People

Dr. David Weintrop is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland with a joint appointment in the Teaching & Learning, Policy & Leadership (TLPL) department in the College of Education and the College of Information Studies (Maryland’s iSchool).

David’s research seeks to understand how best to support learners in developing meaningful understandings of computational ideas and positive attitudes towards computing. This includes looking at ways to make computer programming more intuitive, accessible and enjoyable as well as research investigating ways to integrate computational thinking into diverse learning contexts.

Dr. Janet Walkoe is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland in the Teaching & Learning, Policy & Leadership (TLPL) department in the College of Education. A learning scientist and mathematics educator, she earned her Doctorate from Northwestern University in the Learning Sciences in 2013. She also holds an MS in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a BA in Mathematics from the University of Chicago. Before enrolling in graduate school, Janet taught high school mathematics (from 1996-2006), earning National Board Certification in 2003.

Janet's research interests include teacher noticing/ teacher responsiveness in the mathematics classroom. In particular, she is interested in how teachers attend to and make sense of student thinking and other student resources including but not limited to student dispositions and students' ways of communicating mathematics.

Andy Elby is a science education researcher who has become interested in what it might look like to integrate computational thinking into science and mathematics lessons. He focuses on fine-grained analysis of student discourse.

Margaret is a doctoral student in the Center for Math Education at the University of Maryland. Her interest in the Sphero.Math project relates to how teachers learn about computational thinking and how they think about integrating CT into their classrooms. Margaret's contributions to the project include working on curriculum, doing data collection in schools and helping to write papers with other group members.

Janet Bih is a doctoral student in the Technology, Learning, and Leadership program at the University of Maryland. She has a strong interest in the learning sciences and technology design. Her current research is primarily concerned with STEM and Computational Thinking in K-12 education, helping to design tools and environments that can support the integration of interdisciplinary learning in STEM contexts, develop computational thinking skills as well as collaborative, cognitive and creative skills in learners. Her broader interests are around the design and development of activities and tools to support hands on constructionist learning in formal and informal learning spaces. Her main focus is in the areas of electronics, robotics and artificial intelligence, curriculum design and culturally responsive learning tools.

Peter is a doctoral student in the Center for Math Education at the University of Maryland. A former math & programming teacher, he's interested in how students express STEM understanding in multimodal ways and how computational thinking can inspire greater mathematical understanding. Among other work on the project, he designed the Sphero.Math website!

Madison Kantzer is the Computer Science Specialist at District of Columbia Public Schools and has been with the Sphero.Math project since February 2020. Madison has a Masters in Social Studies Teaching and Learning from Columbia University, Teachers and six years of teaching experience.

Cathy Moessner has been a teacher at Powell Elementary School for 18 years. She currently teaches mathematics to students in 4th and 5th grade and was able to begin the Sphero.math project with 4th graders last year. Additionally, Cathy coaches the school's FIRST robotics team - Go, Robotic Panthers!

Elijah Duncan brings to the project his passion for classroom instruction and developing teaching professionals. He has a career spanning 20 years of teaching, curriculum design, and professional development leadership. In the past 6 years, he has been working as an Instructional Coach for DC Public Schools. Before this, he worked as an Elementary Educator and Mentor Teacher in the United Arab Emirates and Chattanooga, TN. He is uniquely equipped to guide teachers in structures and routines that make a long-term positive impact on student motivation and their ability to learn. Reading and Writing Workshop, Project-Based Learning, Computer Science and Instructional Technology have been consistent passions and leadership opportunities that have inspired his professional growth. His graduate-level work has distinctively prepared him to contribute to the areas of curriculum writing, educational media design, and instructional technology. Through this work, he hopes to inspire a new generation of learners and educators.