Penn State's College of Education is regularly ranked among the nation's best graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report, and the graduate certificate in children's literature courses are taught by the same nationally recognized faculty.
Debra Freedman, Ph.D.
Dr. Freedman is a former middle school teacher. Her research interests include curriculum theory, supervisory practices, and cultural studies. In addition, Dr. Freedman is interested in teacher education--specifically, critical pedagogical strategies and mentoring practices of cooperating teachers with preservice teachers. She teaches undergraduate courses in secondary education and graduate courses in curriculum, supervision, and research.
Dan Hade, Ph.D.
Dr. Hade is an associate professor of language and literacy education, specializing in literature for children and young adults. He has lectured across the country and in Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, and South Korea. He is a former editor of the Journal of Children's Literature and serves on the editorial board of The Lion and the Unicorn. Prior to university teaching, Dr. Hade worked in schools in Iowa and Minnesota, where he taught fifth grade, was an elementary school library/media specialist, a gifted and talented teacher, and a junior high school basketball and track and field coach.
J. Dan Marshall, Ph.D.
Dr. Marshall, professor of education, joined the Penn State faculty in 1992. He has taught students at various levels (elementary, secondary, tertiary) in several states and abroad. His areas of focus include curriculum studies, teachers as curriculum workers, and teacher education reform efforts.
James Nolan, Ph.D.
Dr. Nolan is a professor of education and co-director of the Penn State-State College Area School District Elementary Professional Development School. He is co-author of Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional Decision-Making Model (4th edition), with James Levin; co-author of Teachers and Educational Change: The Lived Experience of Secondary School Restructuring, with Denise Meister; and co-author of Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: Theory into Practice, with Linda Hoover. Dr. Nolan is the editor of the journal Pennsylvania Educational Leadership, and he was the editor of the Journal of Curriculum and Supervision from 1987 to 1993. He is also co-author of the award-winning monograph Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: A Process for School District Self-Assessment and Improvement.
Iris Striedieck, Ph.D.
Dr. Striedieck has been affiliated with Penn State's College of Education since 1995. She is a former secondary mathematics teacher and worked as assistant coordinator of the Office of Preservice Teaching Experiences. Currently she is the lead faculty member for the World Campus's master of education degree program in curriculum and supervision. Her interests include early field experience preparation and supervision and integrated curriculum, with a focus on the arts and enabling leadership among teachers and teacher educators.
Peggy Van Meter, Ph.D.
Dr. Van Meter is an associate professor of education in the Department of Educational Psychology, School Psychology, and Special Education. Her research interests include reading processes, cognition, and instructional practices. In addition to teaching for Penn State World Campus, Dr. Van Meter also teaches the courses Psychology of Reading, and Concept Learning and Problem Solving. She is currently the professor-in-charge of the educational psychology program at the University Park campus.
