WHO IS DR. JAE?
I was born and raised in Bronx, New York. In these education systems it is not uncommon to change districts frequently. From the Bronx to Queens, I’ve never stayed in one school district for more than three years. This afforded me an opportunity to have a wide breadth of understanding of public school systems. In my high school years, I moved to Pocono Mountain school district in Swiftwater, PA. I began my undergraduate career within the computer science program at Pennsylvania State University, but I did not have the desire to continue in computer science nor was I prepared to. This led to my pivot into education.
I completed my undergrad degree at East Stroudsburg University. Afterwards, I spent my time teaching mathematics to high school students at Wallenpaupack High School for 4 years. My passion for preparing students for their futures and improving assessments methods led me to a masters degree in “Teaching for the 21st Century” at Wilkes University. Finally, I was motivated to return to Penn State University to complete a Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology. |
Now, I am interested in the transformational chaos that empowers students to engage in meaningful play. This strategy allows them to re-engage and understand at a deeper level, as opposed to the singular knowledge promoted by traditional testing methods. This transformational method includes using video games to broaden the problem spaces which allows students to become better real world problem solvers.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER |
I graduated with a Ph.D. in the Learning, Design and Technologies program, within the Learning and Performance Systems department, within the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. I have a breadth of teaching experience that range from secondary education to lifeguard training instructor to water safety instruction. I have been involved in teaching and learning since the age of 14 when I volunteered as a camp counselor. My duties at both that time and today include mentoring, coaching, counseling and educating.
I am a involved with the Bring Back the Boys Initiative that seeks to re-engage boys back into classroom settings. We interview leaders within the field of gaming and collect and synthesis data on boy development for parents, researchers and instructional designers. As such part of my current research is in boys and gaming. We focus on the learning impact of video games within boy culture. We seek to alter conceptions of video game play for boys by having educators accept it as a viable learning tool. Communities must seek to change negative cultural stigmas and see video game knowledge as strengths and islands of expertise. Using boys' knowledge base as strengths may alter teacher identities in classrooms, where children become participants in the design of their own learning. I proudly serve on the Emanuel Prepratory School of Math and Science advisory board. We are revolutionizing the way we develop young men to become exceptional global citizens and men of renown. Along the gaming trend I'm also working with our University's Gaming Commons to research and help design learning games such as EconU.
I am involved with a few initiatives within the Association for Educational Communication and Technology. I served as the Graduate Student Assembly President from 2014-2015. In this capacity, I work on offering graduate students opportunities to work with non-profit organizations. My current position as one of the Directors for Designers for Learning will aid in this process. I also earned the Cochran Internship in 2015. Other professional positions held currently include Student Board Member of the American Journal of Education student forum. I reviewed manuscripts for the American Journal of Education as well as wrote, reviewed and edited for the student online forum.
Other areas of interest include the complexities of human interactions and social relationships with technology through the Learning Sciences. After years of instruction focused on how people understand and learn, a key underlying element is socio-cultural interactions. This is that learning occurs within the contexts of the culture and social interactions. My primary area of interest aligns with CHAT, Constructivist Theories and Situativity. Toward instructional design I align with systemic change theorist such as Charles Reigeluth and problem solving theories under David Jonassen towards authentic learning and assessment strategies.
Along the way I was involved in mentorship, coaching and involved in several disciplines of education. These included volunteering and camp counseling. I’ve coached a variety of sports including basketball, swimming, snowboarding, and football (the last I continue to coach today). I’ve spent time educating in other disciplines as well. I currently Instruct Lifeguards, CPR, First Aid, Water Safety Instructor for the American Red Cross and serve as a consultant for several facilities.
I am a involved with the Bring Back the Boys Initiative that seeks to re-engage boys back into classroom settings. We interview leaders within the field of gaming and collect and synthesis data on boy development for parents, researchers and instructional designers. As such part of my current research is in boys and gaming. We focus on the learning impact of video games within boy culture. We seek to alter conceptions of video game play for boys by having educators accept it as a viable learning tool. Communities must seek to change negative cultural stigmas and see video game knowledge as strengths and islands of expertise. Using boys' knowledge base as strengths may alter teacher identities in classrooms, where children become participants in the design of their own learning. I proudly serve on the Emanuel Prepratory School of Math and Science advisory board. We are revolutionizing the way we develop young men to become exceptional global citizens and men of renown. Along the gaming trend I'm also working with our University's Gaming Commons to research and help design learning games such as EconU.
I am involved with a few initiatives within the Association for Educational Communication and Technology. I served as the Graduate Student Assembly President from 2014-2015. In this capacity, I work on offering graduate students opportunities to work with non-profit organizations. My current position as one of the Directors for Designers for Learning will aid in this process. I also earned the Cochran Internship in 2015. Other professional positions held currently include Student Board Member of the American Journal of Education student forum. I reviewed manuscripts for the American Journal of Education as well as wrote, reviewed and edited for the student online forum.
Other areas of interest include the complexities of human interactions and social relationships with technology through the Learning Sciences. After years of instruction focused on how people understand and learn, a key underlying element is socio-cultural interactions. This is that learning occurs within the contexts of the culture and social interactions. My primary area of interest aligns with CHAT, Constructivist Theories and Situativity. Toward instructional design I align with systemic change theorist such as Charles Reigeluth and problem solving theories under David Jonassen towards authentic learning and assessment strategies.
Along the way I was involved in mentorship, coaching and involved in several disciplines of education. These included volunteering and camp counseling. I’ve coached a variety of sports including basketball, swimming, snowboarding, and football (the last I continue to coach today). I’ve spent time educating in other disciplines as well. I currently Instruct Lifeguards, CPR, First Aid, Water Safety Instructor for the American Red Cross and serve as a consultant for several facilities.
RESEARCH
My research centers on social systems principles as I follow the works of Ali Carr-Chellman, Charlie Reigeluth and others. Using methods from the Learning Sciences such as Student Centered Learning Environments, Situative Theory among others, I look to improve the ways in which we evaluate understanding through the use of advanced technologies. Video games are great ways not only to engage, but also to assess and evaluate cognitive skills.
21st Century Teaching and Learning focuses on PBL, IBL, Authentic instruction and differentiated methods as we develop and prepare learners for careers that may not exist yet. Video games have an amazing opportunity to create these environments. Problem solving strategies and skills can be developed and researched. My particular research interest explores how we may design and developing authentic learning experiences by leveraging indigenous knowledge and informal learning environments through learning ecologies. So my research agenda will look at how we can use indigenous sociotechnical tools and play to develop deeper problem solving skills and design thinking in learners.
I believe that we can change education by looking carefully at three essential components. First we need to understand that the learner is a central fixture in our design, which includes his/her/their historical as well as sociocultural luggage towards Community Based Education. Second we need to push for innovation and creativity as a foundational agenda. This is critical to maximizing the effectiveness and relevance towards. Lastly we must look to entrepreneurial education to help guide the way for the Information Age. To this end, indigenous knowledge in formal and informal settings must be accessed through progressive learning ecologies.
21st Century Teaching and Learning focuses on PBL, IBL, Authentic instruction and differentiated methods as we develop and prepare learners for careers that may not exist yet. Video games have an amazing opportunity to create these environments. Problem solving strategies and skills can be developed and researched. My particular research interest explores how we may design and developing authentic learning experiences by leveraging indigenous knowledge and informal learning environments through learning ecologies. So my research agenda will look at how we can use indigenous sociotechnical tools and play to develop deeper problem solving skills and design thinking in learners.
I believe that we can change education by looking carefully at three essential components. First we need to understand that the learner is a central fixture in our design, which includes his/her/their historical as well as sociocultural luggage towards Community Based Education. Second we need to push for innovation and creativity as a foundational agenda. This is critical to maximizing the effectiveness and relevance towards. Lastly we must look to entrepreneurial education to help guide the way for the Information Age. To this end, indigenous knowledge in formal and informal settings must be accessed through progressive learning ecologies.
MEDIA PRODUCTION
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WEBSITES
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VIDEOS
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INTERVIEWS
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PODCASTS
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CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
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PROGRAMMING
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