Mary Ann Tobin, PhD
Instructional Consultant
Assessment Specialist
Higher Education Professional
About Me
I collaborate with higher ed faculty, instructional designers, and administrators to develop curriculum, instruction, assessments, and policies that reduce barriers to student learning.
Student engagement
Evidence-based instruction
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Learning assessment
Class, course, and program assessment
Outcomes-based course design & curriculum development
In-person, online, hybrid, and mixed-mode course design
Faculty development
I also write and speak about the works of Charles Dickens, other 19th-century British authors, neo-Victorian pop culture, and teaching English composition and literature courses.
Education
Ph.D. English Literature
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature
M. A. English Literature
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature
B. A. English Literature and Classical Civilizations
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
A. S. B. Fashion Merchandising
Duff’s Business Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Higher Education Experience and Scholarship
Highlights
Tobin, M. A. & Tobin, T. J. “Practical Strategies for Universal Design for Learning in Ukraine.” Virtual Service Pilot UKR1041: Support Teacher Skills in Digital Tools & Online Teaching. Peace Corps. June 15, 2023.
“All in Good Time: Strategies for Making the Most of Each Minute.” (2022). Educators Forum, Certified Medical Assistant Today.
“Teach to Reach with Mary Ann Tobin.” (2021). ThinkUDL Podcast.
“Student Disability Resources Survey Report: Spring 2021.” (2021).
“A Mystery Unto Itself: Drood in Matthew Pearl’s The Last Dickens.” (2021). Dickens Society Virtual Symposium.
“Teaching for Deep Learning with Universal Design for Learning (UDL).” (2021). Modern Language Association Annual Convention.
A Guide to Item Analysis. (2018).
“Curriculum is the Key to Faculty-Driven Assessment.” (2015). Assessment Institute.
“300 Ways to Teach the Epic.” (2012). Teaching Comics and Graphic Narratives: Essays on Theory, Strategy and Practice.
“From Sham to ‘Gentle Christian Man’ in Great Expectations.” Ed. Eugene Goodheart. (2009). Great Expectations. Critical Insights.
“Dickens, Poe and the International Copyright Battle.” (2002). The Dickensian.
Teaching and Learning
Associate Research Professor & Instructional Consultant
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
The Pennsylvania State University
Director of Teaching and Learning
Instructor, Department of English
Triton College, River Grove, IL
Instructor
Department of English
School of Leadership and Professional Advancement
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Instructor
Department of English
Community College of Allegheny County, South Campus, West Mifflin, PA
Service
Penn State
Accessibility Learning Path Committee
Committee on Curricular Affairs
Student Engagement Network Assessment Work Group
Student Engagement Network Engagement Coach
Universal Design for Learning Team
Professional
Conference Team. 2022 UDLHE Digicon.
Job Clinic Mentor. Northeast Modern Language Association.
Planning Committee. 2014 - 2016 Illinois Community Colleges Assessment Fair.
Planning Committee. 2014 Annual International Dickens Fellowship Conference.
Professional Memberships
Dickens Society
International Dickens Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA, Branch #97
Modern Language Association
Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education
Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education Network
Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network
