Nan M. Kurz

Office
Assistant Professor of Education     
University of Bridgeport      
126 Park Avenue       
Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604
E-mail: nankurz@bridgeport.edu
Blackboard: http://bb.ctdlc.org 

EDUCATION

  • Ph. D. in Teacher Education/Educational Psychology. School of Educational Policy and Leadership, College of Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
  • Doctoral Studies. School of Education, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL.
  • M.Ed. in Elementary Education. School of Education, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Grades 1-6 Certification. August, 1996. 
  • B.A. in Psychology. Hamilton College, Clinton, NY.  Thesis: Gender differences on the math section of the SAT

COLLEGE TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2007-Present Assistant Professor.  School of Education and Human Resources. University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT (Teaching Responsibilities: Educational Psychology, Child Development, Student Supervision)
2006-2007 Assistant Professor.  Education Department. Capital University, Bexley, OH (Teaching Responsibilities: Educational Psychology, Diagnosing and Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities, Student Supervision)
Summer, 2006 Adjunct Professor. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH Pedagogical Studies (EDU P&L 803).
2003-2006 Instructor. Psychological Perspectives in Education (EDU P&L 309). The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. (Fall 2003, Winter 2004, Spring 2004, Summer 2004, Fall 2004, Winter 2005, Spring, 2005, Autumn, 2005)
Spring, 2006 Adjunct Professor. Educational Psychology (Psych 201). Capital University, Bexley, OH
Autumn, 2005 Adjunct Professor. Educational Psychology (EDUC 251). Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH
Summer, 2005 Adjunct Professor. The Teaching Profession (EDUC 510) Muskingum College. New Concord, OH
Summer, 2005 Adjunct Professor. Creating a Classroom Climate (EDUC 602). Muskingum College. New Concord, OH 
Spring, 2005

Instructor. Adolescent Development in the School Context (EDU P&L 607). The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Fall, 2003 Teaching Assistant. Teaching as a Profession (EDU P&L 609). The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

MANUSCRIPTS

Woolfolk Hoy, A., Hoy, W., & Kurz, N. (in press).  Teachers’ academic emphasis: The development and test of a new construct. Teaching and Teacher Education. 

Kurz, N. & Paul, P. (2005). Toward an inclusive teacher education university program.  Journal of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 15-28. 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Kurz, N., Wild, T., & Paul, P. (2008) Teachers of the Visually Impaired beliefs: The relationship between teachers’ sense of efficacy, adaptive technology, and management decisions.  Accepted to present at American Educational Research Association Meeting, New York.

Kurz, N., Wild, T., & Paul, P. (2008) Teachers of the Visually Impaired beliefs: Implications for Practice.  Accepted to present at Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired Meeting, Chicago

Kurz, N., & Paul, P. (2006, January). Toward the promised land: Licensure revisions to maximize the learning for students with special needs. Paper submitted to the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA. Critic/Discussant for the Serving all learners: Preparing teachers for students with special needs session. 

Kurz, N., & Paul, P. (2005). Toward an inclusive teacher education university program.  Paper presented at Regional Seminar on Inclusive Education, Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. 

Kurz, N. (2005, May) Encouraging teacher educators to prepare preservice teachers for inclusive classroom communities. Paper presented at The Ohio State Graduate Student Diversity Symposium.

Kurz, N., Harriot-White, R., & Hite, R. (2005, February). Improving teacher preparation and teacher effectiveness through collaboration among professional development programs, colleges of education, and state department of education.   Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Washington, D.C.

Kurz, N., & Benton-Borgi, H. (2004, October). Assessing the effect of learning using 21st century technologies on candidates’ learning. Paper presented at The Ohio Consortium of Teacher Education Organizations, Columbus, OH.

Alcock, M., Bordenkircher, T., Hite, R., Brilhart, D. & Kurz, N. (2004, February). Strategies for developing a conceptual framework and an aligned assessment system. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Chicago. 

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2007 Task Force Member, Bridgeport Higher Education Alliance
Collaborated with faculty at Fairfield and Sacred Heart Universities to research and enact student-centered initiative for the “Expect Great Things” initiative in Bridgeport Public Schools.
2007 Project Coordinator, Teacher Quality Enhancement Federal Grant.
Coordinated Capital University’s enactment of the grant by supervising students interested in teaching math and science in urban settings.
2005-2007 Research Assistant, Teacher Quality Partnership Research Group.
Member of Experienced Teacher Study Group: observe and interview third grade teachers in Columbus Public Schools to formulate suggestions regarding the teacher education accountability challenge.
2005-2006

Research Assistant for NCATE
College of Education, The Ohio State University (R. Hite, Principal Investigator).  Assist in collecting data, submitting documents, and preparing for the accreditation visit in Autumn, 2005.
2005-2006 Research Assistant. Inclusive Studies Research Group.
College of Education, The Ohio State University (P. Paul, Principal Investigator). Group meets bi-weekly to discuss topics of teacher education and the inclusion of all students in PK-12 and higher education institutions.
2004-2006 Co-Researcher. Improving teacher preparation and teacher effectiveness through collaboration among professional development programs, colleges of education, and the state departments of education.  The research focuses on the use of professional development to create seamless transitions between preservice teaching and entry year experiences.
2003-2005 Research Assistant.  Educational Psychology Research Group.
School of Educational Policy and Leadership, College of Education, The Ohio State University (A. Woolfolk Hoy, H. Davis, and S. Pape, Principal Investigators). Group meets weekly to discuss research projects and scholarship. Focused attention around themes of teachers’ sense of efficacy, self-regulation strategies, and teacher-student relationships. 
2004 Principal Investigator. Teachers’ beliefs about the impact of standardized
testing on student learning.  Research includes interviewing teachers with thirty or more years of experience working in elementary school settings.  Strengths and weaknesses of the press for accountability in elementary schools are identified. 

AWARDS AND HONORS

  • Recipient of a Faculty Research Assistance Award, University of Bridgeport, School of Education and Human Resources (September, 2007)
  • Recipient of the Capital University National Organization of Women Chapter (NOW), Most Inspirational Professor Award (April, 2007)
  • Recipient of the Dan H. Eikenberry Scholarship from College of Education at The Ohio State University (November, 2005)
  • Invited Participant, APA Division 15 Doctoral Seminar, Washington DC (2005)
  • Invited Participant, AERA Division K, Graduate Student Forum, Montreal, Quebec (2005)
  • AGGRS Grant Awarded for Dissertation Research from the Alumni Graduate School  Council, The Ohio State University Graduate School (2005-2006)

PREVIOUS TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2001- 2003  5th and 6th Grade Science and Reading Teacher.  Beaches Episcopal School, Jacksonville Beach, FL.
Performed all duties as a homeroom, science, and reading teacher for the 5th and 6th grades.  Developed and instituted professional development seminars focusing on integrating technology into the P-6 classroom.  Wrote a grant and received monies for art and music education programs.
1999-2001 3rd Grade Teacher. The Fessenden School, West Newton, MA. 
Performed all duties of a third grade teacher. Assisted in the after school program. Received entry teacher award which provided travel funds for a personal trip to Nepal.
1996-1999  3rd Grade Teacher. The Pingry School, Short Hills, NJ.
Designed and implemented third grade curriculum in reading, writing, and social studies. Supervised school-wide interconnectedness committee. Served as a member of the mathematics standards committee to assist with accreditation procedures. Conducted action research analyzing cooperative grouping strategies in second and third grade classrooms.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Service:

  • Coordinator, Capital University’s Outreach to the Boys and Girls Club (2006-2007)
  • Reviewer, Ohio Teacher Educators E-Journal (2006)
  • Assistant to the NCATE Coordinator, The Ohio State University’s  NCATE review process,(May, 2005-June, 2006) 
  • Presenter. Graduate Teaching Associates in College of Education, Policy and Leadership at The Ohio State University.  Topic: NCATE Update (September, 2005)
  • Reviewer. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Division C, K, (October, 2005)
  • Reviewer. American Educational Research Journal, (2005)
  • Committee Member. (The Ohio State University). Beyond the Books.  Helped plan and organize monthly guest lecturers for graduate teaching associates (2003-2004). 
  • Advisor. (The Ohio State University). Supported and guided preservice teachers as they prepared to enter graduate education programs, (2003-2005).
  • Mentor. (Newton, MA, & Jacksonville, FL).  Assisted entry year elementary school Teachers, (2000- 2002).
  • Volunteer. (White Mountain Adaptive Ski School, Loon Mountain, NH).  Taught ski lessons to children and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities, (2001-2002).

Continuing Education:

  • Participant. CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) Training.  Passed reliability test to use the assessment to collect data. (2005)
  • Participant. Structural Equation Modeling. University of Maryland. (2005).
  • Participant. Teaching reading and writing to students in the middle, Nancie Atwell (1998).
  • Participant. Columbia University’s Teachers College Writing Project, (1997, 1999).

Regional and National Affiliations:

  • American Educational Research Association (AERA)
  • American Psychological Association (APA)
  • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Admissions: 1.800.EXCEL.UB (1.800.392.3582) · 203.576.4552
© 2005-2008 University of Bridgeport, 126 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604 USA