CONTACT US:
LEARN
1380 Lawrence Street, Room 609
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364
303-315-4966
LEARN Staff
Dr. Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Laboratory of Educational Assessment, Research and InnovatioN (LEARN) at the School of Education & Human Development. Dr. Ruiz-Primo earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Specializing in educational assessment, her research work focuses on the development and technical evaluation of innovative science learning assessment tools - including performance tasks, concept maps, and students science products - and on the development of a conceptual framework of academic achievement. She has conducted research on the instructional sensitivity of assessments, their proximity to the enacted curriculum, and curriculum implementation and assessment practices in the classroom. In 1993, Dr. Ruiz-Primo was awarded with a program evaluation fellowship from the American Educational Research Association. She is the first author of the Student Guide, Statistical Reasoning for the Behavioral Sciences, and multiple book chapters and articles published in major peer-reviewed educational and measurement research journals.
Dr. Deanna Iceman Sands is a Professor and the Associate Dean of Research and Leadership Education in the School of Education & Human Development. She earned her Ed.D. in Special Education Research and Administration from the University of Alabama. Dr. Sands has served on the faculty of the University of Colorado Denver for over 20 years, where she has taught numerous courses on assessment, curriculum and instruction, and mentored many Colorado teachers. Her research has focused on issues pertaining to student engagement, agency, and self-determination as they relate to curriculum, assessment, instruction and school reform. A prolific author, she has published refereed books, book chapters, and numerous professional articles published in the Journal of Research in Special Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Educational and Psychological Measurement. In addition to her expertise in special education, Dr. Sands also is a nationally recognized expert on professional development and teacher preparation.
Dr. Carolyn Haug is an Associate Professor - Research in the School of Education & Human Development. She earned her Ph.D. in Research and Evaluation Methodology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Specializing in educational assessment and accountability, her background includes serving as the assessment and research director in two large Colorado school districts, serving as the state assessment director at the Colorado Department of Education, and serving as the assistant director of client services for a national large-scale assessment company. In 1993, Dr. Haug was awarded with a program evaluation fellowship from the American Educational Research Association and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Haug is the author of articles on the validity of school accountability measures, standard-setting methodology, and appropriate statistical inferences published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Applied Measurement in Education, has delivered numerous presentations at national research conferences, and was presented with the 2006 American Educational Research Association Division D Award for Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement.
Julie Oxenford O'Brian, Ph.D. Candidate, is the director of the Center for Transforming Learning and Teaching (CTLT) at the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver). She is a Doctoral Candidate in the Educational Leadership and Innovation program at UC Denver and received her M.A. in Public Policy at Georgetown University. She has directed CTLT for ten years and has directed a number of multi-year, multi-million dollar grant projects with significant numbers of school district and higher educational institution participants focused on: using assessment to support learning, data-driven instructional practice, educational accountability, and technology integration. O'Brian was a state coordinator for the Education Commission of the States, an education policy research associate at the Urban Institute, and an education policy advisor to former Colorado Governor Roy Romer. She also teaches courses on educational assessment in the classroom at UC Denver. Her publications have included guides for educational policy makers on standards-based education, systemic reform and accountability as well as evaluation research for the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative, and the US Department of Education's implementation of the Improving America's Schools Act.
Hillary Mason is a Research Assistant for LEARN. She is a Graduate student at the University of Colorado Denver pursuing a degree in Environmental Science with a specialization in Environmental Science Education. Hillary has six years of experience teaching middle school science and is currently a lab instructor for the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. She is a lifelong learner and enjoys contributing to research in science education and assessment.
Erin Godfrey is a Project Coordinator for the "Developing and Evaluating Measures of Formative Assessment Practices" (DEMFAP) grant. She is a University of Colorado Denver Graduate student seeking a degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology. She moved to Colorado a year ago after graduating from San Diego State University in California. Erin's interest in education stems from a family of teachers who have implemented the value of a quality education. In working with the DEMFAP project she hopes to gain more knowledge about the assessment side of education and is very excited to delve head first in this project.
Kristin King is a PhD candidate and a research assistant for LEARN.
Renee Johnson is a student assistant and transcriptionist for LEARN. She is pursuing her bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Colorado Denver. She loves helping others and hopes to obtain a PhD in physics and become a college professor.
Major Grants and Contracts
2009-2010 Study of Reading Recovery and First Grade Literacy Instruction, Cherry Creek School District.
2009-2010 Study of the High School Literacy-across-the-Curriculum Professional Development Project, Cherry Creek School District.
2008-2011 Building a Methodology for Developing and Evaluating Instructionally Sensitive Assessments. National Science Foundation: $1,015,927.
2008-2010 Identifying Critical Characteristics of Effective Feedback Practices in Science and Mathematics Education. National Science Foundation: $259,327.
2008-2009 Development of the Evaluation Plan for the Program Hagamos Ciencia. Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT). Panamá: $199,496.
2006-2009 Undergraduate Science Course Innovations and Their Impact on Student Learning. National Science Foundation: $280,000.