Director, Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates
Associate Professor-in-Residence

Office of Teacher Education
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-1903; 570-9283
Email: michael.alfano@uconn.edu

Michael Alfano has a doctorate in Educational Psychology with a specialty in Special Education, from the University of Connecticut. He is presently the Director of the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates at NEAG.

Masters Candidate
Curriculum and Instruction MA Field of Study
Neag School of Education

Email: Heather.Bull@UConn.edu

Heather is a full time student in the IB/M program in the Neag School of Education.  She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Education.

Department of Educational Psychology
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-6868
Fax: 860-486-0180
Email: Sandra.chafouleas@uconn.edu

Dr. Chafouleas is currently an Associate Professor in the Neag School of Education. Dr. Chafouleas received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Syracuse University and is a licensed psychologist in Connecticut . She has taught courses in behavior assessment and intervention, academic and intellectual assessment, ethics, and the roles and functions of school psychologists. Dr. Chafouleas is currently serving as an Associate Editor for School Psychology Review and as guest editor and board member for Psychology in the Schools . Dr. Chafouleas' primary areas of research interest involve the prevention of reading difficulties, and the application of evidenced-based strategies to the classroom. She has authored or co-authored over 40 articles, book chapters, and books. Prior to becoming a university trainer, Dr. Chafouleas worked as a school psychologist and school administrator in a variety of settings dealing with children with behavior disorders.
Dr. Chafoulea's Vita (.pdf)

Department of Psychology
406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020t
Storrs, CT 06269-1020

Phone: 860-486-6880
Email: james.dixon@uconn.edu

University Program for College Students with Learning Disabilities (UPLD)
Neag School of Education
Learning Specialist

daniel.garewski@uconn.edu

Dan received his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 2007 from Northeastern University and is now a University of Connecticut master's student studying special education in the Neag School of Education.  He also holds a graduate assistant position at the University Program for College Students with Learning Disabilities where he works with UConn students who have learning disabilities.  

Dan was an academic tutor for several years before coming to UConn and enjoys working directly with other students.  His other interests include educational law and policy as well as the design and application of assistive and educational technology.

Academic Advisory Center Director
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture
W.B. Young Building , Room 211

1376 Storrs Road , Unit 4090
Storrs CT 06269
Phone: 860-486-2919
Fax: 860-486-4643 (fax)
Emai: patricia.jepson@uconn.edu

Dr. Jepson has served as as Academic Advisory Center Director for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture since 1988. She currently holds a joint appointment with the Neag School of Education as Assistant Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Dr. Jepson earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology:Cognition/Instruction in May, 2006. She teaches EDCI 395:
Content Area Methods for Agriculture in the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates, particiaptes in teacher education faculty meetings, and serves on admissions committees for teacher preparation candidates. Her research interests are science education, deaf education, career education, and assessment. Dr Jepson taught agriculture and related subjects in urban and suburban highs schools for seven years before coming to the University of Connecticut. Dr. Jepson 's Vita (.pdf)

Alvin F. Larson
Meriden Public Schools
Research and Evaluation Specialist
22 Liberty Street
Meriden, CT 06450

Email: al.larson@meriden.k12.ct.us

Alvin F. Larson is the Research and Evaluation Specialist for Meriden Public Schools (1996 to present). He also was a Researcher for Hartford Public Schools (1985-1996). In these urban environments, his interests include the development of periodic mathematics and reading comprehension assessments designed to improve student achievement by identifying and reporting each student's cognitive errors to teachers that is both timely and meaningful. A certified administrator, Dr. Larson is also the L.E.A. representative for Connecticut for the NCES National Forum on Education Statistics and an active member of the NESAC standing committee. Dr. Larson 's Vita (.pdf)

Teachers for a New Era
249 Glenbrook Road Unit-2064
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-2064
Gentry Room 225

Phone: 860-486-3772
Fax: 860-486-8325
Email: qing.li@uconn.edu

Cheryl earned her first doctoral degree in mechanical engineering. She had been an engineering faculty in universities in Australia and Singapore for a few years. Throughout her teaching and research, she started to develop a strong interest in human development especially in the aspects of learning and education. While teaching robotics to university students as an associate professor in mechanical engineering, Cheryl enrolled a part time bachelor degree program in Early Childhood Education. As the interest in learning and education grows, part time involvement seemed not enough. Cheryl resigned and joined the Educational Psychology Department as a Ph.D. Student in Jan. 2006. Her current research interests include Engineering Education Measurement, Vertical Scaling and Early Childhood STEM Education.

Xing Liu

Department of Education
Eastern Connecticut State University
83 Windham Street
Willimantic , CT 06226

Phone: (860) 465-5167
Fax: (860) 465-5099
Email: liux@easternct.edu

Dr. Xing Liu is an assistant professor of educational research and assessment in the department of education at the Eastern Connecticut State University . Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. in Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment in the field of Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut . His research interests focus on research methodology, multilevel (hierarchical) modeling, longitudinal data analysis, categorical data analysis, structural equation modeling, design of evaluation instruments, applied psychometrics, classroom assessment and grading practices, and cross-cultural educational comparisons. Xing has extensive experience in conducting data analyses. He is proficient in using all three general purpose statistics packages SPSS, SAS, and STATA. Previously, he was a graduate assistant conducting data analyses for the Teachers for a New Era Project.

Department of Educational Psychology
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064, Room 337
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-2785
Fax: 860-486-5799
Email: joseph.madaus@uconn.edu

Joseph W. Madaus, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut . His research and publication interests include documentation of learning disabilities, transition, assessment and postschool outcomes of adults with LD. During the 2003-2004 academic year, Dr. Madaus was a Distinguished Research Fellow in the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Mary Switzer Fellowship program. He served as the director of the Learning Resource Center at Mitchell College in New London , Connecticut , and as the Director of the University Program for College Students with Learning Disabilities at the University of Connecticut . He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, and Career Development for Exceptional Individuals. Dr. Madaus is a member of the State of Connecticut Interagency Transition Task Force , the Division of Career Development and Transition Research Committee, and the Core Knowledge Board of the Learning Disabilities Special Collection, National Institute for Literacy and Learning Disabilities. Dr. Madaus' Vita (.doc)

Teachers for a New Era
249 Glenbrook Road Unit-2064
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-2064
Gentry Room 225

Phone: 860-486-3772
Fax: 860-486-8325
Email: edpsychci@gmail.com

Katherine Picho is a doctoral student in Cognition & Instruction at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include leadership & gender, stereotype threat and problem-based learning. She also lectures Business Communications at the University of Hartford.

Katherine is multilingual; speaks fluent English, French, and African Luo languages and has lived on three continents, six countries and a total of fifteen cities. By virtue of her extensive travel and experience living in various cultures, she brings to her lectures and research work the unique and added benefit of a broader world-view, and the appreciation of diversity, which can only enrich the learning experience and curriculum.

Phone: 860-713-7585
Email: pete.prowda@yahoo.com

Dr Prowda received his doctorate in Psychological Statistics and Measurement from Syracuse University in 1975. There he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in statistics and measurement. He was employed by the Connecticut State Department of Education for 30 years, retiring in July 2007. He wrote several reports on the condition of education, accountability, enrollment projections and teacher supply and demand. He was instrumental in the development of the Strategic School Profiles and originated the state’s Educational Reference Groups. He co-authored the Department publications “A Profile of Our Schools” and “School District Profiles.” He is a member of the American Educational Research Association. He was a chair of the Association's special interest group on School Indicators and Profiles. He served several years as Connecticut's representative to the National Forum on Educational Statistics. Dr. Prowda served on the Bloomfield Citizens' Taskforce on School Redistricting and was a school board member there from 1982 to 1986. He has started a consulting practice specializing in enrollment projections and data analysis. He resides with his wife in Simsbury.

Department of Educational Psychology
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064, Room 338
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-1244
Email: jane.rogers@uconn.edu

Jane Rogers is an Associate Professor in the Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment Program of the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where she teaches courses in educational statistics, measurement, and item response theory. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of New England in Australia and her Ph. D. in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research interests are in applications of item response theory, assessment of differential item functioning, and educational statistics. She is co-author of a book on item response theory and has published papers on a wide range of psychometric issues. Dr. Rogers's Vita (doc)

Dept. of Educational Psychology
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2064, Room 011B
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-1114
Fax: 860-486-0180
Email: jason.stephens@uconn.edu

Jason M. Stephens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut , where he teaches classes on cognition, motivation, instruction, and research methods.   Prior to joining the faculty at UConn in 2004, Dr. Stephens was a research assistant at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for six years, where worked on the Political Engagement Project and the Project on Higher Education and the Development of Moral and Civic Responsibility.  In addition to the role and impact of higher education on undergraduates' moral, civic and political development, his research interests include academic motivation, achievement and dishonesty among secondary and postsecondary students.  He is co-author of Educating citizens: Preparing America 's undergraduates for lives of moral and civic responsibility (2003) and several related articles.  Dr. Stephens is a graduate of the University of Vermont (1991), holds an M.Ed degree from Vanderbilt University (1994), and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University (2004).
Dr. Stephen's Vita (.doc)

Department of Educational Psychology
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064, Room 336
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-3651
Email: hariharan.swaminathan@uconn.edu

Dr. Swaminathan known nationally and internationally for his research on Item Response Theory and psychometrics. He has coauthored two widely used books on item response theory. Dr. Swaminathan is a scholar of national and international repute. These books are widely used nationally and internationally as a graduate text on item response theory and by researchers and practitioners in the field of educational measurement.

Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2033, Room 217C
Storrs, CT 06269-2033

Phone: 860-486-2880
Email: mary.truxaw@uconn.edu

Dr. Truxaw is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Truxaw taught mathematics for over 20 years in public schools in Los Angeles, New York, and Connecticut. Her research focuses on discourse in mathematics classes, teacher education, and technology to enhance mathematics instruction. Her research has been presented and published at regional, national, and international forums.
Dr. Truxaw's Vita (.pdf)

Department of Kinesiology
Neag School of Education
2095 Hillside Road, U-1110
Storrs, CT 06269

Phone: 860-486-5123
Email: jaci.vanheest@uconn.edu

Dr. VanHeest received her undergraduate degree from Hope College, Holland Michigan in Physical Education. She completed her M.S. in Exercise Physiology and Ph.D. in Exercise Endocrinology at Michigan State University. Dr. VanHeest completed to post doctoral fellowships; one at the University of Cincinnati in Protein Chemistry and Membrane Transport and the second at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Body Weight Regulation, Obesity and Pediatrics. She currently investigates a before school activity intervention in overweight children, examining the physical, hormonal and metabolic outcomes. In addition, Dr. VanHeest continues to pursue research in the area of bioenergetics, women and performance. She is currently collaborating on research investigating the influence of energy deficiency on reproductive hormone status, metabolic status, bone health and performance.

Mary Yakimowski

Committee Chair

249 Glenbrook Road Unit-2064
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-2064
Gentry Room ?

Phone: 860-486-2848
Fax: 860-486-3510
Email: mary.yakimowski-srebnick@uconn.edu

Dr. Mary E. Yakimowski is the Director of Assessment and Association Professor-in-Residence for the University of Connecticut 's Neag's School of Education . She has a joint position with the Educational Psychology and Educational Leadership Departments and is proud to work with the Teachers for New Era. She has her doctorate in Educational Psychology and has certifications in school psychology, intermediate administration, and school superintendent. Previously she worked for the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington , DC as Director of Assessments and for Baltimore City School District 's Division of Research, Evaluation, Assessment, and Accountability as Chief of Educational Accountability. She is i mmediate p ast vice p resident of the American Educational Research Association; past president of the National Association of Test Directors, Directors of Research and Evaluation, and Connecticut Testing Network; a member of various Boards and Committees, including the Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP) ; and has presented to numerous groups including, interestingly, the retired scientists from NASA, on topics including student assessment , reform, and urban education. She has been the recipient of more than a dozen national and state awards for reports in areas such as enrollment projections, assessment training materials, strategic planning, and reporting of test results. In the forward written by the State Superintendent of Schools in Connecticut, her co-authored CASCD book with on aligning state assessment programs with district practices in curriculum, instruction, professional development, and assessment, the State Superintendent recommended that the book should be "required reading of all educators across Connecticut". Dr. Yakimowski' s Vita (.doc)