Michigan State University

I study educational improvement in K-12 schools, primarily by exploring how teachers and principals learn in ways that change their practice to support increased student engagement and learning. I am particularly interested in change efforts focused on early literacy and on culturally responsive and sustaining education. In current projects, I am using design-based research to develop new approaches to support teacher professional learning (through virtual reality classroom observations) and improvement science to support whole-school improvement in urban elementary schools (through a NIC focused on implementing Michigan’s Schoolwide Essential Practices). I recently edited a book titled Leading the Transition Toward Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Schools, examining the change efforts that school- and district-based educators undertake to better serve students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In my leadership courses at Michigan State University, I have taught a number of improvement-related concepts, including data-driven decision-making and improvement science. I am currently writing a book based on the content of my favorite course to teach, Organizing for Learning, which focuses on systematic approaches to increases student engagement and learning in K-12 schools.