Past Graduate Student Advisees

	Whitney Szmodis Whitney Szmodis is the Assistant Director of Fellowship Advising and United Nations Programs, and Director of the Lehigh University-United Nations Youth Representative Program at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She also serves as a representative to the United Nations on behalf of Lehigh University. The objectives of the LU/UN Youth Representative program are to build and sustain partnerships with UN-accredited NGOs that share in our core values and mission both at Lehigh and at the United Nations. Whitney works with NGOs on five continents and focuses on issues related to environmental sustainability, gender equality, health, social justice, and youth empowerment. Prior to taking this position, Whitney was the Director of Global Citizenship at Lehigh. Her research interests focus on social cognitive factors that influence girls and women's career aspirations. She has also worked extensively in Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on gender equality and education in Cambodia.
	Bill Farina Bill has earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry from DeSales University and an M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. He joined my research group in the fall of 2013 with a particular interest in the development and effectiveness of online chemistry classes.
	Kevin Glover Kevin Glover is a teaching and learning scientist at the Keck Graduate Institute, supporting the faculty in the Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences, and the School of Pharmacy and Health Services. His research is focused on the design, development and testing of simulation-based and game-based education for students in the health professions.
	Duane Wallace Duane earned a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's in instructional technology from Bloomsburg University. He currently works as the Supervisor of Learning and Technology at the Somerset County Vocational & Technical School District in Bridgewater, NJ. Duane also serves as a faculty member for the University of Phoenix online. His research interests include mobile learning, game-based learning and distance education.
	Denise Bressler Throughout her research, writing and professional career, Denise has always been interested in the affordances of innovative technologies and how they can best be used as effective educational tools. In 1997, for her undergraduate thesis at Princeton University, she conducted a meta-analysis of internet usage in K-12 education and determined that several variables showed positive correlations with improved student learning: interactivity with analysis, the subject of science and working in groups. As a master’s student at Teachers College, Columbia University, she built a CD-ROM game grounded in educational theory because she saw the potential of technology to personalize learning through intelligent-computer assisted instruction. In 2000, as Denise began her career, dot-coms were on the rise and her first job was with MaMaMedia.com, an educational website for children based on constructionist learning. Ultimately, she found a happy home for over 6 years at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ. There, she studied the current technology trends of the time and conceived of a mobile learning project because she hoped that if visitors used their mobile phones in her exhibits, it would inspire them to continue learning once they left the museum. Finally, as a doctoral student in Lehigh University's College of Education, she saw that schools are beginning to embrace mobile devices but there are so few pedagogical models to follow, so she built a series of mobile science games called School Scene Investigators to engage learners through feelings of flow and successful collaboration. As Denise move's forward in her career, she intends to keep creating innovative learning experiences based on what the next new tool can best provide. Denise earned her doctorate in May, 2014 and is a researcher with CEISE at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
	Rob Marstellar Rob has earned a B.F.A. degree in film and television production from New York University and an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Kutztown University. Rob has worked with high school age students in formal and informal settings for over 12 years. He joined my research group in the fall of 2013 with an interest in the development of online biology instruction for high school learners.
	Rajika Reed Rajika earned her Bachelors of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University in Biology. She then went on to secure her Master's degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. Upon moving to the Lehigh Valley in 1998, she has worked at Lehigh Valley Health Network, Lehigh University and St. Luke's University Health Network. In 2007 she graduated with a Master's degree in Education from Lehigh University in Teaching, Learning and Technology, with secondary certification in Biology. She is currently employed as an Epidemiologist. Her research interests include collaborative learning and the utilization of geospatial thinking and reasoning skills using geographic information systems (GIS) to enhance public health education.
	Farah Vallera Farah's research involves testing the effectiveness of a fully STEM-integrated, project-based agricultural literacy curriculum module administered to upper-elementary students to find support for the development of more fully STEM-integrated, project-based curricula nationwide. She is also a practicing sociologist, having received her B.A. in sociology from Centenary College in New Jersey and her M.A. in Sociology from Lehigh. She volunteers her time writing agricultural literacy curricula and grants for an agricultural education center, and also instructs students of all ages about being responsible stewardships of natural resources, globally and environmentally conscientious, and aware of the importance of STEM fields and agricultural practice.
	Karen Beerer Karen Beerer worked has nearly 30 years of experience in public education. She has served has a classroom teacher, reading specialist, principal, and development supervisor. In addition, she spent eight years as an Assistant Superintendent in the Boyertown (PA) school district. She earned her Ed.D. with a dissertation entitled “The Effects of Stud Groups on Teacher Transfer of Inquiry Instruction Training to Elementary School Science Achievement.” She currently works for Discovery Education as Vice President of Professional Development for Common Core State Standards. In this role, she develops and implements strategies to support the effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards in school districts that have partnered with Discovery.