Meet the Teacher Education Faculty


Jimmie Agnew, Associate Professor of Science Education Secondary Science Program Coordinator [Dr. Agnew's homepage] Address: 2625 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: agnewj@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6281 Office: McMichael Science Building 202D Dr. Jimmie Agnew has created and coordinated interdisciplinary science courses in the classroom and online. Her interests include integrating technology and interdisciplinary science. Dr. Agnew created and edited several online resources for McGraw Hill. She has authored questions for the Educational Testing Service. Dr. Agnew has a long history of presentations at professional meetings in the area of interdisciplinary science.

Matthew Buckmaster, Assistant Professor of Music Music Education Program Coordinator Address: 2800 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: mbuckmaster@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5624 Office: Center for the Arts 225 Dr. Matthew Buckmaster has taught music in high, middle, and elementary grades at both public and private schools. A regular adjudicator and presenter for educational events and conferences at the state and national level, Dr. Buckmaster also remains very involved in his musical activities as a trombonist, conductor, and composer/arranger.

Stephen Byrd, Assistant Professor of Education [Dr. Byrd's homepage] Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: sbyrd2@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5438 Office: Mooney Building 205D Dr. Stephen Byrd spent 10 years teaching at the elementary level to students in general and special education in both private and public schools. His research interests include curriculum-based measurement, mathematics' instruction for students with disabilities, categorical special education and teacher preparation for both special and general educators. Dr. Byrd has been involved in several writing projects and special education textbooks.

Glenda Beamon Crawford, Professor of Education Middle Grades Program Coordinator Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: gcrawford@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5865 Office: Mooney Building 301C Dr. Glenda Crawford has been researching the cognitive, social and personal development of adolescent learners for more than 20 years. She has published three books based on her research, including Teaching With Adolescent Learning in Mind and Managing the Adolescent Classroom. Dr. Crawford has taught elementary, middle and high school students. She is an international consultant on middle-level education.

Bernard Curry, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Education Secondary History/Social Studies Program Coordinator Address: 2035 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: curryb@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6444 Office: Sociology & Anthropology House 201 Professor Bernard Curry is a native of Burlington, North Carolina. Prior to coming to Elon University in 1991, he taught Civics for 12 years in the Alamance-Burlington School System. In addition to teaching Materials and Methods of Teaching Middle Grades and High School Social Studies, he teaches The Global Experience as well as an array of sociology courses.

Gerald Dillashaw, Professor of Education Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: dillasha@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5864 Office: Mooney Building 301D Dr. Gerald Dillashaw has special interests in science education, testing and measurement, and faculty evaluation. Dr. Dillashaw has worked as an assessment consultant for the states of Illinois and North Carolina as well as for several school districts in Illinois. He also has written test questions for two national standardized achievement tests.

Mark Enfield, Assistant Professor of Education Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: menfield@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5867 Office: Mooney Building 307D Dr. Mark Enfield's scholarly interests focus on young children's intuitive and scientific thinking and reasoning in collaborative contexts. He regularly presents at state and national conferences such as the National Association for Research in Science Teaching and the American Educational Research Association. He most recently published articles in Science Education and Science and Children.

Judith Howard, Interim Dean of the School of Education Professor of Education Director of the Master of Education Program Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: howardj@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5900 Fax #: 336-278-5919 Office: Mooney Building 110A Dr. Judith Howard, director of Elon's M.Ed. program and interim dean, specializes in the design of curriculum and instruction for exceptional learners. She recently produced a series of problem-based curriculum units for use in K-12 classrooms, and her current research explores effective implementation in inclusive settings. Dr. Howard publishes in professional journals, speaks frequently at professional conferences and has consulted with more than 50 school districts nationwide.

Mary Knight-McKenna, Assistant Professor of Education Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: mmckenna2@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5858 Office: Mooney Building 205B Dr. Mary Knight-McKenna has a background in speech-language pathology and specializes in reading methods for students who struggle to learn to read. She also has extensive experience working in inclusive classrooms with a co-teaching model. Her research areas of interest include literacy instruction and student teachers’ perspectives of Title I schools.

Deborah Long, Associate Professor of Education Address: 2174 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 E-mail: dlong@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5859 Office: Mooney Building 205C Dr. Deborah Long has a history of publications and presentations at professional meetings on the topics of teacher cognition, curriculum development, problem-based learning, content integration and computer applications. Her areas of expertise include curriculum development and instructional design.

Richard Mihans, Assistant Professor of Education Elementary Education Program Coordinator [Dr. Mihans' homepage] Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 E-mail: rmihans@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5861 Office: Mooney Building 307C Dr. Richard Mihans' research interests focus on teacher retention, literacy instruction and course development. Dr. Mihans is a regular presenter at state, national and international conferences for associations such as the American Educational Research Association, International Conference on Education, Annual International Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, and the National Reading Conference.

Rebeca Olmedo, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Education French/Spanish Program Coordinator Address: 2125 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: rolmedo@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6475 Office: Carlton Building 212 Dr. Rebeca Olmedo has many years of experience teaching foreign languages to students of all ages in the United States and abroad. Her other specialties include cultural studies, literary studies, and the relationship between literature and visual art.

Kim Pyne, Assistant Professor of English and Education Secondary English Program Coordinator Address: 2115 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: kpyne@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5732 Office: Alamance Building 305B A former high school English and Journalism teacher, Dr. Kim Pyne strives to connect theory, practice, and issues of social justice in education. Her research interests include culturally responsive pedagogy and critical multiculturalism, educational technology, postcritical ethnography, and the preparation, support, narrative identities, and transformative potential of English language arts teachers.

Janice Richardson, Associate Professor of Math and Education Secondary Math Program Coordinator Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: richards@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6255 Office: Mooney Building 209B Professor Janice Richardson is the education coordinator in the Mathematics department and director of Elon's Teaching Fellows program. Her research focuses on international studies in K-12 mathematics and the content knowledge for elementary mathematics teachers. She has presented at state and national math education conferences.

Jean Rattigan-Rohr – Assistant Professor of Education Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: jrohr@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6259 Office: Mooney Building 301A Dr. Jean Rohr’s research interests focus on the role of “vision” in education; Dr. Rohr publishes in professional journals, and is a regular presenter at state, national and international conferences for associations such as the American Educational Research Association and the National Reading Conference.

Bird Stasz, Associate Professor of Education Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: bstasz@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5881 Office: Mooney Building 301B Dr. Bird Stasz has over ten years as a teacher of elementary and middle school students as well as adults. Her area of expertise is literacy. Her areas of research include ethnographic studies as well as international education development projects. Most recently she has been working on a large scale project in Central Asia.

Amy Stringer, Assistant Professor, Health and Human Performance Physical Education/Health Program Coordinator Address: 2525 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: astringer2@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6791 Office: Koury Athletic Center 143 F Dr. Amy Stringer draws from 18 years of experience as a K-12 health and physical education teacher in current curriculum development projects and research. Her interests include physical education workplace conditions, teacher change, and teaching abroad. She regularly presents at professional conferences.

Carolyn Stuart, Associate Professor of Education Special Education Program Coordinator Chair, Department of Education Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: stuartc@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5851 Office: Mooney Building 110A Dr. Carolyn Stuart's research interests focus on the social skill development of exceptional children and pre-service teacher cognition. Dr. Stuart has published her work in educational journals such as the Journal of Teacher Education, and she is a regular presenter at state and national conferences for associations such as the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.

Barbara Taylor, Associate Professor of Computing Sciences Coordinator of Educational Technology for Teacher Education [Professor Taylor's homepage] Address: 2320 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: btaylor@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-6239 Office: Duke Building 307F Professor Barbara Taylor served on the committee to revise the North Carolina K-12 Computer/Technology Skills Curriculum and continues as the university representative on the advisory board. In addition to teaching courses for prospective and current teachers aimed at helping them make effective and appropriate use of technology to enhance teaching and learning, she also provides technical support to teacher education students and faculty.

Terry Tomasek, Assistant Professor of Education [Dr. Tomasek's homepage] Address: 2105 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244 Email: ttomasek@elon.edu Phone #: 336-278-5854 Office: Mooney Building 307B Dr. Terry Tomasek's research interests focus on teacher development in reform-based science and math instruction as well as K-12 student involvement in citizen science. She is a regular presenter at state, regional and national meetings for the National Science Teachers Association and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.