Tyler Christensen is a PhD Candidate in the Learning Sciences program at Indiana University. His minor is in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA). He has a BS in Sociology from Brigham Young University (2004) and a M.Ed in Educational Technology from the University of Hartford (2006). His work with Dr. Melissa Gresalfi focuses on teacher professional development, specifically on how graduate teaching assistants can use collaborative reflection to become more intentional and effective in their instruction. Tyler loves to teach and has taught several different courses at IU-B and IUPUC. He is currently a graduate assistant and consultant at the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

Rosh is a second year Ph.d Student in the Learning Sciences Program at Indiana University.  His adviser is Dr. Ken Hay.  He has a B.A. in Computer Science and Anthropology, and is interested in using that background in his work within Learning Sciences.  Currently he is working on a Math curriculum based project in Quest Atlantis headed by Dr. Hay.

Currently: I am finishing up a Quest Atlantis world called Fireworks, which allows students to interact with math through a profession.  Also, I am working on a review of the Journal of Learning Sciences, in order to develop my understanding of Learning Science as a field today as well as the development of field over the past 2 decades.

I hold a B.A. in Psychology from Purdue University and a minor in Music from Indiana University. I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in Learning Sciences working on my dissertation. Working closely with Dr. Kylie Peppler and the Creativity Labs at IU, my interests include how children learn, engage, collaborate and what motivates them to participate in music via technological sources such as video/computer games (i.e. Rock Band/Guitar Hero) and production tools (i.e. GarageBand, Reason, Finale, etc.). I am particularly interested in how young children use their intuitions to solve problems in computer supported collaborative environments.

Currently: Working on my dissertation along with other things, but the dissertation is taking up all my time. To see all presentations and publication, you can visit http://michaeldownton.com.

Tom Fennewald is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Learning Sciences and Inquiry Methodology programs at Indiana University.  He is mentored by Dr. Richard Lesh and Dr. Phil Carspecken.  Tom creates assessment and inquiry tools designed to reveal details about the learning process important to understand if true revision of curriculum is to become possible.  His studies of knowledge emergence involve learners from first graders to graduate students in domains such as statistics, complex systems, civics, social issues, teaching, and educational psychology.

Thea Freygang holds a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Evansville and a Masters in Educational Psychology with a focus in Learning Sciences from Indiana University. She is currently a sixth year Ph.D. student in the Learning Sciences program at Indiana University. She is working with Dr. Joyce Alexander and Kathy E. Johnson (chair of Psychology IUPUI) exploring formal and informal learning environments effect on how young children understand animals, their needs and human impact. Thea is also interested in understanding how ecological study abroad opportunities impact the trajectory toward conservation related beliefs and activities. Thea is currently teaching courses in the School of Education at IUPUI for her second year following four years of working as an associate instructor at IUB.

Email: leogordo(at)indiana.edu
Website: http://pedagogiclogic.wetpaint.com .
Blog: http://therelentless-pursuit.blogspot.com

Education:

• MA: Learning Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (June 2010)
• B.A.: English Language & Literature (Pre-Med), The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (2007)
• Certification Secondary Ed. (English Language Arts), National-Louis University, Chicago, IL (2009)

The 2011-2012 school year marks my second year as a Learning Sciences(LS) PhD student here at Indiana My interest in the Learning Sciences stem from my firsthand experience as a Secondary English Language Arts(ELA) and Integrative Science Instructor in Chicago at Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men (Click here to see pics of my old classroom! http://tiny.cc/j6ttj ). My decision to journey into the LS field occurred during my service as a Teach for America Corps member, where I fell in love with teaching. Overtime, I became what I like to call an "educational engineer", where I carefully, methodically, obsessively, and iteratively designed interventions to improve my students' learning in my classroom and . Excelling at my craft, I eventually began leading and designing professional development for my school's staff as well as creating/designing a majority of curricular tools for the ELA department (which I served as freshman content lead).

I maintained ties with Urban Prep as an educational consultant and coach while joining the Learning Sciences program at Northwestern University in 2009 as a Masters Student. During this time, my foundation in the Learning Sciences took shape in the form of the following interests: socio-cultural learning theory (esp. culturally relevant pedagogy), technological tools for thinking and learning, and educational leadership and technology integration in urban contexts.

My current research interests in the Learning Sciences are seeking/developing/utilizing technology, best practices, and methods that empower teachers and schools in under-served contexts. I am especially interested in discovering ways that technology can help build/shape a class culture that fosters the development of self-directed learners. My current work with Dr. Gresalfi focuses on examining the role that technology can perhaps play in fostering systems thinking practices for middle school students.

Aaron Haltom is a second year Ph.D. student in the Learning Sciences program at Indiana University. He holds a Bachelor's in Psychology from Franklin College and he is minoring in Cognitive Science.  He is working with Dr. Nathaniel Brown on the topic of Embodied Cognition.  His research interests are interaction analysis, discourse analysis, concept formation, theories of difficulty, embodied cognition, and neuroscience

Currently: Doing a bunch of coursework, developing a wiki database of Embodied Cognition resources, and writing a review article on that lit. review

Education:

• M.A. Ed., Education and Secondary Teaching Credential, Pepperdine University's
• Graduate School of Education and Psychology
• B.A., Theatre Directing, Pepperdine University
• A.A., Dance, Moorpark College
• A.A., Liberal Arts, Moorpark COllege

Rebecca taught AP and Honors English, coached the county and state recognized Mock Trial and Forensics (speech and debate, not dead bodies) Teams, and was the AP Department chair at Simi Valley High School in California. Her interests include designing engaging curriculum using 21st Century skills and technologies, and improving gifted education and student achievement. She and her husband wrote and illustrated the children's book A Boy, A Dog and Persnickety Log and love to ballroom Dance - they even sang down the aisle on 8-9-10! In addition to her interest and work in education, Rebecca is a dancer, circus acrobat, avid knitter, and has conducted research on students with Tourette's Syndrome at the City of Hope Medical Genetics lab in Duarte, California.

Email: jenmcwil@indiana.edu
Blog: making edible playdough is hegemonic: notes toward resistance. http://jennamcwilliams.com.
Blog: HASTAC blog.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jennamcjenna

Education:

• MFA: Creative Writing (Poetry Emphasis), Colorado State University (May 2005)
• B.A.: English, Grand Valley State University (1999)

Jenna McWilliams is a third-year doctoral student in the Learning Sciences program, where her current work focuses on critical approaches to supporting the needs of marginalized learners in the secondary English classroom. Her recent research has focused on addressing class-based disparities in formal learning environments and extends into a consideration of equity issues in online learning communities. Previously, Jenna worked at Project New Media Literacies as a researcher and curriculum specialist; prior to that work, she has also worked as a college English instructor, a newspaper reporter, a community activist, and a groundskeeper.

Educational:

• B.S. Cross-Cultural Educational Ministries, Huntington University (May 2001)

Patrick Pettyjohn is a third year Ph.D. student in Learning Sciences program at Indiana University. He is interested in developing a means of understanding how people perceive opportunities for action, which he seeks to apply to areas of education, leadership development, strategic change management, and philanthropy. My current work involves designing and researching how multi-user virtual learning environments can be used as reflective tools which communicate one’s academic understanding while simultaneously allowing the player to experience the consequences of their choices and ethical beliefs. His current research interests have been strongly influenced by his undergraduate degree in educational ministries from Huntington University, and previous work domestic & cross-cultural roles leading in various mentoring nonprofit organizations and as a personal & team performance consultant.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AwesomeTown78 | Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/patrick-pettyjohn/26/374/770

Email: asmsaleh(at)indiana.edu
Education:

• M.Soc.Sc: Sociology, National University of Singapore
• B.Soc.Sc: Sociology, National University of Singapore

Asmalina (Lina) Saleh entered the Learning Sciences in order to advocate play-based, (in)formal and equitable learning. In particular, she is interested in how play in informal settings leads to learning, and how it might increase science learning and critical thinking among young children. Trained in Sociology, she is heavily influenced by critical theory and the German philosophical tradition. Her previous research includes ethnographic work with displaced islanders, prison inmates and welfare recipients in Singapore. Given her interest in play, Lina has designed casual games for an independent game design company and implemented educational games in classrooms, including incorporating process drama into game-based curricula. She has also worked on the Quest Atlantis project, and was the project lead and main designer for a genetics curriculum designed for 4th graders called Drakos. She was also on the design team for Playable Fictions and River of Justice (a videogame that presents Uganda's experience with the Lord's Resistance Army), which resulted in several co-authored pieces. She is currently working on expanding the BeeSign curriculum into different settings and analyzing children’s representational practices from an activity theory framework.

Education: Graduated Magna Cum Laud from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2004 with a concentration in Integral Approaches to Understanding the Mind.

Rafi Santo is a researcher, educator, designer and activist currently pursuing his PhD in Learning Sciences at Indiana University. His research and professional interests focus on the intersection of new media, educational design, interest driven learning, and online community, with a particular eye towards how to leverage these areas to create greater equity and democratization in society. He specializes in the design and implementation of educational technology projects and has headed projects as varied as online youth dialogues, design-based curricula that foster systems thinking, social media civic engagement programs and youth leadership development in virtual worlds. Rafi has collaborated with diverse organizations including The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, UNICEF, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Mozilla Drumbeat initiative and has worked with MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning grantees to strengthen their initiatives through youth voices and perspectives. He has consulted with foundations, community groups, NGOs and educators to think about how they can add value to their work through meaningful integration of digital media and has over 10 years of experience in youth development and education.

Prior to starting his doctoral work at Indiana University, Rafi was a Senior Program Associate at Global Kids. In his current work he is designing and researching youth experiences that utilize digital tools and learning environments such as Gamestar Mechanic, Scratch and the Lilypad Arduino to develop systems thinking in the MacArthur Foundation funded Grinding New Lenses Project. In his work on Hacker Literacy, Rafi is exploring the ways that people empower themselves in relation to the technologies they use, with special attention to critical engagement in sociotechnical spaces such as social networks, virtual worlds and online communities. Additionally, in his work on the 21st Century Teacher Training project, he is studying how exposing pre-service teachers to informal educational spaces and youth driven technological engagement changes exposes them to youth driven 21st century learning practices.

Maria is a doctoral student in the Department of Learning Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington, working with advisor Dr. Sasha Barab and the Quest Atlantis group. She holds a B.A in Teacher Education from the University of Cyprus and an MSc in Education, Technology and Society from the University of Bristol, U.K., majoring in commercial computer games in education. Her research interests lie in digital production and consumption of media within gaming environments and through narratives. She is interested in the ways that identities are transformed through interactions in gaming contexts, both commercial and educational, virtual and in real life, as well as in the ways that in-game instruction enhances meaningful learning. She seeks to decompose practice in order to understand and advance instructional designs for learning. For that, she is working on a framework about sourcing learning, which informs instructional and educational practices, where instructors and trainers can create meaningful learning trajectories for training their employees (corporate settings) and facilitating learners (educational settings).

Maria's latest work focuses on creativity in virtual environments, as it is shaped through collaborative practices and as influenced by the community. Adopting a systems-based, holistic approach, she investigates ways the field takes up individual choices as being creative as well as the transactive relationship between the individual, the field and the domain, as they inform and push each other towards creativity.