College of Education welcomes new faculty members
Georgia Southern University’s College of Education (COE) is excited to welcome new members to the College team this semester including nine faculty. New faculty members for fall 2021 include:
Anna Brady, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations and Reading. Two-time graduate of The Ohio State University, Brady earned both a M.A. and Ph.D. in Education Studies with a specialization in Educational Psychology. While at Ohio State, Brady worked at both the Dennis Learning Center and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion on efforts to provide programming and support to undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, she taught both face-to-face and online undergraduate courses. Brady’s research focuses on understanding college students’ academic success through the lens of motivation and self-regulated learning. In addition, she is interested in designing interventions to improve students’ academic success, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math contexts. Brady has co-authored eight articles in peer-reviewed journals. In 2018, Brady received Ohio State’s Graduate Associate Teaching Award, presented to only 10 of the approximately 3,000 graduate teaching assistants at Ohio State each year.
Adam Carreon, Ph.D., joins the College as an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary and Special Education. A previous special education classroom educator, Carreon has experience teaching students with disabilities in elementary and secondary students with both low and high incidence disabilities in Illinois. He earned a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Kansas where he specialized in instructional design, technology and innovation. Carreon’s current research is focused on the use of immersive and innovative technology to support students with disabilities, teacher professional development for the implementation and use of immersive technologies, and how immersive technologies can impact social skill learning for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Carreon was recently (2021) awarded the recognition of Article of the Year in the Journal of Special Education Technology’s Tech in Action Series.
Caitlin Criss, Ph.D., joins the College as an assistant professor of special education in the Department of Elementary and Special Education. A recent graduate of The Ohio State University, Criss completed a Ph.D. in Special Education with a focus in applied behavior analysis and high incidence disabilities. While at Ohio State, she served as an instructor, field experience supervisor and student teacher supervisor for multiple special education courses. Criss also has experience working as an intervention specialist and manager of student services at KIPP Columbus, a part of a national network of free, open enrollment public schools. After graduating with her bachelor’s in special education from Ohio State, Criss served two years as a Teach for America Corps Member in the Chicago Corps. Her research interests include teacher training, preservice teacher education, professional development, applied behavior analysis, urban education, emotional and behavior disorders (EBD), and positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS).
Delandrea Hall, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of secondary education in the Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education. A former high school classroom teacher of 11 years, Hall transitioned her career to focus on curriculum development and higher education for the last four years at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). During this time, she served as an instructor and field placement coordinator for both elementary and secondary social studies methods courses. Hall also assisted in curriculum development for the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies at UT Austin. A three-time graduate of UT Austin, Hall completed a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in the area of social studies at UT Austin in, a master’s in education administration and bachelor’s in government education. Her research interests include critical, transformative and disruptive pedagogies in social studies; teachers of color; intersectionality and Black feminism; hip-hop pedagogy; and economics education.
Ann Mason, Ph.D., is a visiting instructor in the Department of Elementary and Special Education. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMN Twin Cities), Mason holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in culture and teaching and a master’s in elementary education. Her research interests include critical qualitative research methods; critical evaluation studies; abolition movements; intersectional critical whiteness; white supremacy, racism and schooling; critical consciousness and social justice in education; racialized and generational trauma as a sociocultural experience. Mason served as a lecturer and program director of elementary teacher education at UMN Twin Cities as well as held a graduate faculty appointment in education, curriculum and instruction for the past five years. Her previous experience also includes two years of AmeriCorps VISTA service as well as teaching elementary school for two years in Guatemala.
Regina McCurdy, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of secondary education in the Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education. A former science educator for 18 years, McCurdy taught biology, life science, integrated and environmental science to middle and high schoolers in both Palm Beach County and Seminole County Public Schools in Florida. She earned a Ph.D. and Ed.S. in Science Education from the University of Central Florida, where she focused her research on science identity development and science teaching identity as well as equity and intersectionality in STEM of marginalized students. Additional areas of McCurdy’s research interests include culturally relevant and culturally responsive science teaching, preservice teacher candidate preparation, problem-based learning, STEM and empathy. While at Central Florida, McCurdy served as the instructor of record and graduate teaching associate for four years working with preservice teachers.
LaPortia Mosley, M.Ed., is a Double Eagle alumna and a visiting instructor of elementary and special education. Mosley earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in early childhood education from Georgia Southern, and also holds a gifted in-field certification. A classroom teacher with 12 years of experience, Mosley has taught in both special education and elementary education classrooms across Southeast Georgia including Hinesville, Swainsboro, Lyons and Statesboro. Skilled in Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS), Mosley has served as leadership in several schools to provide PBIS support and guidelines. Proactively seeking external support for her initiatives, Mosley has been awarded 11 DonorsChoose educational grants for classroom projects. During her tenure in the classroom, Mosley hosted Georgia Southern COE student teachers and provided mentorship as their clinical associate teacher. Now, she will have the opportunity to provide guidance and assistance to these students as a university instructor.
Anne Valauri, Ph.D., assistant professor of birth-kindergarten education in the Department of Elementary and Special Education, recently completed a doctorate in multicultural and equity studies from The Ohio State University where she also served as a teaching assistant for equity and diversity in education as well as early childhood education courses. Valauri has led a wide array of educational experiences with students ranging from community and youth programming, children’s museum programming and pre-kindergarten classroom education. She also served as a dual language advisor in Spain for children’s programs. Her research interests center on language practices and policies in early childhood education as well as ethnographic studies of young children, teachers and families to expand curriculum and build community.
Robin Wofford, Ed.D., is a familiar face in the College, having previously served as a part-time faculty member. He will now join the COE as a clinical assistant professor of instructional technology in the Department of Leadership, Technology and Human Development. Wofford has extensive experience in Georgia public schools, having served as the technology integration specialist for Cobb County Schools as well as the media specialist at Allatoona High, McCleskey Middle, Poole Elementary, and Union Elementary Schools. Wofford holds an Ed.D., Ed.S. and M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from the University of West Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s in music education from the University of Mississippi and served as a band director for the first four years of his teaching career.
One faculty member also took on a new role in the College.
Calvin Walton, Ph.D., is now a lecturer of social foundations of education in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations and Reading. His previous assignment was to the Department of Elementary and Special Education. Walton holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in urban education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has been a member of the College since 2017 where his research focuses on performing arts education and African American male student achievement, urban education, culturally sustaining practices, and teaching and supporting students in poverty.
Posted in Faculty Highlights