Current Faulty
Jennifer A. Schmidt – EPET Director & Ph.D. Advisor
Jennifer A. Schmidt (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is a professor of educational psychology and director of the EPET program. She is broadly interested in adolescent motivation and engagement in learning contexts, both inside and outside of school. She studies how multiple dimensions of student experience fluctuate with the changing features of learning environments, particularly in the contexts of STEM learning
Emily Bouck – Ph.D. Advisor
Emily Bouck’s (Ph.D., Michigan State University) research focuses on mathematics education for students with disabilities and those at-risk. Bouck examines the response to intervention for mathematics at the elementary and secondary level as well as mathematical interventions to support students with disabilities or those receiving RtI Tier 2 or Tier 3 services. Within her work on mathematical interventions, Bouck examines such technological approaches as virtual manipulatives and the virtual manipulative-based instructional sequences.
Eunsoo Cho – Ph.D. Advisor
Eunsoo Cho’s (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University) research focuses on statistical modeling of reading development in students with or at-risk for having learning disabilities, including students from language minority backgrounds. Her research has two strands: First, she is interested in developing and validating assessment methods to accurately identify students with learning disabilities within a multitiered support system, such as response to intervention (RTI). Second, her research focuses on understanding psychological and motivational processes involved in learning. She intends to develop a motivation intervention that can be combined with reading instruction for students with persistent reading difficulties. One of her co-authored articles in Reading Research Quarterly received the 2015 Albert J. Harris Award from the International Literacy Association. In 2016, she received the Samuel Kirk Award for best research article from the Division of Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. She is also a faculty affiliate in the Educational Psychology program.
Dante Dixson – Ph.D. Advisor
Dante Dixson’s (Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley) research interests include the role of hope in the educational and psychological functioning of children and adolescents, psychosocial precursors of achievement, at-risk youth, the achievement gap and academic talent development/gifted education. Dixson’s current largest project centers around implementing one-time, universal hope interventions in high schools. The goal of the interventions is to get minority and disadvantaged students to aspire to new heights and believe that they can live up to their ambitions. Other current projects include investigating the role that psychosocial factors (e.g., academic self-concept, work ethic and curiosity) play in the achievement gap, the achievement of minority and disadvantaged youth and gifted students living up to their full potential. He is a faculty affiliate in the Educational Psychology program.
Christine Greenhow – Ph.D. Advisor
Christine Greenhow (E.D., Harvard University) is a professor of educational psychology and educational technology. Her research focuses on expanding educational possibilities with new technologies. She employs educational technology, learning sciences, and new literacies perspectives toward improving theory, practice, and policy. Her research examines online learning and the role of social media in both formal and informal learning processes and outcomes; the design of innovative, technology-mediated learning environments; and new forms of scholarship and publishing with social media.
Douglas Hartman – Ph.D. Advisor
Douglas Hartman (Ph.D., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) is a professor of literacy and technology with appointments in Teacher Education and Educational Psychology. He serves as co-director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center (LARC) and coordinator of the Literacy Studies program. His research interests focus on new literacies, adolescent literacy, and the history of literacy.
Matthew Koehler – Ph.D. Advisor
Matthew J. Koehler (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin) is a professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology and the Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Education at Michigan State University. His research explores the pedagogical affordances (and constraints) of newer technologies for learning, the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, and digital research methods for studying teaching and learning in social media and digital spaces. You can learn more about his work at www.matt-koehler.com.
Joseph Krajcik – Ph.D. Advisor
Joseph Krajcik (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education and director of the CREATE for STEM Institute. A former high school chemistry and physical science teacher, Krajcik spent 21 years at the University of Michigan before coming to MSU in 2011. During his career, he has focused on working with science teachers to reform science teaching practices to promote students’ engagement in and learning of science. He was principal investigator on a National Science Foundation project that aims to design, develop and test the next generation of middle school curriculum materials to engage students in obtaining deep understandings of science content and practices. He served as head of the Physical Science Design Team to develop the Next Generation Science Standards. Krajcik, along with Professor Angela Calabrese Barton from MSU, served as co-editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Krajcik has authored and co-authored curriculum materials, books, software and over 100 manuscripts, and makes frequent presentations at international, national and regional conferences. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), from which he received the Distinguished Contributions to Science Education Through Research Award in 2010.
Michael Lachney – Ph.D. Advisor
Michael studies (Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and intervenes in the racial and cultural politics of educational technology design and implementation in school and out-of-school settings. He has expertise in qualitative research methods, science and technology studies, culturally responsive computing, and computing education. Michael is primarily interested in using his expertise to help design generative spaces that connect Black cultural capital and computer science. Toward this goal, his research explores educational technology design strategies and implementation tactics to help educators collaborate with community experts (e.g., braiders, barbers, urban gardeners, youth sports coaches, etc.) in culturally responsive computing education. Currently, he is also interested in methodologies that support collaborations with plants in the design of computer science learning environments.
Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia – Ph.D. Advisor
Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education (CEPSE). Linnenbrink-Garcia’s research focuses on the development of achievement motivation in school settings and the interplay among motivation, emotions and learning, especially in science and mathematics.
Rabindra (Robby) Ratan
Rabindra (Robby) Ratan (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is an associate professor and AT&T Scholar at MSU’s Department of Media and Information. He is an affiliated faculty member of the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology program. He conducts research on the effects of human-technology interaction, focusing on how media technologies (e.g., avatars) influence meaningful outcomes (e.g., motivation) across societal contexts (e.g., education). He is particularly interested in the Proteus effect (i.e., avatar characteristics influencing user behaviors), artificial social agents, virtual meetings, the metaverse, and online toxicity. Dr. Ratan has over 50 peer-reviewed articles, over $2M in grant funding, and multiple teaching awards.
Cary J. Roseth – CEPSE Chairperson & Ph.D. Advisor
Cary Roseth (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is chairperson of the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education and is a professor of educational psychology. He is interested in social development, peer relations and social contextual influences on classroom achievement. His research focuses on the development of conflict resolution in early childhood and on the effects of cooperation, competition, and individualistic goal structures on children’s academic achievement and peer relations.
Rand J. Spiro – Ph.D. Advisor
Rand Spiro (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) is a professor of educational psychology and educational technology. His research concerns new modes of learning with technology to promote what are often called “21st century skills,” especially the ability to deal with novelty in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. Spiro’s theory, applied in his research, is “Cognitive Flexibility Theory,” which provides a highly specified approach to the use of technology for the development of the ability to respond adaptively to new, real-world situations (instead of relying on pre-stored templates in memory). His research areas include deep and open learning on the Web, instructional hypermedia systems to promote the attainment of high proficiency learning goals, knowledge acquisition in complex subject areas, new literacies and new forms of reading comprehension in the online world, case-based learning with technology for independent knowledge application in non-routine situations in the professions (e.g., teaching; medicine), expertise and acceleration in the development of expertise, assessment of 21st century skills, and learning in areas of grand social challenge (e.g., climate change).
E. David Wong – Ph.D. Advisor
David Wong (Ph.D., Stanford University) is an associate professor of educational psychology. He is interested in global education with a particular focus on how learning abroad experiences can foster student development. He is also interested in motivation, especially in what educators can learn from fields such as music, film, art, and architecture to create compelling experiences for their students. Finally, he has broad interests in the field of science education, urban education, the design of online instruction, and educational philosophy.
Aman Yadav – Ph.D. Advisor
Aman Yadav (Ph.D., Michigan State University ) is the Lappan-Phillips Professor of Computing Education in the College of Education and College of Natural Science at Michigan State University. He also serves as the Associate Director of Computing Education for the CREATE for STEM Institute. He has extensive experience in research, evaluation, and teacher professional development. His areas of expertise include computer science education, problem-based learning, and online learning. His research and teaching focus on improving student experiences and outcomes in computer science and engineering at the K-16 level. His recently co-edited book, Computational Thinking in Education: A Pedagogical Perspective tackles how to integrate computational thinking, coding, and subject matter in relevant and meaningful ways.
Recent Emeritus Faculty
Robert E. Floden
Robert Floden (Ph.D., Stanford University) is Dean Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the College of Education. Recent research interests include the evaluation of educator preparation programs, connections among research, policy, & practice, and what changes in demands on the K-12 educator workforce suggest for educator preparation and further learning. He is a member of the National Academy of Education, Chair of the AERA Books Editorial Board, and Board member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. Floden is a Fellow of AERA, of the Philosophy of Education Society, and of APA, Division 15.
Ralph Putnam
Ralph Putnam (Ph.D., Stanford University) is an associate professor of educational psychology and director of PRIME. His research focuses on the cognitively oriented study of classroom teaching and learning and role of technology in learning. His recent research examines the teaching and learning of mathematics in elementary school classrooms, especially the knowledge and beliefs of mathematics teachers, and the different ways that students learn about mathematics from various kinds of instruction.
John (Jack) P. Smith III
John (Jack) P. Smith III (Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley) is now an Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology. His research has concerned the nature of people’s learning of mathematics in school and other settings. His interests include the relation of epistemology to learning, the role of intuitive understanding in learning mathematics and science, the design of advanced technology for learning mathematics, and the nature of mathematics teaching.
