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.

Assistant Superintendent
Glastonbury Public Schools
P.O.Box 191

Phone: 860-652-7963
Email: brownc@glastonburyus.org

Christine L. Brown (B.A. French, Miami University; M.S. TESOL Central Connecticut State University; Sixth Year, Administration, University of Hartford; Doctoral student, University of Connecticut) is the Assistant Superintendent for the Glastonbury (CT) Public Schools. From 1983 to 2006 Brown served as Director of  the Glastonbury Language program, one of the nation’s oldest, continuous, grade 1 through 12 language programs. Formerly, Brown taught French and Spanish at every level K-12.  She coordinated the ELL program in the West Hartford, (CT) Public Schools.  Ms. Brown also serves as adjunct methods and second language acquisition instructor for the Connecticut State Department of Higher Education.  Formerly she served as adjunct instructor at the University of Hartford and at Central Connecticut State University. Her awards include: the Florence Steiner award from ACTFL, the Robert J. Ludwig Award from NYSAFLT, the Distinguished and Meritorious Service Award from the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers, Special Commendation Award from the Connecticut Commissioner of Education for “Continuous and Visionary Leadership and Advocacy in the Study of World Languages,” and Official Citation for Leadership from the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut. The Prentice Hall Publishing Co. and the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Langauges named her National Foreign Language Supervisor of the Year for 2002. In 2006, Brown was named Outstanding Administrator by the American Association of Teachers of French. The Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Center for Applied Linguistics have both named the Glastonbury language program one of the best in the United States. Christine Brown's Resume.

Department of Educational Psychology
249 Glenbrook Road Unit 2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064
Gentry 208

Phone:(860) 486-0181
Fax: (860) 486-8325
Email: scott.brown@uconn.edu

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

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

Tolland Public Schools
51 Tolland Green
Tolland, CT 06084

Phone: 860- 870-6818 ext. 304
Email: keidson@tolland.k12.ct.us

Acting Chief, Bureau of Data Collection,Research and Evaluation

Department of Education
P.O. Box 2219
Hartford, CT  06145

Deptartment of Educational Psychology
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-6855
Email: michael.faggella-luby@uconn.edu

Email: reyhan.kaniskan@uconn.edu

Burcu Kaniskan is a doctoral student in measurement evaluation and assessment. She earned her Masters’ of Art degree in measurement and evaluation from Kent State University. Her research interest includes IRT, multilevel moderated mediational analysis, SEM, differential item functions, and longitudinal designs. As a substantive area, she is particularly interested in public health, HIV prevention, health psychology, early prevention of diseases and health promotion.  In addition, having studied chemistry in her undergraduate education, she is particularly interested in examining potential tools for teaching, learning and interpreting the statistics as a scientific argument.

Email: jeffrey.m.kramer@uconn.edu

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)

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 Associate 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)

Department of Educational Psychology
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-0266
Email: rachelle.perusse@uconn.edu

Dr. Rachelle Pérusse is an Associate Professor in Counseling Psychology within the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. Before becoming a school counselor educator, Dr. Pérusse worked with poor and minority youth as a high school counselor in a rural school district in Georgia. She is a National Certified Counselor and a National Certified School Counselor. Professionally, she has worked as a consultant with The Education Trust, Inc. as a MetLife Fellow for the Transforming School Counseling Initiative, and is secretary for the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision (2005-2006). As a MetLife Fellow, she conducts consultations with school districts about the role of the school counselor and administrators in relation to closing the achievement gap and advocating for poor and minority youth. Dr. Pérusse has several articles published about national trends in school counselor education, and has co-edited two books: Critical Incidents in Group Counseling and Leadership, Advocacy, and Direct Service Strategies for Professional School Counselors.

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.

Email: amanda.richmond@uconn.edu

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)

Department of Educational Psychology
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064

Phone: 860-486-2747
Email: lisa.sanetti@uconn.edu

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: 860-486-1367
Email: rohini.sen@uconn.edu

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.

Email: natalia.tabakin@uconn.edu

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.

Manuela Wagner

Department of Modern and Classical Languages
337 Mansfield Road,  Arjona, Room 208
Storrs, CT 06269-1057 

Phone: 860-486-3317
Fax: 860-486-4392
Email: manuela.m.wagner@uconn.edu

Manuela Wagner is Assistant Professor of Foreign Language Education at the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at UCONN. She holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Graz in Austria . During her graduate studies she spent 2 years in the baby lab of Psychophysics in the department of Neurophysiology at the Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt/Main, Germany , and 3 years in the Department of Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include pragmatic development in first, second and foreign language acquisition, methods of foreign language teaching, intercultural communication and communicative development in special circumstances. In her role as the director of the Critical Languages Program in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages she finds it interesting to apply current methods of foreign language education in a program of less commonly taught lan
Dr. Wagner's Vita (.doc)

Wei Xia

Email: Wei.xia@uconn.edu

As a graduate assistant assigned to the TNE Teacher Education Assessment Committee, Wei Xia is a doctoral student in the Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment Program in the Neag School of Education at Uconn. She received her Master’s degree in Boston College, majoring in applied developmental psychology. My interests include large scale assessment, standardized testing, English language learners, second language acquisition, and social cognition.

Mary Yakimowski

Committee Chair

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

Phone: 860-486-2848
Fax: 860-486-1367
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)