College of Education

Education

• Ph.D., Education and Psychology, University of Michigan, 2003
• MS, Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan, 2001
• BA, Elementary Education, University of Michigan-Dearborn, 1989

Biography

"I serve as the director of the Educational Studies doctoral program and a faculty member in Educational Psychology. I believe scholarship is a valuable avenue to affect the social change necessary for a more just, equitable, and humane existence. My varied interests are rooted in my experience as a classroom teacher, community activist and a person living in our complex socio-political milieu. I work with colleagues from a variety of institutions, such as the National Institute of Education in Singapore, Loyola University-Baltimore, and the University of Michigan and have been honored with the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (2009) and the Dean's Award for Creative Scholarship in 2008."

Interests and Expertise

Research Interests

• Language development
• Literacy
• Culture
• Pedagogy
• Assessment
• Teacher development
• Quantitative research methods

Courses

• EDST 800 Introduction to Education Studies: Scholarship, Teaching and Learning
• EDST 805/807 Introduction to quantitative research/ Advanced quantitative research
• EDPS 621/651 Descriptive/Inferential statistics
• EDPS 324/340 Human development/Assessment and evaluation

Publications and Presentations

Selected Publications

• Simmons, R., Carpenter, R., Ricks, J., Walker, D., Davis, M,. and Parks, M. (in press). African American male teachers and African American students: Working subversively through hip-hop and culturally relevant pedagogy. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy.
• Carpenter, R. D., Hersi, A., and Simmons, R. (2013). From pedagogy to proof: Developing and implementing cultural relevant assessment systems. Paper presented at the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment Inaugural Conference. Chicago, IL.
• Wellinski, S., and Carpenter, R.D. (2012). Challenging secondary preservice teachers' literacy beliefs with a new literacies- Situated practicum. Paper presented at the meeting of the Annual meeting of the Literacy Research Association, San Diego, CA.
• Simmons, R., and Carpenter, R. D. (2011). Innovation in urban education: Two charter schools in Detroit lead the way. In L. Howell, C. Lewis, & N. Carter (Eds.) Yes We Can!: Improving Urban Schools Through Innovative Educational Reform. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing (p. 3-21).
• Simmons, R., and Carpenter, R. D. (2011). Teaching is one-tenth of the job: Teaching in an urban high school during recessionary times. Presentation at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Memberships

• American Educational Research Association
• National Reading Conference/Literacy Research Association
• Society for Research in Child Development