Leadership
The team leader of the Hannah Chair, Barbara Schneider, is dedicated to bringing rigorous education research to all her research designs and investigations, including CAP, CESE, and ML-PBL.
Barbara Schneider
Barbara Schneider is the John A. Hannah University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education and the Department of Sociology. She uses a sociological lens to understand societal conditions and interpersonal interactions that create norms and values for enhancing human and social capital. Her research focuses on how the social contexts of schools and families influence the academic and social well-being of adolescents as they move into adulthood. In her career, Schneider has also played a significant role in the development of research methods for the real- time measurement of learning experiences. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Academy of Education, the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and, most recently, was elected to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. In 2017, she received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Helsinki. Schneider is the principal investigator of the College Ambition Program (CAP), a study that tests a model for promoting a STEM college-going culture in high schools that encourages adolescents to pursue STEM majors in college and in their careers. She is also the principal investigator of Crafting Engagement in Science Environments, an international high school study that tests the impact of Project Based Learning on student academic, social and emotional factors in science classes. Professor Schneider has published 15 books and more than 100 articles and reports on family, social contexts of schooling and sociology of knowledge.
Meet the team
Here at the Hannah Chair, we work together to bring innovative methodology and key insights to education research.
Sarah Maestrales
Sarah Maestrales is a Ph.D. student in Measurement and Quantitative Methods at Michigan State University. She has a B.S. in physics and a background in psychology and chemistry. Her research focuses on promoting equity through research design and adapting assessment to machine scoring. Sarah currently works as a data analyst and content expert for John A. Hannah University Distinguished Professor Barbara Schneider with Crafting Engaging Science Environments. She has previously worked with the Physics Education Research Lab at Michigan State University.
Lydia Bradford
Lydia Bradford is a second year PhD student at Michigan State University in Measurement and Quantitative Methods. She is the recipient of the Walker Hill Fellowship in Measurement and Evaluation and holds a John A. Hannah Chair research assistantship in the College of Education. She graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in Romance languages and Global Health with a minor in Economics in 2017. Before starting her doctorate, Lydia was a high school chemistry and economics teacher which has led her to an interest in science education; however, her main research interest lies in statistical modeling and analysis, research design, and causal inference. In the fall of 2019, Lydia began working on two separate science curriculum interventions, Crafting Engaging Science Environments and Multiple Literacies in Project Based Learning. In these projects, she has participated in data construction and data management as well as various statistical analysis of both the main treatment effects and other exploratory analysis.
Kayla Bartz
Kayla Bartz is a doctoral student in the Measurement and Quantitative Methods program at Michigan State. Her research interest includes test development and studying the psychometric properties of varying assessments and surveys.
I-Chien Chen
I-Chien works as a research associate in the College of Education at Michigan State University. Her work centers on how social contexts enhance social emotional learning, interests, and achievement.
Alumni
Rachel Marias Dezendorf
Rachel Marias Dezendorf earned her Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Rachel is currently an analyst at UC Berkeley's Academic Senate.
Nathan Jones
Nathan Jones earned his Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Nathan is currently an Associate Professor at Boston University.
Michael Broda
Michael Broda earned his Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Michael is currently an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Venessa Keesler
Venessa Keesler earned her Ph.D in Measurement and Quantitative Methods from Michigan State University. Venessa is currently a senior project director at AEM Corporation.
Justina Judy Spicer
Justina Judy Spicer earned her Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Justina is currently an educational research analyst and consultant.
Anna Katyn Chmielewski
Anna Katyn Chmielewski earned her Ph.D in Education from Stanford University. Anna is currently an associate professor at the University of Toronto.
Christopher Klager
Christoper Klager earned his Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Chris is currently a Research Associate the the Institute of Policy Research, STEPP.
Soobin Kim
Soobin Kim earned his Ph.D in Economics from Michigan State University. Soobin is currently a research scientist at Education Analytics.
Wei Li
Wei Li earned his Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Wei is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida.
Timothy Ford
Timothy Ford earned his Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Timothy is currently an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma.
Gregory Wallsworth
Gregory Wallsworth earned his Ph.D in Economics from Michigan State University. Gregory is currently a manager in talent insights modeling and evaluation at Amazon.
Kri Burkander
Kri Brukander earned his Ph.D in Educational Policy from Michigan State University. Kri is currently a senior research associate and Research for Action.
Join the team
If you are interested in joining the work here at the Office of the Hannah Chair, email Barbara Schneider at: bschneid@msu.edu with your cv and a brief letter explaining your interest.