Faculty

Kirsten Abel is a former K-5 classroom teacher, mentor, and literacy coach. Dr. Abel shares her experience working with students and teachers by providing preservice teachers with instructional strategies on classroom management and student engagement using elements of The Responsive Classroom approach. Her focus also includes guiding teacher candidates in designing quality and equitable instruction […]

Dr. Daniel Alston joins us from the College of Education at Clemson University. Daniel is passionate about developing pre-service and in-service teachers and seeks to increase their excitement about teaching science through inquiry-based instruction. He is also interested in how emotions and personality influence teachers’ professional growth. Research Interests: Inquiry-based Instruction Science Teacher Professional Development […]

Dr. Ian C. Binns is an Assistant Professor in elementary science education and Director of the Elementary Education Undergraduate Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He teaches undergraduate elementary science methods courses. His research interests focus on teachers’ and students’ understandings of science with attention on the nature of science, scientific inquiry, […]

Faculty Website Dr. Erik Jon Byker is an Professor in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Erik has a Ph.D. Degree in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University and holds a M.Ed. Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia. His […]

Kelly B. Cartwright, Ph.D. is the inaugural Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Child Literacy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she directs the READ Lab (Reading, Executive function, And Development Lab); serves as Co-Coordinator for the PhD concentration in Literacy Research, Policy, and Practice; serves on the Executive Committee for the Mebane […]

Dr. Anne H. Cash is an Associate Professor in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She teaches courses for teacher candidates on child development and building effective contexts for student learning. Research Interests: Social and instructional interactions among teachers and students are fundamental to students’ learning […]

Profile Dr. Madelyn W. Colonnese is an assistant professor in the Reading and Elementary Education Department. She teachers undergraduate elementary education courses and graduate courses in mathematics education. Her research focuses on mathematical writing. Students are often encouraged to write in mathematics class however, this writing does not always engage students in writing to advance […]

Dr. Karen B. Cross is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Reading and Elementary Education Dept. She also serves as the Director of the Graduate Certificate Program for Elementary Education. Dr. Cross instructs courses in the department that focus on lesson planning, instructional delivery, meeting the needs of diverse learners, assessment and classroom management. In […]

Miranda S. Fitzgerald is an Assistant Professor in the department of Reading and Elementary Education. Prior to completing her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, Dr. Fitzgerald was a middle school special education teacher in Central Kentucky, where she taught English language arts and reading intervention courses, and collaboratively taught with content area teachers across […]