Complexity Theories in Education SIG Chair Dr. Joanna Garner is a Research Associate Professor and the Executive Director of The Center for Educational Partnerships at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Her work takes place in formal and informal learning settings including schools and museums, and involves collaborations with researchers, practitioners, and state and federal educational entities. Dr. Garner’s scholarship and partnership development has focused on the design, implementation and evaluation of professional development and educational interventions pertaining to teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Her current research emphasizes the application of complex dynamic systems to identity development in educational and organizational settings. She has also conducted research using quantitative nonlinear analytical techniques to examine the dynamics of self-regulated learning.
Dr. Garner has been an active member of the American Educational Research Association since joining as a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at Penn State University more than two decades ago and has been a Complexity Theories in Education SIG member for almost ten years. As SIG Chair, Dr. Garner is keen to support the community of scholars who are conducting complexity informed research in education.
Dr. Garner has been an active member of the American Educational Research Association since joining as a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at Penn State University more than two decades ago and has been a Complexity Theories in Education SIG member for almost ten years. As SIG Chair, Dr. Garner is keen to support the community of scholars who are conducting complexity informed research in education.
Serina A. Cinnamon
SIG Secretary/Treasurer
UNC Pembroke
Serina.Cinnamon@uncp.edu
Dr. Heather P. Williams is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for Executive Educational Leadership at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. Williams transitioned to higher education in 2014 after spending over twenty years as a teacher, curriculum director, principal, superintendent, and school improvement consultant in primarily rural and low socio-economic PK-12 school systems. Her work focuses on policy implementation, system improvement, and networks for supporting leaders and learners – especially those from marginalized and underserved populations, particularly in rural communities. Dr. Williams’s teaching and research focus on preparing and supporting school system leaders with the knowledge and capacity to navigate complex educational issues and systems. Her research involves understanding complex adaptive leadership and sense-making related to events in the leadership journey.
Heather’s background in teaching prior to her work in administration was in the sciences (biology) so the traditional theories of leadership just never made complete sense to her, until she started learning about complexity theories several years ago. Dr. Williams is excited to be part of this growing field of scholarship.
Heather’s background in teaching prior to her work in administration was in the sciences (biology) so the traditional theories of leadership just never made complete sense to her, until she started learning about complexity theories several years ago. Dr. Williams is excited to be part of this growing field of scholarship.
Chessa Adsit- Morris
Senior Graduate Student Representative
UC Santa Cruz
cadsitmo@ucsc.edu
David Waller is a PhD student in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. His research focuses on understanding engineering student experiences from a complexity paradigm. He is interested in how network-based methods can be used to study complex educational systems and how these methods can inform data-driven decision making. Prior to starting his PhD, David completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering and his Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering in Canada.