LSAP Students

Sam Abramovich graduated from Brandeis University with a Bachelors in Politics and received his Masters in Teaching from the University of Virginia. Prior to enrolling in the LSAP program, he researched the educational potential of video games and taught classes for the Center for Technology in Education at Johns Hopkins University. Before devoting himself to a career in education he worked at several dot-com’s specializing in security software. With their move to Pittsburgh, Sam and his wife wonder how long before their daughter learns Pittsburghese.

Lisa Brahms comes to Pittsburgh by way of Brooklyn, New York, where she had been living, learning and teaching for the past six years. Lisa has worked in both formal and informal learning environments.  Just prior to joining the LSAP program, Lisa taught fourth grade. Before diving into the classroom, she had worked in the field of museum education and exhibition development in various museums throughout New York City. Lisa earned her B.A. in Religion and Jewish Studies from Vassar College, and holds a M.S.Ed. from Bank Street Graduate School of Education in Museum and Childhood Education. Lisa is thrilled to be working within the established research and practice of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE).  Lisa’s research explores the role of the imagination as an intrinsic motivator of museum-based learning during middle childhood, and the ways in which a deeper understanding of the imagination’s potential can inform the field of exhibition development in museums.

Laura Bray graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 with a B.A. in English. She recently received her M.A. in Education from Chestnut Hill College.  While at Chestnut Hill College, Laura completed a thesis entitled, "The Silent Majority:  Reclaiming the Voice of Teachers Lost in Macro-Educational Reform of Special Education Policy", which examines the role of teachers in special education reform.   In 2005, Laura was accepted into the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows, and spent two years teaching special education in the Philadelphia School District.   During this past year, Laura taught special education science at Bensalem High School.  Laura will be working with Dr. Jennifer Russell and hopes to further examine best teaching practices in special education, especially the implications of IDEIA and NCLB on special education and the policy-to-practice disconnect in special education reform.  Aside from her studies, Laura is an avid reader, writer, passionate activist and horse enthusiast.

Benny Cooper graduated from Wake Forest University in 2008 with a B.A. in Sociology. Upon graduating from WFU, Benny taught special education in New York City at the Bronx High School for Law and Community Service. Benny is firmly committed to bringing authentic equity across the educational system. Benny is currently working with Dr. Louis Gomez to develop a multi-dimensional community school model that utilizes both community and school resources to achieve better outcomes for all learners. In his spare time, Benny enjoys reading, blogging, volunteering, and cheering on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

David Frank originally comes from New York City and has a BS in psychology and MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. David has worked on various longitudinal studies investigating contextual factors of child development including school and teacher effects on child outcomes as well as a project evaluating the implementation of a data-driven effort to increase student achievement in participant districts by providing access to and training on educational software that connects student information, curriculum and instruction. David is currently working with Professor Richard Correnti on a project collecting educational indicators to measure the health of the region’s schools, evaluating a web-based mathematics resource for teachers and students, and examining the results of a quasi-experimental research project investigating the efficacy of three school improvement efforts.

Zahid Kisa received his B.S. from Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey) in Primary Mathematics Education and M.A. from Bogazici University in Educational Sciences. In his master’s thesis, he studied teachers’ stress during the implementation of the new mathematics curriculum reform and its causal relation to variables such as their perceived readiness, appraisal of the reform, perceived pressure during the implementation, levels of efficacy beliefs, attitudes towards the new curriculum, and the coping strategies they used when faced with problems during the implementation. Before joining LSAP, Zahid worked as a research assistant in Yeditepe University (Istanbul, Turkey), and Bogazici University. During this period, he took roles in several projects related to mathematics and science learning, teachers’ beliefs, student dropout, and school improvement.

James Scherrer comes to the University of Pittsburgh from Los Angeles where he held an appointment with the Los Angeles Unified School District as a Mathematics Instructional Coach. Prior to this appointment, Jimmy was a fourth and fifth grade mathematics magnet teacher. He volunteers his summers teaching in Guatemala and currently collaborates with Pearson Achievement Solutions as a curriculum developer for their online graduate-level courses. Jimmy obtained a Master of Arts in Educational Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with a minor concentration in mathematics. He holds an Administrative Services Credential as well as a Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development Certificate. In 2007, Jimmy recently received the Los Angeles City Teachers‚ Math Association’s award for Excellence in Mathematics Education.

Mary Ann Steiner’s career has been shaped by 18 years spent at the Science Museum of Minnesota, establishing and running a center where teens developed and presented informal science experiences to public audiences in the museum and neighborhood settings. (see http://www.smm.org/about/kaysc). Her Master’s program field study took her to Northern Ireland to help to establish museum-based youth programs. She has recently completed a two-year rotation at the National Science Foundation as a program officer for the Informal Science Education program. These experiences have led to her current research interest in the role that content-rich community resources can play in supporting community learning for people of all ages, and the ways community knowledge can inform the work of these same institutions. She joined UPCLOSE (http://upclose.lrdc.pitt.edu). Mary Ann holds an M.Ed. in Youth Development Leadership from the University of Minnesota (2007) and a BA from BardCollege, in New York.

Miray Tekkumru-Kisa completed her undergraduate study in Primary Science Education at Bogazici University in Turkey in 2005. After her graduation, she joined the Department of Secondary School Science and Mathematics Education both as a research assistant and a masters student. In 2008, she received her masters degree; in her thesis she focused on developing a Science Center Learning Kit to improve student learning outcomes from an informal science setting in Istanbul and implementing the kit to measure its effectiveness in terms of student learning outcomes. She has had project and work experiences in teachers’ professional development and in the improvement of learning environments in in- and out-of-school settings.

Peter Wardrip originally comes from Racine, Wisconsin. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Peter taught high school Latin, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and volunteered in Peace Corps-Armenia. He has a master’s degree in Human Ecology from the Centre for Human Ecology in Scotland. Since 2004, he has worked as a researcher at Northwestern University investigating instructional and structural reforms in schools. For example, he has studied the role of instructional practices, such as project-based learning and literacy across the content areas, in developing teacher professional communities. Peter, his wife and two young children look forward to cheering for the Panthers.

Jolene Zywica graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Information Technology Studies. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2007 with a M.A. in Communication. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Jolene was a literacy coach in Chicago public schools. She was also a researcher with the Digital Youth Network, a program for 6th through 12th graders that creates opportunities for youth to extend their consciousness around social change through digital media. As part of her research, Jolene examined the design and use of a social networking site used within the Digital Youth Network. As a graduate student Jolene will be working at University Prep to integrate technology projects in the content areas, as well as plan and develop the technology courses at the school. She is currently developing a social networking site through Ning that will be used by students at the school. Aside from her studies, Jolene is passionate about swimming, reading, camping, and anything that involves being outdoors.