Dr. Elham Kazemi is Professor in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Washington College of Education. Dr. Kazemi’s research has focuses on the challenge of designing professional learning experiences for elementary mathematics teachers and teacher educators so that teachers’ classroom practices improve in ways that are productive for student learning, especially in high poverty settings. Central to this effort is understanding what is entailed in the work of teaching mathematics by eliciting and responding to children’s mathematical thinking in ways that advance the learning of key ideas in mathematics and cultivate productive disciplinary dispositions. Dr. Kazemi’s teaching and research mutually inform each other dividing her time between studying teacher learning and student learning. Dr. Kazemi holds her Doctorate and Master’s degrees from UCLA in Mathematics Education, and her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Duke University.
Dr. Stephanie Forman is a Research Scientist in the College of Education at the University of Washington. Dr. Forman’s research focuses on how school and district leaders navigate the policy implementation process to create more just educational systems and student experiences, particularly in the field of bilingual education. Dr. Forman is a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Education Leadership. She holds her Bachelor’s in Art History from Pitzer College, her Master’s in Education from Loyola Marymount University, and her PhD from the Educational Policy, Organizations and Leadership program in the University of Washington College of Education.
James King is a Research Assistant and a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Mathematics Education in the College of Education at the University of Washington. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego, and his Masters of Arts in Mathematics with an emphasis in Teaching Service and specialization in Community College from San Diego State University. His interests are centered around improving learning spaces for Black learners by focusing on their excellence and joy of learning.
Sarah Clancey is a Research Assistant and doctoral student in the Education Policy, Organizations and Leadership program in the University of Washington College of Education. Her research interests include state level-accountability systems, school leadership, and community activism/leadership, focusing on how these influence local efforts to promote educational equity for historically marginalized students. She is a former high school science teacher and union building representative. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and her Master’s in Curriculum and Teaching from Boston University.
Lindsey Kaiser is a Research Assistant and PhD Candidate in the Education Policy, Organizations, and Leadership program at the University of Washington, College of Education. She uses participatory action and community-based research approaches to support White principals in learning and participating in anti-racist educational leadership. Prior to Seattle, she spent ten years as a public educator in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Texas as an assistant principal, instructional coach, and elementary teacher. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Special Education at Slippery Rock University and her Master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Team Alumni
Dr. Alison Fox is is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the College of Education at the University of Washington. As a teacher, she experienced the power of learning opportunities like Math Labs to significantly improve her collaboration with colleagues, her teaching practice, and her understanding of students’ mathematical thinking. Her research focuses on the challenge of designing and scaling powerful models for teacher, coach, and principal learning to support transformation of mathematics instruction. Her dissertation examined the design of professional development for principals to support their leadership of school reorganization for teacher learning. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Washington College of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.
Dr. Lamar Foster is a Research Assistant and doctoral student in Educational Policy, Organizations and Leadership program in the College of Education at University of Washington. Lamar is driven by the fact that everyone has the right to a quality education no matter their socioeconomic status, race, gender, identity, etc. He is devoted to improving educational and economic opportunities for marginalized and historically-marginalized people groups. His research focuses on the intersection of policy and practice with a specific focus on school leadership, policy implementation, and child wellbeing. He has used quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to answer some of the questions he has related to his research interests.
Xinyi Zhong is a Research Assistant and doctoral student in the Education Policy, Organizations and Leadership program at the University of Washington College of Education. Her research interests focus on the educational opportunities and experiences of emergent bilingual students and immigrant students. She holds Master’s degrees in Translation and Interpreting (Chinese/English) from Beijing Foreign Studies University and in Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Rebecca “Becca” Lewis is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the College of Education at the University of Washington and an Instructor for the UW Mathematics Education Project. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of elementary mathematics, classroom discourse, the teaching and learning of fractions, and supporting school-wide professional learning. She is a National Board Certified Teacher with 13 years of experience as a classroom teacher, curriculum designer, math coach, and professional development facilitator. Dr. Lewis has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics, a Master’s degree in Education, and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction.
Becky Corriell is a doctoral student in Education Policy, Organizations and Leadership at the University of Washington. As a former higher education administrator, she became interested in issues of undergraduate teaching and learning improvement, and faculty learning and professional development. Her research focuses on how early career university faculty learn to teach, and how higher education institutions support their faculty’s professional learning. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.
Dr. Lynsey Gibbons is an assistant professor of mathematics education at Boston University. Her scholarship focuses the challenge of reorganizing school- and district-level contexts to support teachers’ development of high-quality instructional practices that are productive for student learning, centering on unpacking the roles of instructional leaders in supporting teachers’ development, and considering how to assist instructional leaders to organize their schools for learning. She is a Co-PI on an NSF funded grant called the Elementary Mathematics Project, leading the professional learning design for mathematicians and mathematics teacher educators who support elementary preservice teacher learning. Dr. Gibbons received her Doctorate from Vanderbilt University, has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She completed a Postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Washington. Prior to her career in academia, Dr. Gibbons was an elementary teacher and mathematics coach.
Dr. Anita Lenges is an Acting Associate Professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington. She started her career in education with the US Peace Corps in Kenya, then moved to teaching Middle School Math for 10 years. Since joining the University, her teaching has focused on pre-service and in-service teaching broadly and in math education in particular. Dr. Lenges’ research interests are teacher learning, teacher preparation for diverse urban schools and teacher leadership, with a focus on critical social justice across contexts.