Research Team
Susan B. Neuman, Project Director
Professor, Educational Studies
Ready to Learn Program
Susan B. Neuman is a Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, specializing in early literacy development. She received her doctorate at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California in 1977, and her B.A. at American University. Susan is involved in a number of research projects all working to change the odds for children in poverty. Recent publications include Nurturing Knowledge: Building a foundation for school success by linking early literacy to math, science, art and social studies (with Kathy Roskos) (2007); and Reading to your young child: A parent's guide (with Tanya Wright) (2007).
sbneuman@umich.edu
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sbneuman/
Scott Paris, Professor
School of Education and the Department of Psychology
Scott G. Paris is a Professor of Education at the School of Education and a Professor of Psychology in the U-M College of Literature, Science and the Arts. His research interests focus on the development of children's learning, motivation, reading, cognitive strategies, and metacognition. He works with teachers to use student-centered kinds of instruction and assessment to foster students' learning. Professor Paris has twice received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, as well as the University of Michigan Amoco Foundation Faculty Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Combined Program in Education & Psychology since 1979 and Chair of the Psychology Graduate Program since 2001. Professor Paris received his PhD from Indiana University and has been a Visiting Professor at universities in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Additional information: http://sitemaker.soe.umich.edu/soe/faculty&mode=single&recordID=50911
Ellen Hamilton,
Research Partner
Ellen Hamilton serves as a postdoctoral fellow for the Ready to Learn research program. Ellen received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2007. Her research has focused on understanding early language predictors of later reading ability and disability in English and Mandarin-speaking children.
Christine Meyer
Graduate Student Research Assistant
Christine Meyer is a doctoral student in the Language, Literacy and Culture program at the School of Education, University of Michigan. She received her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Michigan University and her B.S. in Special Education. She was an early childhood special education teacher in Michigan and New York before returning to continue her education. Her research interests include early childhood language and literacy acquisition with a primary focus on children with special needs and children in poverty.
Allison Wein
Research Associate
Allison Wein currently teaches kindergarten in the Ann Arbor area, and contributes her expertise in curriculum development to the Ready to Learn program. She received her B.A. from Cornell University in ____ and her MAT from Johns Hopkins in ____. Her research interests include early childhood literacy, specifically in disadvantaged populations.
Jenny DeMonte
Research Partner
Jenny DeMonte will complete her doctorate in Foundations, Administration,Research, and Policy at the University of Michigan. As an expert in research design and advanced analytic techniques, she provides consultation to the Ready to Learn project. For the past five years, she has worked on The Study of Instructional Improvement (SII), a large-scale research project focusing on efforts to improve schools, and the schools' responses to those efforts. Her dissertation uses data from SII in a mixed-methods study that explores what type of language arts instruction accelerates reading achievement among disadvantaged fourth graders.
Jeanne Friedel
Research Partner
Jeanne Friedel received her doctorate in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2006. She served as project manager for the Ready to Read program until January of 2008, and is currently on maternity leave. Her research has focused on the development of achievement motivation across school transitions, as well as family support for motivation in early and middle childhood.
Most recently, she has begun to explore the impact of teacher motivation on outcomes related to continuing education via Project Great Start. In addition, Jeanne has collaborated with colleagues in the study of methodological issues in the assessment of motivation-related outcomes.
jfriedel@umich.edu
Jeanne Friedel CV (jfriedelcv.pdf)
Ready to Learn