Name: Mariah Harmon
Title: Assistant Professor of Education (Teacher Education)
Department: Curriculum and Instruction
Phone: 814-863-3286
Email: mth5601@psu.edu
Office address: 179 Chambers Building
Directory entry: https://ed.psu.edu/directory/dr-mariah-harmon
Mariah Harmon joined the College of Education at Penn State as an assistant professor of education (teacher education) after recently completing her doctorate in education with a specialization in teacher learning, justice and diversity in education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.
Her research interests are teacher learning, and understanding how teachers build inclusive and equitable classrooms.
“I am a qualitative researcher focusing on the developmental needs of Black women pre-service teachers,” Harmon said. “Specifically, I focus on strategies to create more inclusive learning environments in teacher education programs. As a former middle school English and language arts teacher, I was a product of an alternate route teacher education program. As a Black woman teacher candidate, I did not feel like my identity and experiences were acknowledged or uplifted to support my learning. My research centers Black women because it reflects my experience and provides a critical perspective challenging the white-centered status quo often found in various teacher education programs.”
In the College of Education at Penn State, Harmon feels as though she’s found an institution not only supportive of, but actively striving toward the same goals.
“At Penn State, I want to continue to grow as a critical scholar by collaborating with my new colleagues, learning with my students, and connecting with communities in and around State College,” Harmon said. “The College of Education, under the leadership of Dean Kim Lawless, is forging a new path to do things differently while being creative and critical. Penn State is a place where innovation and collaboration are encouraged and supported, so I feel that my work will be valued and uplifted.”
In the College of Education, Harmon wants to not only mold future teachers into quality educators, but also to actively work to make education equitable for all students.
“I approach teaching from a Black teacher tradition as outlined by Vanessa Siddle Walker’s work, where I believe that teachers should develop a relationship with the community, teachers should be committed to professional ideals, teachers should care about students and teachers should relate curriculum to students’ needs,” Harmon said.
Harmon is originally from Decatur, Georgia. She earned her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt and her master’s in education: curriculum and instruction from the University of Mississippi.
Her career in education began in Okolona, Mississippi, as a middle school English and language arts teacher down the hall from where her grandmother taught almost 60 years earlier. Most recently, she served as an instructional coach in the Indianapolis Public Schools.