UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State College of Education welcomed two new tenure-track faculty members into the community during the Fall 2023 semester, who brought with them a wealth of knowledge and experience in areas such as social justice, gender/sexuality studies and virtual reality technology. Additionally, new instructors with backgrounds in teaching, educational administration and adult literacy further added to the richness and diversity of the college.
Dylan Paré, assistant professor of learning, design and technology (LDT), said they aim to discover new angles on social issues, such as gender and sexuality, through the lens of cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) technology.
“I was attracted to the LDT program because I saw scholars engaging in critical perspectives in science and technology,” Paré said. “To be around people who are really pushing forward how we can look at learning and technology critically was really important to me.”
In addition to their faculty position, Paré is director of Queer Code, a design and research-based studio that designs, develops and researches new technologies, interactive art and storytelling with queer and trans experiences at the forefront. Paré co-designs virtual, immersive and interactive computational environments for learning about complex systems, computational thinking and technology design. Within this overarching research project, they research multi-agent systems’ design to demonstrate how interacting and reasoning with multi-agent simulations of gender and sexuality-based marginalization can help people understand gender and sexuality experiences as “complex, emergent, multi-level phenomena that involve dynamic interactions between individuals, groups and institutions.”
As a researcher and teacher, Paré said they aim to think critically about how we represent and support learning about equity issues within VR, artificial intelligence and other technologies.
“I think new technologies always impact society,” they said. “There is always push and pull because we want to push forward quickly with new technology. But how can we engage with these technologies responsibly?”
Another new faculty member who is pushing boundaries with social issues is Sarah Shrewsbury-Braxton, assistant professor of education (counselor education). She said she is inspired in her research and teaching by professional experiences that exposed her to social justice issues in education.
“The niche area I found is whiteness and critical white studies,” she said. “Often, we talk about race as something that’s 'other,' that’s separate from white people, when really the culture of whiteness perpetuates inequities and maintains these systems.”
Critical white studies (CWS) falls under the umbrella of critical race theory and seeks to examine the construction and moral implications of whiteness, in order to reveal and deconstruct its assumed links to white privilege and white supremacy. According to the National Museum of African American History & Culture, "whiteness" and white racialized identity refer to the way that white culture operates as the standard by which all other groups are compared. This area of study views white-dominant culture as a social mechanism that normalizes whiteness and marginalizes people of color. Although CWS emphasizes understanding white identity development and the culture of whiteness, Shrewsbury-Braxton said, its roots are in the writings of prominent scholars of color, particularly Black scholars like W.E.B. DuBois, Anna Julia Cooper and James Baldwin.
Practical benefits of Shrewsbury-Braxton’s research, she said, include:
- Culturally informed school counseling programs that value and incorporate the cultures of all students
- Training for teachers and school counselors that will counteract deficit thinking and help them to recognize systemic barriers for students of color (SOC)
- Improved educational spaces and increased opportunities for SOC (e.g. access to Advanced Placement courses and gifted/talented programs)
Shrewsbury-Braxton, who is teaching a school counseling internship class this fall, said she wants to expand her research in CWS in her new position.
“I’m really interested in applying that knowledge to counseling and education,” she said. “I want my work to critique and contribute to what we know about that so we can start to deconstruct it.”
For Susan Pritchard-Harris, who had a robust career in K-12 education, retirement led her to a new position as an instructor with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
“I was an elementary teacher and principal for the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District for 35 years,” she said. “I am excited to have the opportunity to continue supporting the profession in my new role as an elementary and early childhood supervisor in the College of Education. My goal is to build partnerships with the supporting school districts and provide experiences for our student teachers that will prepare them for rewarding careers in the field.”
For Julie Svendsen, an instructor in preservice student teaching in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, taking on a new position in the College of Education is coming full circle. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood/elementary education and a minor in psychology from Penn State in 1999, she taught elementary school in Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia, then earned a master’s in administration and supervision through George Mason University. She then became an assistant principal for seven years and a principal for another seven years. After working part-time in the College of Education for the 2022-23 academic year, Svendsen was officially offered a full-time faculty position “where I proudly continue to supervise student teachers and also instruct students in a section of CI295A, The Early Childhood Field Placement course.”
“I had one final goal for my professional career, and that was becoming a supervisor of student teachers at Penn State,” Svendsen said. “I want to be an example of experience in our field whom students can trust will provide them honest feedback, advice, support and guidance. I strive to develop in them a desire for collaboration, cooperation, positivity, problem-solving and innovation. Above all else, I hope to instill in them a desire to do what is best for their students in any given situation, even if it isn’t the easiest solution for us.”
Chrissie Klinger, a faculty member and workforce development director at the Institute of Adult Literacy (ISAL) in the College of Education, formerly workforce development specialist for the Institute of Adult Literacy (ISAL), stepped into a new role in the College of Education in fall 2023 in which she was able to build upon her background in adult literacy.
“I present at numerous state and national conferences and share research-based practices that improve literacy levels and career pathway opportunities for adult learners, including English language learners,” Klinger said.
In her previous role as workforce development specialist for ISAL, Klinger developed and provided professional development opportunities and technical assistance in the areas of career pathways, workforce preparation skills and student supportive services for adult education practitioners across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In Klinger’s current role at ISAL, she oversees two technical assistance projects which are funded through Pennsylvania Department of Education grants. Both projects are focused on providing support and training to adult education programs across the commonwealth in the areas of career pathways, workforce preparation skills, student supportive services, corrections education, reentry services and working effectively with workforce partners. In addition, Klinger serves as a board member for the National Coalition for Literacy.
“I’m excited about this change since it gives me an opportunity to use my expertise and experience in adult education in new way,” she said. “One goal in this new position is to bring more awareness to the promising practices that are happening in adult education and share those practices with the field.”