2021-22 GTE Fellows

 Comfort Ateh holds a BS in Natural Sciences from the University of Yaoundé Cameroon and an ‘Ingenieur Agronome’ diploma from ‘Ecole Normal Superieur d’Agriculture’ Cameroon. Comfort worked as an agronomist in a USAID funded project in the Republic of Cameroon, Africa before pursuing graduate school in the USA graduating from the University of Wisconsin Madison (MS and PhD Agronomy) followed by a postdoctoral position at University of California Davis before switching career to education, graduating from University of California Davis in 2011 (PhD Science Education). Comfort is currently an Associate Professor in the Secondary Education Program in Providence College, Rhode Island, teaching courses in Educational Measurement, Methods, Urban Education, and Classroom Management. She supervises teacher candidates in clinical experiences and students taking independent courses. Comfort believes in a system’s approach in confronting global problems and implements the framework in her scholarly work that focuses on assessment and specifically on critical components of formative assessment towards an effective model of teaching and learning that enhance success for especially historically marginalized students. Her first book, 'Science Teacher's Voices: Elicitation Practices and Insight on Formative Assessment' focused on one component of formative assessment: eliciting knowledge. She is currently exploring social justice relevant components. Comfort will revise the Educational Measurement Course, EDU 401, which is a mandatory course for all students in all content areas in the secondary education program. The course focuses on assessment. Fall 2021. Darla Deardorff, Duke University, is Ateh’s mentor.

Kevin D. Cordi is an Assistant Professor and Middle Childhood Program Coordinator for Ohio University’s Lancaster Campus.  He earned his doctoral degree in Drama, Culture, Literacy and Language with a special emphasis on storytelling and education from The Ohio State University.  Dr. Cordi teaches coursework in middle childhood education, adolescent and children’s literature, and literacy development.   In addition to being a university professor, he is and has been a national/international consultant the art and practice of using stories and storytelling to make meaning.  He served as the first ever “Academic Storytelling in Residence” for the Multicultural Center at The Ohio State University.  He most recently served on the National Advisory Board for Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance).  He has edited and sent for review a book entitled Social Action Stories: Impact Tales for the School and Community. His most recent work You Don’t Know Jack: A Storyteller Goes to School (University of Mississippi Press, 20219) explores how his teacher and Appalachian identity works when using story for learning.   He has presented in over 45 states, England, Japan, Canada, Scotland, and Qatar. The course that he will revise and teach is EDMC 3210 Children’s Literature for Middle Childhood in spring 2022. Kathy Short, University of Arizona, serves as Kevin’s mentor.

Jeremy Hilburn is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Jeremy holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.  He teaches a range of courses in the Middle Grades program – social studies methods, diverse learners, and field-based courses. He is also program coordinator for the Middle Grades MAT.  Jeremy’s research pursuits fall into several interconnected strands, broadly related to immigration and social studies education.  His current line of inquiry is examining the influences that affect how teachers conceptualize and teach immigration and immigrant youth.  A second strand relates to the spatial dimension of citizenship education; specifically, the ways teachers conceptualize and teach civic action at the local, national, and global levels. During Fall 2021, he will revise an initial licensure course called EDN 335: Social Studies Methods.  Students enrolled in this course are progressing towards a BA or an MAT in Middle Grades Education and a NC teaching license in Middle Grades Social Studies. Brad Maguth, University of Akron, serves as Jeremy’s mentor.

Jennifer Mahon, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Secondary Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Nevada, Reno.  She specializes in intercultural education, the development of intercultural sensitivity, and critical perspectives on international education.  A major focus of her work has been the internationalization of the teaching profession, especially in regard to overseas student teaching, international professional development, and systemic barriers within teacher education. She teaches courses on diversity and global issues, family engagement, and critical pedagogy. Dr. Mahon directs UNR’s work with the Fulbright Teaching Excellence Achievement Program, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and administered by IREX. She is the co-developer, along with Dr. Kenneth Cushner, of the revised Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity. Dr. Mahon is an elected Fellow of the International Academy for Intercultural Research.  She has a double-major Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction and Cultural Foundations of Education from Kent State University. She has worked in international schools in Australia, England and Costa Rica. During her time in the Longview Fellowship, Dr. Mahon will work on the course entitled Education in a Changing World in Spring 2022. Lynn Paine, Michigan State University, serves as Jennifer’s mentor.

Florin D. Salajan received his Doctor of Education degree in International Educational Development in 2007 from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is currently Professor in the School of Education at North Dakota State University, where he has been teaching a range of undergraduate and graduate courses in the Teacher Education, and Educational and Organizational Leadership programs. His areas of research interests include Comparative and International Education, European higher education, European educational policy analysis, teacher education in comparative perspective, comparative e-learning, and information and communication technology in teaching and learning. As part of his interest in internationalizing teacher education, he has recently designed a course on comparative international perspectives in teacher education in which teacher candidates examine the teaching profession and teacher preparation systems across the world. His current research work in teacher education consists of comparative studies on pre-service teacher preparation programs in Romania and the United States, and on transition to teaching in the United States, Romania and Israel. His scholarship has been published in the Comparative Education Review, Compare, European Journal of Education, European Educational Research Journal, European Journal of Higher Education, Educational Policy and Teacher Educator. In fall 2021 Florin will revise EDUC 451/651: Instructional Planning, Methods and Assessment. This is a cross-listed core course in Teacher Education for both undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates seeking initial licensure. He wants to revise this course to set the bar for and to encourage embedding international and global perspectives in all our teacher education courses. Mary Curran, Rutgers University, serves as Florin’s mentor.

Kristofor Wiley is an Associate Professor in Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities at James Madison University. Wiley earned his Ph.D. in Education at the University of Virginia, with dissertation work in gifted education. He currently teaches foundations and diversity coursework for pre-service teachers, and he directs the K-12 gifted endorsement program. Wiley also serves as the global engagement liaison for the College of Education, coordinating international programs (study away, virtual exchange, and research) to help grow intercultural competence in pre-service teachers. His current scholarship surrounds the relationship between facilitated intercultural experience and teacher practice, with a second line in the cultural and diversity implications of advanced academics. Before earning his doctorate, he taught for six years in a full-time program for middle school students identified as gifted. Kris is an Eagle Scout and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Ukraine), and he lives with his wife and two daughters in Harrisonburg, VA. In the fall, he will be teaching EDUC 200, Foundations of U.S. Education. The course is mandatory for almost all licensure candidates, and the section will include elementary, secondary, and special education candidates. A global perspective on history, philosophy, legal issues, and institutional structure is very powerful. He also intends to carry his learning into a spring section of EDUC 310, Teaching in a Diverse Society. This course relies heavily on introspection and revelation of the student’s cultural positionality, essential as a first step for understanding the positionalities of future students. Sandra Schneider, Radford University, serves as Kristofor’s mentor.

Chia-Jung (Ruby) Yeh, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, College of Health and Human Performance at East Carolina University (ECU). Earlier she worked as a preschool and Kindergarten teacher, language assessment evaluator, and researcher before pursuing her doctoral degree. She holds a Ph.D. in Child Development and Early Education from Texas Woman's University. Dr. Yeh teaches early childhood curriculum courses including infant to Kindergarten in the areas of child development, early math, science, and social studies. Earlier she received an award for working on an international Virtual Exchange Project with four other international partners from three institutions in two countries to make internationalization accessible for students enrolled in her Global Perspectives in Early Care and Education course. Her research interests include creative teaching strategies of mathematics, science education, early childhood education, globalization, and multicultural education. She will be modifying the course HDFS 3321 Infant and Toddler Curriculum [Licensure area: Birth-Kindergarten (B-K)] during spring 2022. It is one of the foundation courses for other BK methods and curriculum courses in her campus. Mary McMullen, Indiana University Bloomington, serves as Ruby’s mentor.