Program Faculty

Carole Ames is a professor of educational psychology and dean of the College of Education. She is interested in the development of social and academic motivation in children. Her research focuses on the effects of classroom structure, competition, and teaching practices on children’s motivation to learn, and on school and family relationships and specific strategies for increasing parental involvement in children’s learning [read more ...]

Patrick Dickson is a professor of educational psychology with interests in human development, multimedia learning environments, and cross-cultural research. His teaching and research activities focus on applying lifespan developmental perspectives to the design of new learning environments. He is also exploring how the internet can be used to connect students and teachers around the world, as well as links between schools and out-of- school settings, including homes and science museums. [read more ...]

Matthew Diemer is an Associate Professor of educational psychology. Broadly, his teaching and scholarship emphasize the sociocultural context of human development and learning. Specifically, he is interested in understanding how marginalized youth negotiate structural constraints in school, college, and work. A new line of inquiry examines how low-income youths' developmental context contributes to their postsecondary persistence. [read more ...]

Nell Duke is a professor of teacher education and educational psychology and co-director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center (LARC). Her specific areas of expertise include the development of informational literacies in young children, comprehension development and instruction in early schooling, and issues of equity in literacy education. She is also interested in efforts to improve the quality of research training in doctoral programs of education. [read more ...]

Robert Floden is a University Distinguished Professor of teacher education, measurement and quantitative methods, educational psychology, and educational policy. He is associate dean for research, director of the Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning and co-director of Teachers for a New Era (TNE). He has studied teacher education and other influences on teaching and learning, including work on the cultures of teaching, on teacher development, on effects of teacher education, and on how policy is linked to classroom practice [read more ...]

Douglas Hartman is a professor of literacy and technology with appointments in Teacher Education and Educational Psychology. He serves as co-director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center (LARC) and coordinator of the Literacy Studies program. His research interests focus on new literacies, adolescent literacy, and the history of literacy [read more ...]

Matthew Koehler is an associate professor of educational psychology and educational technology. He is interested in understanding the affordances and constraints of new technologies; the design of technology-rich, innovative learning environments; how teachers integrate technology into their classrooms; and the professional development of teachers [read more ...]

Punya Mishra is an associate professor of educational technology. His research has focused on the theoretical, cognitive, and social aspects related to the design and use of computer based learning environments. His other interests include research into the cognitive psychology of science, developing tools for enhancing visual literacy, and understanding the cognitive processes that underlie creativity [read more ...]

Kelly Mix is an associate professor of educational psychology whose research focuses on the development of number concepts and mathematical reasoning. She is particularly interested in the emergence of these ideas in infancy and early childhood, as well as the way conventional symbols for numbers and mathematics are mapped onto this preverbal foundation [read more ...]

Evelyn Oka is an associate professor of school psychology and serves as director of the school psychology program. Her research interests include the development of self-regulated learning during childhood and early adolescence, particularly among students with learning problems. With teachers in a professional development school, she is studying the learning and motivation of general and special education students in an inclusion classroom [read more ...]

Cynthia Okolo is a professor of special education. Her research focuses on improving literacy and historical understanding in inclusive classrooms. She is especially interested in ways in which educational technology can facilitate these goals. One of her current projects is the Virtual History Museum, in which she is collaborating with others MSU to develop an online history learning environment that will promote historical understanding for students with mild disabilities [read more ...]

Ralph Putnam is an associate professor of educational psychology whose research focuses on the cognitively oriented study of classroom teaching and learning and role of technology in learning. His recent research examines the teaching and learning of mathematics in elementary school classrooms, especially the knowledge and beliefs of mathematics teachers, and the different ways that students learn about mathematics from various kinds of instruction [read more ...]

Cary Roseth is an assistant professor of educational psychology. He is interested in social development, peer relations, and social contextual influences on classroom achievement. His research focuses on the development of conflict resolution in early childhood and on the effects of cooperation, competition, and individualistic goal structures on children’s academic achievement and peer relations [read more ...]

John (Jack) P. Smith is an associate professor of educational psychology. His research concerns the nature of people's learning of mathematics in school and other settings. His interests include the relation of epistemology to learning, the role of intuitive understanding in learning mathematics and science, the design of advanced technology for learning mathematics, and the nature of teaching mathematics [read more ...]

Rand Spiro is a professor of educational psychology. His research areas are knowledge acquisition in complex domains, hypermedia learning environments, multimedia case-based methods in professional education, biomedical cognition, and constructive processes in text comprehension and recall. A central part of the research program involves the development and testing of theory-based hypermedia learning environments designed to promote cognitive flexibility [read more ...]

David Wong is an associate professor of educational psychology. He is interested in how learning can be made into powerful and compelling experiences for learners. His work spans a number of areas, including educational psychology and philosophy, educational technology, and the design of online learning environments. He is also exploring how artistically crafted digital multimedia can be a powerful medium for expressing the nuance and complexity of important ideas [read more ...]