New Faculty, 2006-07

Dean’s Office

Elayne Colón Assistant Scholar Director of Assessment and Accreditation Ph.D., University of Florida

Elayne Colón recently received her Ph.D. from UF’s School Psychology program, where her dissertation focused on the evaluation of an intensive reading intervention program for kindergarten students. In her new position, Colón will focus on assessment and accreditation issues within the college and oversee the day-to-day operations of the Unit Assessment System. Colón previously served as a psychoeducational consultant at the Multidisciplinary Diagnostic and Training Program (MDTP). Colón also has published several articles in top research journals, including The Journal of Special Education and Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. This fall, she will teach a course for first-year School Psychology graduate students on academic assessments and interventions for students with diverse learning needs.

 

Ana Puig Assistant Scholar Research Director, Office of Educational Research Ph. D., University of Florida

Ana Puig, well known to COE faculty and staff as the research director of the Office of Educational Research, has also been appointed to an assistant scholar position. A graduate of UF’s Counselor Education program, Puig is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida and a national certified counselor, and holds a certificate from UF’s Center for Spirituality and Health. Her research has focused on complementary therapies in breast cancer care, spirituality and health issues in counseling and multicultural spirituality.

Counselor Education

Michael Garrett Associate Professor Ph. D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro

“I want every counselor sitting across from a Native American client to understand tribal life as if he or she were an insider,” says Michael Garrett. Garrett has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles or chapters on multiculturalism, group work, spirituality, school counseling and Native Americans. He has written or co-written four books on Native American culture and counseling, including The Cherokee Full Circle: A Practical Guide to Ceremonies and Traditions. Garrett has worked as a school counselor at the middle and high school levels, as a student personnel worker with Native American and other minority students, and as a project director in an urban Indian center. He comes to UF from Old Dominion University, where he was chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling.

Andrea Dixon Rayle Assistant Professor Ph. D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Andrea Dixon Rayle’s research interests include identity development in adolescent females and minority adolescents, particularly Native Americans; the work culture of school counselors; cross-cultural competence and multicultural counseling; academic persistence and achievement; and mattering, spirituality and wellness across the lifespan. She is an editorial board member for the Journal of Counseling and Development, Professional School Counseling, and the Journal for Specialists in Group Work. She is a certified guidance counselor in Florida and Arizona. She comes to UF from Arizona State University, where she served as assistant professor in the Division of Psychology in Education and was co-investigator on the American Indian Youth Pilot Project, a fiveyear study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Education Psychology

Mark Shermis Professor and Chair Ph. D., University of Michigan

Mark Shermis has played a key role in a number of innovations that have made computerized testing a useful research tool for the social sciences. His first book, Using Microcomputers in Social Science Research, was one of the earliest successful texts on the topic. Shermis played a leading role in bringing computerized adaptive testing to the Internet. For the past eight years, he has studied automated essay scoring, and co-edited Automated Essay Scoring: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach, a seminal book in the field. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and past chair of the APA’s Continuing Education Committee. Before coming to UF, Shermis was a professor in the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies and associate dean for research and grants in the College of Education at Florida International University.

School of Teaching and Learning

Alyson Adams Assistant Scholar Ph. D., University of Florida

Alyson Adams is already known to many from her staff position at the Lastinger Center for Learning, where she designed and implemented job-embedded professional development for teachers in high-poverty elementary schools around the state. In her new appointment as assistant scholar, Adams will continue working with the Lastinger Center, while teaching and conducting research in the School of Teaching and Learning. Her research interests include: measurement and evaluation of professional development and the impact on teacher practice and student achievement; inclusive practices; measuring the impact of jobembedded graduate programs; teacher education; inclusive education; collaboration; professional development; professional learning communities; and critical friends groups.

Stephen Pape Associate Professor Ph. D., City University of New York

Stephen Pape, an associate professor of mathematics education, comes to UF from Ohio State University. His research has focused on the problem-solving and self-regulated learning behaviors of middle school children and classroom contexts that foster mathematical understanding and the development of strategic behaviors. Pape t

aught secondary mathematics at a K-12 private school and middleschool mathematics and science in
New York City Public Schools. He has been principal investigator and co-principal investigator on several research grants that supported middle school teachers’ efforts to examine and change their teaching practices. He is currently working on a research project funded by the Institutes of Educational Sciences to examine the impact of classroom connectivity systems that could increase self-regulating learning and achievement.