Faculty and Staff

Griff Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Griff Jones is the Science Master Teacher for UFTeach. With two decades of
experience teaching all science subjects to K-12 students, college students, teachers,
school administrators, and teacher-educators throughout the U.S., Africa, Asia, Latin
America, and the Caribbean, Dr. Jones specializes in designing effective inquiry-based,
interdisciplinary science programs. He has authored several highly successful and
nationally-disseminated inquiry-based science textbooks, curriculum guides, onlinecourse
materials, and science lab teaching materials.
Most recently, as the Coordinator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute -
Undergraduate Core Laboratory at the University of Florida, Dr. Jones help develop a
new curriculum and laboratory design that together constitute a fundamentally new
model for undergraduate natural sciences instruction. As a K-12 classroom teacher and
science department chair at the University of Florida’s P. K. Yonge Developmental
Research School, Dr. Jones developed successful elementary science and honor physics
programs for a diverse range of learners. In addition, through his work with the science
education program at the University of Florida’s College of Education he developed
effective science methods courses and numerous academic linkages between K-12 and
post-secondary education. These efforts resulted in several successful collaborations with
numerous colleges and departments at the University of Florida as well as the Florida
Museum of Natural History, and the Center for Precollegiate Education and Training.
His most well known collaboration to date has been with the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety (an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organization). As
part of his work with this organization, Dr. Jones developed an educational film and
inquiry-based teaching materials focusing on the practical, and potentially life-saving,
application of biology and physics. The award-winning film is used by thousands of
teachers throughout the U.S. and impacts millions of high school science students each
year. The ultimate goal of the collaboration was a reduction in teen deaths from motor
vehicle collisions.
Dr. Jones has received state and national-level recognition for his efforts as a K-adult
science educator, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching
awarded by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, and
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in 1998.

Marge Hayden

Post-Secondary Education:
M.Ed,, Educational Leadership, University of North Florida, 2005
M.S.Ed., Secondary Education, George Mason University, 1988
FLDOE Certifications:
Educational Leadership, Biology 6-12, Earth Space Science 6-12, and Middle Grades Science
5-9.
Marge Hayden is a Science Master Teacher for the UFTeach program. She began her teaching
career as a non-college of education major and has been working in the public school system
for the past 22 years. While in Duval County Public Schools, she taught in both middle and
high schools. In 1998 the district was awarded the Urban Systemic Initiative, a 5-year National
Science Foundation grant. She became a science resource teacher with duties that centered
on improving science instruction through enhanced pedagogy skills and curriculum choices in
the K-12 classroom. She worked directly with teachers in their classrooms, provided
professional development workshops on content and pedagogy with an emphasis on inquiry,
and wrote curriculum and assessments for core science courses and enrichment programs. As
a secondary science specialist she continued her work to improve science instruction in the
secondary setting with an increased focus on helping teachers be more effective in low
performing schools. Her final position with the district was Project Coordinator for PROMiSE, a
statewide mathematics and science partnership to assist teachers as they implement the Next
Generation Sunshine State Mathematics and Science Standards that were adopted in 2007 and
2008.
Mrs. Hayden has worked on several national studies during her time as a resource teacher. In
2004 she began a 3-year collaboration with TERC on Earth Science by Design, a study
designed to instruct middle school science teachers in the curriculum planning tool,
Understanding by Design, so they could design more effective units. She expanded this training
to include opportunities for elementary and high school teachers. Findings from this work have
led to all core academic content areas writing their annual learning schedules in the
Understanding by Design format. She also partnered with Sanford Research Institute (SRI),
TERC, and American Geological Institute (AGI) on a national study to compare the efficacy of
three professional development programs designed to prepare teachers to teach for deep
understanding in middle school Earth science. She has presented many of her findings at local,
state, and national conferences and co-authored Preparing Teachers to Teach for Deep
Understanding: A Curriculum-Based Approach in the “The Earth Scientist”, Volume XXVII, Issue
2, Spring 2008.
In 2004 she began her work with the FLDOE FCAT committees. She has served on Item
Review, Content Review, Standards Setting, Rangefinder, and Performance Review and is
currently an at-large member of the Content Advisory Committee. Her work on these
committees has helped define her understanding and role of effective assessment and how it
should look in the secondary science classroom. She was a writer for the NGSSS Earth
Science Body of Knowledge, the PROMiSE Earth Science Content Modules, and the teacher
certification tests in Middle Grades General Science 5-9 and Earth/Space Science Grades 6-12.

Gloria Weber

Education:
Ed.S., Mathematics Education, The University of Florida, 1997
M.Ed., Mathematics Education, The University of Florida, 1987
B.A., Mathematics Education, Trenton State College, 1977
Points of Interest:
Gloria began her career teaching fifth and sixth grade in New Jersey. She moved to Florida and taught
seventh and eighth grade for three years. She then transferred to high school and has been teaching
various high school classes for the last twenty-six years. Along with her public school instruction Gloria
has also taught Secondary Math Methods and Problem Solving at UF college of Education.
Mrs. Weber has presented numerous professional development workshops to mathematics teachers and
other educators. Her presentations include problem solving, reading and writing in the mathematics
classroom and high school/elementary buddies.
Honors:
District “Teacher of the Year” P.K. Yonge DRS
Selected for participation in National Science Foundation sponsored workshop at Cornell
University on Mathematics Education Reform
Selected for “Honors Workshop for Mathematics Teachers” University of Florida
Kappa Delta Pi, Honor Society in Education

McTureous, Rochelle

Education:
National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescence Mathematics, 1999
Certified in Mathematics 7 – 12 in 1971; obtained middle school certification
Bachelor of Business administration from Stetson University, class of 1971

Experience:
Rochelle McTureous began her teaching career in Lake County, Florida.  Her first assignment was 6th grade mathematics at Eustis Middle School.  After taking time off for the birth of her children Mrs. McTureous taught 8th grade mathematics at Umatilla Middle School for 7 years.  Upon moving to Gainesville Mrs. McTureous taught 22 years in Alachua County.  Teaching at Howard Bishop Middle School, opening Kanapaha Middle School, and in The Lyceum Program at Lincoln Middle School.  Her teaching experience has ranged from drop out prevention mathematics to Introduction to Algebra 2.  She also served as Alachua County’s Secondary Mathematics Supervisor for 2 years.  Before joining the UFTeach program she recently taught 1 year at Queen of Peace Catholic Academy, teaching mathematics and 6th grade World History.

Mrs. McTureous has served as math chairperson at 3 schools; participated in numerous text book adoption, curriculum guide and state testing review committees; served on the district’s Create Council; served as an activity field tester for PBS; and has coached both MATHCOUNTS and Mu Alpha Theta teams.  She also served on Umatilla’s Faculty Senate, has chaired School Advisory Councils, and served as Lincoln Middle School’s representative to the Alachua County Education Association.

Recognition:
State of Florida’s MATHCOUNTS Teacher of the Year 2008
Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year 1999
Teacher of the Year representative at Umatilla Middle School and Kanapaha
Middle School
Listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers
Kappa Delta Pi, Honor Society in Education

Katrina Short

Katrina Short has joined the UFTeach staff as a teaching assistant. She is a
doctoral student in the School of Teaching and Learning, seeking a degree in
Instruction, Curriculum, and Teacher Education. Katrina comes to the UFTeach
program from eighteen years teaching English and Reading to middle schoolers
in Duval County. During that time, she regularly mentored pre-service teachers.
She also spent three years as literacy coach, mentoring, teaching, and modeling
best instructional practices for teachers. Involved each year as a member of her
school’s Design Team, she worked to establish and maintain professional
learning communities within her school, focusing primarily on incorporating
reading and writing across the content areas. Katrina earned her National Board
certification in Early Adolescent Language Arts in 2000, and was selected as a
Yale Fellow in 2006, writing curriculum while participating in the Yale Teacher’s
Initiative.
Katrina’s current research interests involve the problem of teacher retention,
which she feels could be increased by better preparing pre-service and beginning
teachers for the challenges they will experience as they enter the classroom.
UFTeach, with its emphasis on putting students into the classroom early in their
college experience, is a perfect fit with her beliefs that the more prepared
preservice teachers are, the better teachers they will be when they enter their
own classrooms.

Anu Sharma

Anu is a third year doctoral student in the School of Teaching and Learning, pursuing a degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Mathematics Education. She has her Masters in Mathematics, Bachelors in Science (Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics), and Bachelors in Education from India. She has ten years of experience of teaching elementary mathematics. Before joining UFTeach, Anu was a Graduate Assistant with Florida PROMiSE. She joined UFTeach as a co-instructor for STEP 2 course. She mentors undergraduate students in planning and delivering mathematics lessons to middle grade students. Anu’s research interests include mathematical problem solving from modeling perspective, and self-regulated learning. Particularly, I am looking at how self-regulated instruction enhances students’ problem solving skills.

Joe Townsend

Joe is currently an Adjunct Lecturer with UFTeach and a postdoctoral research in Dr. Jim Austin’s Molecular Ecology Laboratory in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. He has a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Ecology, a Master’s in Latin American Studies (emphasis in Tropical Conservation and Development), and a Bachelor’s in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. He joined UFTeach in 2010 as co-instructor for Research Methods with Dr. Dorsey.  As a doctoral student, he was an NSF GK-12 Teaching Fellow with the UF SPICE Program, providing inquiry-based instruction in the life sciences at an under-resourced middle school in Gainesville, and he has developed and taught undergraduate courses at UF and Santa Fe College. Joe’s dedication to teaching was recognized in 2010 with the UF Dept. Wildlife Ecology & Conservation’s Graduate Teaching Award, and his mentorship of undergraduate research with a 2005 HHMI Science for Life Graduate Student Award.

Joe’s research centers on the evolution and conservation of Central American amphibians and reptiles, and he utilizes a research framework that promotes undergraduate education and extension in research leading to the discovery and description of new species. He has carried out dozens of expeditions to remote rainforest sites resulting in over 80 peer-reviewed publications and three books, and has led training workshops and public presentations in English and Spanish in a variety of settings. He is currently appointed as a Research Associate of the Instituto Regional de Biodiversidad (IRBIO) and the Centro Zamorano de Biodiversidad in Honduras, an advisor to the Neotropical Conservation Foundation, and is a member of the IUCN SSC specialist groups for amphibians, anoline lizards, and Mesoamerican reptiles.

Kathryn Williams

Kathryn R. Williams has over 35 years experience teaching university-level chemistry and writing instructional materials.  After completing her PhD at theFloridaStateUniversity in 1972, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher for a year.  She subsequently joined the faculty atFloridaInternationalUniversity, then in its second year of operation, where she designed the lecture and laboratory programs in inorganic and analytical chemistry.

In 1979, Dr. Williams moved to theUniversityofFloridato become the coordinator of laboratories in analytical, physical, and radiochemistry.  Since then, she has taught lecture courses in all areas of chemistry and has developed the laboratory curricula in analytical chemistry, instrumental analysis, physical and biophysical chemistry, and radiochemistry.  A major part of her responsibilities have involved researching and testing new experiments and instruments, including writing all the accompanying student texts and procedures. 

During her teaching career, Dr. Williams wrote seven student laboratory manuals and coauthored over 50 technical publications, many of them describing new student laboratory experiments. She also produced over 20 video tapes to enhance laboratory instruction. 

Now semi-retired, Dr. Williams continues to teach chemistry courses on an adjunct basis, and  she serves as the Undergraduate Advisor for both the Chemistry Department and UFTeach. She also established WonderWorder Editing Service to make her writing expertise available to individuals and businesses, including editing of theses and manuscripts in technical and non-technical disciplines.

Dr. Dimple Malik Flesner

Dr. Dimple Malik Flesner is the UFTeach Associate Director and the UF-Florida
PROMiSE Project Manager. Dimple began her career as a special education teacher for
elementary and middle school students. A few years later, she was awarded a doctoral
fellowship through Florida Leadership and Inquiry in Teacher Education. Her doctoral
studies focused on teacher learning and collaboration, inclusion, professional
development, and qualitative research methods. Dimple has supervised prospective
teachers, worked with mentors, and engaged with school faculty to establish a
collaborative model of teaching and learning and collaborative work ethic among the
professional development community.
Since graduating with her PhD, she has engaged in many research projects with
colleagues at the University of Florida that utilized different qualitative procedures for
collecting and analyzing data; currently, she is part of the National Science Foundation
African American girls’ grant team. Through her work on UFTeach and Florida
PROMiSE, both projects aimed toward improving math and science education and
achievement across the State, Dimple hopes to have an impact on classroom teachers and
students and the way they think about math and science.