Faculty and Research

Melanie  Acosta Melanie Acosta
Assistant Professor
  acostam@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 475 Boca
Program Areas
Multicultural Education, Curriculum & Instruction
Area(s) of Scholarship
Critical issues in teacher learning and preparation; supporting African American educational excellence in elementary classrooms and in local communities; professional practice and identity of African American educators
Melissa AntonelliMelissa Antonelli
Assistant Professor
  mantonel@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 322 Boca
Program Areas
Reading and Literacy
Area(s) of Scholarship
Literacy, and curricular implementation, with particular attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) inclusion, curriculum, and educators.
Eileen  ArizaEileen Ariza
Professor
  eariza@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 316 Boca
Program Areas
TESOL/Bilingual Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Foreign Language Teaching Methods, Language Arts and the Teaching Profession, TESOL and Bilingual Education
Traci  Baxley Traci Baxley
Professor
  baxley@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 491 Boca
Program Areas
Multicultural Education, Curriculum & Instruction
Area(s) of Scholarship
Anti-racist curriculum, anti-racist parenting, race identity, culturally responsive pedagogy, multicultural education and Black feminist thought
Yash  Bhagwanji Yash Bhagwanji
Associate Professor
  ybhagwan@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 330 Boca
Program Areas
Early Childhood Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Early childhood curriculum; Early intervention strategies; Parent involvement; Administration and advocacy in early education; Early childhood environmental education.
Rina  BousalisRina Bousalis
Associate Professor
  rbousalis@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 318 Boca
Program Areas
Social Science Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Research interests include immigration, multiculturalism, human rights, United States history, and global and civics education
Susannah  BrownSusannah Brown
Professor
  sbrow118@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 329 Boca
Program Areas
Art Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Arts Education, Curriculum Integration, Arts Integrated Curriculum, STEAM, Professional Development for Educators, Reading and Language Arts Early Childhood and Elementary
Victoria BrownVictoria Brown
Professor
  vbrown22@fau.edu
  Website
ES BC52 - 209 Davie
Program Areas
Instructional Technology
Area(s) of Scholarship
Instructional technology for both educational and training professionals; Media Literacy; best practices in the teaching online, online support services, and management of distance learning programs for both K-12 and higher education. Experience in development of applications and products within distance education and training.
Jodi  Cantor Jodi Cantor
Office Manager
  jcantor2@fau.edu
ED 47 - 495 Boca
Bridgette Cassidy Bridgette Cassidy
Instructor
  cassidyb@fau.edu
ED 47 – 348 Boca
Program Areas
Early Childhood, Early Childhood Curriculum
Area(s) of Scholarship
Early childhood curriculum, early childhood special education, inclusive education, individuals with extensive support needs, teacher self-efficacy, culturally relevant pedagogy, and out-of-school time.
Bessie  Dernikos Bessie Dernikos
Associate Professor
  bdernikos@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 323 Boca
Program Areas
Reading Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Reading and Language Arts, Literacy Education, Reading and Writing Development, Assessment-based Literacy instruction.
Charles  Dukes Charles Dukes
Chair
  cdukes@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 430 Boca
Program Areas
Special Education-Nature and Needs of Individuals with Severe Disabilities
Area(s) of Scholarship
Special education teacher education, social/intimate relationships for individuals with intellectual disabilities, significance of culture in the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities and skill development for adolescents and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Susan  FoleySusan Foley
Senior Secretary
  sfoley@fau.edu
ED 47 - 350 Boca
Joseph  Furner Joseph Furner
Professor
  jfurner@fau.edu
  Website
  Mathitudes Online
EC MC12 - 207D Jupiter
Program Areas
Mathematics Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Area(s) of Scholarship
Mathematics Education, Best Practices in teaching mathematics, Math Anxiety Research, Math Ed. technology research, i.e. GeoGebra
Alyssa  Gonzalez-DeHass Alyssa Gonzalez-DeHass
Professor
  agonzale@fau.edu
  Website
EC MC12 - 207F Jupiter
Program Areas
Educational Psychology
Area(s) of Scholarship
Parental Involvement, Student Motivation and Achievement Goals, Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning, the Case Study Method of Instruction
Robyn L.  Klein Robyn L. Klein
Director of Elementary and Secondary Education Programs and Senior Instructor
  rklein@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 326 Boca
David  Kumar David Kumar
Professor
  david@fau.edu
  Website
ES BC52 - 219 Davie
Program Areas
Science/Stem Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Science/STEM education; STEM teacher preparation for high need schools; Analysis of gaps in policy, curriculum and classroom practice in STEM; Program evaluation; Needs assessment; Digital media supported problem-based learning; Nanoscale materials education
Susanne Lapp Susanne Lapp
Associate Professor
  slapp@fau.edu
  Website
ES BC52 - 215 Davie
Program Areas
Reading Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Reading, Language Arts and Children Literature
Ann  Musgrove Ann Musgrove
Assistant Professor
  musgrove@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 319 Boca
Program Areas
Instructional Technology
Area(s) of Scholarship
Instructional Technology, Instructional design and Technology Integration. Best practices in online learning and cognitive styles.
Bryan  Nichols Bryan Nichols
Assistant Professor
  nicholsb@fau.edu
  Website
EC MC12 - 207E Jupiter
Program Areas
Science Education, Environment Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Science & Environmental Education, Importance of science and environmental literacy to global wellbeing. Emotional and moral implications of science education. Motivations for non-majors to use scientific skills and thinking, especially connection and compassion for wildlife
Ronald PersinRonald Persin
Visiting Assistant Professor
  rpersin@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 327 Boca
Program Areas
Teaching Science with Inquiry Applied Teaching of Mathematics 
Area(s) of Scholarship
History and Philosophy of Science, Team-based Learning, Applications of Differential Equations, Asteroid Mining, The Ozone layer, BSCS 5E Teaching Model, How Students Learn Science, Computer Supported Teaching, Brain-Computer Interface, Programming in Python, Java, and Rust 
Jillian  PowersJillian Powers
Associate Professor
  jrpowers@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 321 Boca
Program Areas
Instructional Technology
Area(s) of Scholarship
Technology integration in K12 education, information and media literacy education, computational thinking and STEM education, online and blended learning and assistive technology
Andres  RamirezAndres Ramirez
Associate Professor
  ramirezj@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 346 Boca
Program Areas
TESOL/Bilingual Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Area(s) of Scholarship
Bilingual and TESOL education; Critical Applied Linguistics; Systemic Functional Linguistics and Critical pedagogy. His current scholarship explores advocacy and responsive curricular practices for academic literacy achievement for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Angela  RhoneAngela Rhone
Professor
  arhone@fau.edu
  Website
ES BC52 - 227 Davie
Program Areas
Educational Psychology
Area(s) of Scholarship
Educational Psychology, Multicultural Education and Technology.
Dilys  SchoormanDilys Schoorman
Professor
  dschoorm@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 467 Boca
Program Areas
Curriculum & Instruction, Multicultural Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Critical perspectives in research and pedagogy, teacher education and professional development in multicultural/global contexts, family literacy, faculty governance, leadership for social justice.
Sabrina  SembianteSabrina Sembiante
Professor, TESOL and Bilingual Education - Coordinator, Ph.D. Program in Curriculum & Instruction
  ssembiante@fau.edu
  Website
Boca - ED 485
Davie - ES 220
Program Areas
TESOL/Bilingual Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Area(s) of Scholarship
TESOL; Bilingual Education; Early Childhood; Early Bilingual Child Development; Language and Literacy Instructional Practices; Applied Linguistics; Sociolinguistics.
Michelle  VaughanMichelle Vaughan
Associate Professor
  mvaugha3@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 345 Boca
Program Areas
Curriculum & Instruction
Area(s) of Scholarship
Teacher change and growth through action research; Technological pedagogical content knowledge; Technology integration; Online program development; Inclusion practices.
Patricia  WillemsPatricia Willems
Associate Professor
  pwillems@fau.edu
  Website
ES BC52 - 207 Davie
Program Areas
Educational Psychology
Area(s) of Scholarship
Educational Psychology, Motivation; Self-Efficacy in preservice teacher preparation; Authentic instructional approaches for online learners; Case-study method/Case-based learning; Parental involvement in children’s learning and their educational success. Teach graduate courses in the areas of Child Development, Development of the Adolescent and Young Adult, Theories of Children & Adolescent’s Identity Development and Personality in Education.
Hanizah  ZainuddinHanizah Zainuddin
Associate Professor
  zainuddi@fau.edu
  Website
ED 47 - 347 Boca
Program Areas
TESOL/Bilingual Education
Area(s) of Scholarship
Teacher professional development in TESOL; International initiatives; ESOL and bilingual development; Program evaluation; Family literacy, authentic assessments and content-based instruction for English Learners.