Meeting Co-Chairs
IES has enlisted three Principal Investigators with projects funded under the National Center for Education Research, the National Center for Special Education Research, and the Small Business Innovation Research program to help refine and implement this year’s meeting vision and structure. This year’s PI Meeting Co-Chairs – Betsy Corcoran (EdSurge), Jodi Davenport (WestEd), and Nathan Jones (Boston University) – have provided invaluable, forward-thinking suggestions to help select the theme, plan sessions, and identify speakers for this meeting. We are grateful for their contribution.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Corcoran
Co-founder and CEO,EdSurge
Elizabeth "Betsy" Corcoran
Co-founder and CEO - EdSurge
Bio
Elizabeth "Betsy" Corcoran is co-founder and CEO of EdSurge, an award-winning news and information site on education technology. EdSurge delivers news for educators and entrepreneurs, maintains a detailed catalogue of edtech product, lists top edtech jobs, and runs Fusion, a national conference for administrations. Ms. Corcoran has received national recognition for her work as a journalist. She's been a staff writer and editor for Scientific American magazine, The Washington Post and Forbes. She has also been a Fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been a featured commentator on television programs including Forbes on Fox and NBC's Press Here. She is a member of the strategic advisory board for the CPRE Knowledge Hub, at the University of Pennsylvania's Consortium for Policy Research. Her pro bono work includes advising several charter schools and has served as a Trustee for a local library. She is also a Fellow with the Pahara Institute, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to identify, strengthen, and sustain diverse high potential leaders who are reimagining public education, so that every child in America has access to an excellent public school.
Websites:
http://www.edsurge.com/
http://www.edsurge.com/jobs
http://fusion.edsurge.com/
Jodi Davenport
Associate Director of the Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Program,WestEd
Jodi Davenport
Associate Director of the Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Program - WestEd
Bio
Jodi Davenport is Associate Director of the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics Program at WestEd, where she applies cognitive science research to transform science and math instruction. She serves as Principal Investigator (PI) for multiple grants funded by the Institute for Educational Science (IES) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Davenport also collaborates with leading scientists and educators to develop new technology-based approaches to science learning. The ChemVLab+ project creates online activities using a virtual chemistry lab that enable students to engage with authentic scenarios. The "In Touch with Molecules" project uses origami and 3D-printed models to teach core concepts of DNA, viral self-assembly, and protein folding. In the math field, Dr. Davenport leads efficacy studies of promising interventions to improve learning in authentic classroom settings. She served as the Director of Research for the National Center on Cognition and Mathematics Instruction, and currently leads a study to evaluate the efficacy of materials that promote understanding of mathematical equivalence. Dr. Davenport's prior research on visual cognition has been cited more than 400 times and appears in multiple introductory cognitive psychology textbooks.
Websites:
https://www.wested.org/personnel/jodi-davenport/
http://www.chemvlab.org/
https://iesmathcenter.org/
https://molecules.wested.org/home/index.php
Nathan Jones
Assistant Professor of Special Education and Educational Policy,Boston University
Nathan Jones
Assistant Professor of Special Education and Educational Policy - Boston University
Bio
Nathan Jones is an Assistant Professor of Special Education and Educational Policy at Boston University. In his research, Dr. Jones focuses on teacher quality, teacher development, and school improvement, with a specific emphasis on examining and developing measures of teachers' work. Dr. Jones serves as the principal investigator (PI) of an IES grant examining whether the Framework for Teaching (FFT) – an observation system used in over 20 states and hundreds of school districts – can be used validly and reliably in the evaluation of special education teachers. He is also Co-PI on an IES study (PI: Eric Camburn, UW-Madison) measuring how teachers spend their time, experience their school context, and respond emotionally to their work. He has also served as PI or Co-PI on projects funded through the Spencer Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the WT Grant Foundation. Dr. Jones currently serves as co-editor of The Elementary School Journal and is on the editorial board at The Journal of Teacher Education.
Websites:
https://www.bu.edu/sed/profile/nathan-jones/