS. Allie is passionate about urban education, teaching small children, and cupcakes. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Diverse Learners in the General Education Classroom
Presenter: Amber Nicole Johnson
Amber N. Johnson is a proud native of Thomson, Georgia and alumna of Alabama State University. She is currently a doctoral student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (CITE) program at Michigan State University. Her research interests are broadly race, dis/ability, culture, and access. Amber is a lover of music, fellowship, and life’s wonders. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Exploring Equity in Teacher-Student Mathematics Interactions
Presenters: Higinio Dominguez & Niral Shah
Higinio Dominguez is a mathematics education researcher with multiple teaching experiences in México, Austin, Chicago, and Lansing. In Dr. Dominguez’s workshop, he will share the most current findings from his NSF-funded research project, Reciprocal Noticing: Latino/a Students and Teachers Constructing Common Resources in Mathematics. In this project, a group of teachers and their non-dominant students are learning to recognize common resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Often, these resources are invisible and non-material; dynamic and dialogic; linguistic, sociocultural, and psychological. They are, in other words, the kinds of resources that no one can take away once teachers and students figure out how to make them their own. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Niral Shah is an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the design of equitable learning environments in mathematics and computer science education, with an emphasis on the learning experiences of students of color and young women. Prior to academia, he taught mathematics for five years at a racially diverse, under-resourced high school in Northern California. He has also taught courses in computer science for upper elementary students. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Exploring Symbolic Violence in School with Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Presenter: Justin A. Coles
Justin A. Coles is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating high school, he matriculated to Brown University where he graduated with a dual-concentration in Political Science and Education Studies. Justin then returned to Philadelphia and received his M.S.ED from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn he also taught 8th grade literature in the city. At Michigan State University, Justin is in the Curriculum, Instruction, Teacher Education (CITE) department with a concentration in Race, Culture, and Equity. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Issues of Power in the Classroom: Exploring Culturally Relevant Pedagogies
Presenters: Dorinda Carter Andrews & Bernadette Castillo
Dorinda Carter Andrews is an associate professor in the department of teacher education at MSU where she teaches courses on racial identity development, urban education, critical multiculturalism, and critical race theory. She studies black student achievement in urban and suburban schools, urban teacher preparation and identity development, and critical race praxis with K-12 educators. Carter Andrews is a former industrial engineer, high school math teacher, and kindergarten teacher and has teaching experience in suburban, urban, charter, and independent schools. She regularly conducts professional development for educators on how to better address the academic and social needs of culturally diverse students in various educational contexts and engage in courageous conversations and action about the implications of race and bias in schools. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Bernadette Castillo is a doctoral student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education Program at Michigan State University. She is originally from New Mexico where she worked in various roles in public education. She served as an English Teacher, Dean of Students, and Director of Secondary Program. Her research interests center around teacher professional around issues of race, diversity, and equity. Bernadette enjoys traveling to new and exciting places. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Meeting the Needs of Linguistically Diverse Students: Classroom and Schoolwide Strategies
Presenters: Elizabeth Gil & Lisa Domke
Lisa Domke is a PhD student in Michigan State University’s Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program, specializing in literacy and language learning. Previously, she was an elementary teacher for eight years in West Michigan. Lisa has a wealth of experience teaching both lower and upper elementary, in addition to some experience at preschool and middle school. Lisa is bilingual in Spanish, and taught six years in (and helped start) an elementary Spanish immersion program. She also worked for five years in a summer migrant education program. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Elizabeth Gil is a K-12 Educational Administration doctoral student and graduate assistant at Michigan State University. A native of New York City, Elizabeth taught in New York City Public Schools for over 10 years, where she worked with children, parents and teachers in Pre-K to eighth grade setting as a teacher, grant coordinator, professional developer, mentor, and data specialist. She holds master’s degrees in curriculum and teaching and in educational administration. Her research interests include culturally relevant teaching and leadership, how schools meet the needs of students from immigrant and English language learner families, and community engaged scholarship. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Teaching Beyond the Text(s): Selecting Humanizing Literature for Social Justice & Cultural Agency
Presenters: April Baker Bell, Tamara Butler & Raven Jones Stanbrough
April Baker-Bell is an assistant professor in the department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures and African American and African studies program. She also assists English Education faculty in the College of Arts and Letters with coordinating, re-envisioning and maintaining an English Education program poised to serve urban communities surrounding MSU. April’s research is situated in critical studies of African American Language at the intersections of literacy and pedagogy. She became committed to her research after realizing that she was ill-prepared to address the diverse language and literacy needs of her students when she worked as a high school English teacher. The primary goal of her research is to align theory and research on language and literacy with classroom practice across K-U settings. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Tamara Butler is a South Carolina native who is interested in the intersections of community engagement, youth activism, and narratives. As Assistant Professor of English Education in the College of Arts and Letters, Dr. B teaches courses on critical literacies, humanizing research, and social justice. Before becoming faculty at Michigan State, Tamara earned degrees in the fields of education, African American and African Studies, and Biochemistry. From coordinating summer enrichment programs for high school students to teaching graduate students, Dr. Butler considers herself to be a bibliophile who loves interdisciplinary work, learning from students, and experimenting with pedagogy. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Raven Jones Stanbrough, a Detroit native, debate advocate, and teacher- educator is a doctoral student studying, Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education at Michigan State University. She's currently actively engaged in learning various literacy practices for instruction with Dr. Patricia Edwards and researching Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, alongside, Dr. Django Paris. Additionally, Raven establishes and facilitates debate teams with her husband, professor Darryl Stanbrough, Jr. She also serves as a field instructor to pre-service teachers in Detroit and other surrounding cities. Her other talents include: skateboarding, participating in Scrabble tournaments, thrift shopping, and talkin' trash. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Youth as Teacher Educators
Presenters: Angie Calabrese Barton, Myung Shin, Day Greenberg and Christina Restrepo Naza
Angela Calabrese Barton is a professor in teacher education at Michigan State University. Her scholarship focuses on equity and social justice issues in science education, with a particular emphasis on youth learning across settings and over time in lower-income communities. Drawing from critical methodologies, she conducts longitudinal ethnographic, case study and YPAR research with youth and teachers. She loves to run long distance with her dogs and to have dance parties with her two girls. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Day Greenberg is a PhD student in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology with a specialization in Science Education. She is looking at the social relationships and resource mobilities that preadolescent students identify as important or helpful for empowering them to conduct identity work in science and engineering. Day is interested in the design of informal STEM learning environments and programs that support identity work in STEM fields for underrepresented students. She is also exploring pathways towards making such learning environments more connected for students, across settings and over time. Day is proud to be on Dr. Angela Calabrese Barton's team! She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Christina Restrepo Nazar is a PhD student in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education specializing in Science Education. She is currently exploring the epistemic practices that youth engage and how this leads towards meaningful identity work in science & engineering. She is also interested in in researching ways pre-service teachers can learn from students’ epistemic work in the learning to teach of science. Previously Christina was a biology teacher in Orlando, Florida and worked as an Education Research Assistant at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. She Restrepo Nazar can be contacted at: [email protected]
Myunghwan (Myung) Shin is a PhD student in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education specializing in Science Education. His research focuses on the design of learning environments to support youth’s engagement and identity development in STEM fields. He is currently exploring how and why youth merge their everyday funds of knowledge or practice and STEM knowledge or practice during engineering design work afterschool. He is also studying the ways that youth recognize, interpret, and respond to science-related stereotypes imposed on them over time and space. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Presenter Biographies
Building the Classroom through Community and Culture
Presenters: Robyn Hubbard, Maya Alalouf, Allison Voigt, and Caitlin Hamilton
Maya Alalouf grew up in Clarkston, Michigan and is currently a senior at Michigan State University, majoring in special education with focuses in mathematics and urban education. She works as a Technical Intern in Education in the Center for Teaching and Technology as well as a research assistant in the Center for the Study of Curriculum. Next year, Maya will be interning in Chicago Public Schools. After completing her internship, she plans to move to California to teach special education in the Los Angeles Unified School District. In Maya’s spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her friends and family. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Caitlin Hamilton is a Michigan native, born and raised in Clarkston. She is a senior in the MSU College of Education studying elementary education with her specialization in language arts. Caitlin is a member of the Urban Educators Cohort Program. She has also completed her Spanish teaching minor as of last semester. To complete this minor, Caitlin studied at the Universidad Internacioal Menéndez Pelayo in Spain last summer and completed coursework while living with a host family. She currently works as the student supervisor for the Technical Interns in Education in the Center for Teaching and Technology. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Robyn Hubbard is currently an undergraduate senior in the MSU College of Education studying elementary language arts with an emphasis in urban education. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan where she attended Detroit Public Schools. For those reasons, Robyn’s own educational upbringing serves as her main inspiration for wanting to teach in an urban school setting. Robyn spends most of time in the Center for Teaching and Technology as a Technical Intern in Education. In her free time, she loves to bake, travel and read. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Allison Voigt (Allie) is an undergraduate senior in the College of Education. She originally hails from Farmington Hills, Michigan. Allie is majoring in Elementary Education Language Arts with a minor in TESOL and a specialization in Urban Education. After graduating in May, (on her 22nd birthday!) she will be studying abroad and student teaching in Cape Town, South Africa. In August, she will be moving to Chicago to complete her fifth-year internship at an elementary school in CPS. Allie is passionate about urban education, teaching small children, and cupcakes. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Diverse Learners in the General Education Classroom
Presenter: Amber Nicole Johnson
Amber N. Johnson is a proud native of Thomson, Georgia and alumna of Alabama State University. She is currently a doctoral student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (CITE) program at Michigan State University. Her research interests are broadly race, dis/ability, culture, and access. Amber is a lover of music, fellowship, and life’s wonders. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Exploring Equity in Teacher-Student Mathematics Interactions
Presenters: Higinio Dominguez & Niral Shah
Higinio Dominguez is a mathematics education researcher with multiple teaching experiences in México, Austin, Chicago, and Lansing. In Dr. Dominguez’s workshop, he will share the most current findings from his NSF-funded research project, Reciprocal Noticing: Latino/a Students and Teachers Constructing Common Resources in Mathematics. In this project, a group of teachers and their non-dominant students are learning to recognize common resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Often, these resources are invisible and non-material; dynamic and dialogic; linguistic, sociocultural, and psychological. They are, in other words, the kinds of resources that no one can take away once teachers and students figure out how to make them their own. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Niral Shah is an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the design of equitable learning environments in mathematics and computer science education, with an emphasis on the learning experiences of students of color and young women. Prior to academia, he taught mathematics for five years at a racially diverse, under-resourced high school in Northern California. He has also taught courses in computer science for upper elementary students. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Exploring Symbolic Violence in School with Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Presenter: Justin A. Coles
Justin A. Coles is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating high school, he matriculated to Brown University where he graduated with a dual-concentration in Political Science and Education Studies. Justin then returned to Philadelphia and received his M.S.ED from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn he also taught 8th grade literature in the city. At Michigan State University, Justin is in the Curriculum, Instruction, Teacher Education (CITE) department with a concentration in Race, Culture, and Equity. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
Issues of Power in the Classroom: Exploring Culturally Relevant Pedagogies
Presenters: Dorinda Carter Andrews & Bernadette Castillo
Dorinda Carter Andrews is an associate professor in the department of teacher education at MSU where she teaches courses on racial identity development, urban education, critical multiculturalism, and critical race theory. She studies black student achievement in urban and suburban schools, urban teacher preparation and identity development, and critical race praxis with K-12 educators. Carter Andrews is a former industrial engineer, high school math teacher, and kindergarten teacher and has teaching experience in suburban, urban, charter, and independent schools. She regularly conducts professional development for educators on how to better address the academic and social needs of culturally diverse students in various educational contexts and engage in courageous conversations and action about the implications of race and bias in schools. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Bernadette Castillo is a doctoral student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education Program at Michigan State University. She is originally from New Mexico where she worked in various roles in public education. She served as an English Teacher, Dean of Students, and Director of Secondary Program. Her research interests center around teacher professional around issues of race, diversity, and equity. Bernadette enjoys traveling to new and exciting places. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Meeting the Needs of Linguistically Diverse Students: Classroom and Schoolwide Strategies
Presenters: Elizabeth Gil & Lisa Domke
Lisa Domke is a PhD student in Michigan State University’s Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program, specializing in literacy and language learning. Previously, she was an elementary teacher for eight years in West Michigan. Lisa has a wealth of experience teaching both lower and upper elementary, in addition to some experience at preschool and middle school. Lisa is bilingual in Spanish, and taught six years in (and helped start) an elementary Spanish immersion program. She also worked for five years in a summer migrant education program. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Elizabeth Gil is a K-12 Educational Administration doctoral student and graduate assistant at Michigan State University. A native of New York City, Elizabeth taught in New York City Public Schools for over 10 years, where she worked with children, parents and teachers in Pre-K to eighth grade setting as a teacher, grant coordinator, professional developer, mentor, and data specialist. She holds master’s degrees in curriculum and teaching and in educational administration. Her research interests include culturally relevant teaching and leadership, how schools meet the needs of students from immigrant and English language learner families, and community engaged scholarship. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Teaching Beyond the Text(s): Selecting Humanizing Literature for Social Justice & Cultural Agency
Presenters: April Baker Bell, Tamara Butler & Raven Jones Stanbrough
April Baker-Bell is an assistant professor in the department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures and African American and African studies program. She also assists English Education faculty in the College of Arts and Letters with coordinating, re-envisioning and maintaining an English Education program poised to serve urban communities surrounding MSU. April’s research is situated in critical studies of African American Language at the intersections of literacy and pedagogy. She became committed to her research after realizing that she was ill-prepared to address the diverse language and literacy needs of her students when she worked as a high school English teacher. The primary goal of her research is to align theory and research on language and literacy with classroom practice across K-U settings. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Tamara Butler is a South Carolina native who is interested in the intersections of community engagement, youth activism, and narratives. As Assistant Professor of English Education in the College of Arts and Letters, Dr. B teaches courses on critical literacies, humanizing research, and social justice. Before becoming faculty at Michigan State, Tamara earned degrees in the fields of education, African American and African Studies, and Biochemistry. From coordinating summer enrichment programs for high school students to teaching graduate students, Dr. Butler considers herself to be a bibliophile who loves interdisciplinary work, learning from students, and experimenting with pedagogy. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Raven Jones Stanbrough, a Detroit native, debate advocate, and teacher- educator is a doctoral student studying, Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education at Michigan State University. She's currently actively engaged in learning various literacy practices for instruction with Dr. Patricia Edwards and researching Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, alongside, Dr. Django Paris. Additionally, Raven establishes and facilitates debate teams with her husband, professor Darryl Stanbrough, Jr. She also serves as a field instructor to pre-service teachers in Detroit and other surrounding cities. Her other talents include: skateboarding, participating in Scrabble tournaments, thrift shopping, and talkin' trash. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Youth as Teacher Educators
Presenters: Angie Calabrese Barton, Myung Shin, Day Greenberg and Christina Restrepo Naza
Angela Calabrese Barton is a professor in teacher education at Michigan State University. Her scholarship focuses on equity and social justice issues in science education, with a particular emphasis on youth learning across settings and over time in lower-income communities. Drawing from critical methodologies, she conducts longitudinal ethnographic, case study and YPAR research with youth and teachers. She loves to run long distance with her dogs and to have dance parties with her two girls. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Day Greenberg is a PhD student in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology with a specialization in Science Education. She is looking at the social relationships and resource mobilities that preadolescent students identify as important or helpful for empowering them to conduct identity work in science and engineering. Day is interested in the design of informal STEM learning environments and programs that support identity work in STEM fields for underrepresented students. She is also exploring pathways towards making such learning environments more connected for students, across settings and over time. Day is proud to be on Dr. Angela Calabrese Barton's team! She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Christina Restrepo Nazar is a PhD student in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education specializing in Science Education. She is currently exploring the epistemic practices that youth engage and how this leads towards meaningful identity work in science & engineering. She is also interested in in researching ways pre-service teachers can learn from students’ epistemic work in the learning to teach of science. Previously Christina was a biology teacher in Orlando, Florida and worked as an Education Research Assistant at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. She Restrepo Nazar can be contacted at: [email protected]
Myunghwan (Myung) Shin is a PhD student in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education specializing in Science Education. His research focuses on the design of learning environments to support youth’s engagement and identity development in STEM fields. He is currently exploring how and why youth merge their everyday funds of knowledge or practice and STEM knowledge or practice during engineering design work afterschool. He is also studying the ways that youth recognize, interpret, and respond to science-related stereotypes imposed on them over time and space. He can be contacted at: [email protected]