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ABOUT US

Based in the BYU McKay School of Education, we coordinate networks of teachers, teacher educators, school leaders, faith leaders, and researchers to support public schools and governments around the world in facilitating on-the-job teacher learning.
COORDINATOR
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
AFFILIATES
Bryant Jensen

Dr. Bryant Jensen

is a professor at BYU and coordinates Transforming Teaching. His research addresses equitable teaching and teacher learning to enhance opportunities for students from disadvantaged communities. Dr. Jensen has been a Fulbright scholar in Mexico and in Argentina, a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and a teacher educator in California's San Joaquin Valley. He co-authored The Students We Share published by SUNY. Currently, he serves as Associate Editor of Review of Educational Research and is a member of various editorial boards. Bryant is a first-generation college graduate and, with his superhuman spouse, Taryn, is raising six children in Provo.

See his professional bio here: https://education.byu.edu/directory/view/bryant-jensen

Graduate Students

Shazia Akbar

Shazia Akbar

is a graduate student at BYU studying Teacher Education. After a decade of work as a mathematics specialist in Pakistan, she made the difficult decision to leave her husband and three children behind to pursue further education, with hopes that they could join her soon. She wants to use her best practices in math education to be a force for good in the world. Languages: Urdu, English
Yllen Charles

Yllen Charles

is a licensed teacher from Monterrey, Mexico, currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Teacher Education at BYU. Her passionate orientation towards education and personal growth as an educator drives her commitment to the work of Transforming Teaching. Languages: Spanish, English.
Kamalani Kaluhiokalani

Kamalani Kaluhiokalani

is a doctoral student in Educational Inquiry, Measurement, and Evaluation at BYU. From Hawaiʻi, he has a background in mathematics education. His multicultural background fuels his passion for researching better ways to teach higher levels of mathematics that support student cultural backgrounds, preserve teacher agency, and answer the age-old question of "when will I use this". Languages: Hawaiian, English, and Mandarin Chinese
Papa Kobina Enyimah Moses

Papa Kobina Enyimah Moses

is a doctoral student in Education Inquiry, Measurement, and Evaluation at BYU. With teaching and consulting experience in Ghana, he has supported teacher development and classroom improvement. At BYU, he has taught multicultural education classes and serves as a research assistant, focusing his research on teacher agency, equity, and collaboration. Languages: English, French, Ghanaian local languages
Taylor Topham

Taylor Topham

is a PhD Student in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University who studies teacher learning and the organizational structures necessary to support it. His work uses qualitative and mixed methods to examine the how and what of teacher learning, drawing from traditions such as interaction analysis, institutional theory, and similar approaches. Over and above his academic work, he is also a husband, a dad, a dad, a dad, a dad, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Languages: English, Spanish
Joy Zhang

Joy Zhang

is a doctoral student in Educational Inquiry, Measurement, and Evaluation at BYU. From China, she has taught foreign languages in K–12 schools in both China and the U.S. Her multilingual and multicultural teaching background fuels her passion for researching policies that support teacher development and improve student learning outcomes. Languages: English, Mandarin Chinese

Undergraduate Students

Grace Johnson

Grace Johnson

is from Concord, Massachusetts, and is studying Elementary Education and Family Life Science at BYU. Her time living in Uruguay and San Diego deepened her connection to Latina culture and strengthened her lifelong passion for teaching. She finds joy in bringing meaningful resources to classrooms, helping make education more powerful and personal for students everywhere. Languages: English, Spanish.
Melissa Ogden

Melissa Ogden

is studying Elementary Education with a minor in Dual Language Immersion. Honoring her Chilean heritage and upbringing in the U.S., she is passionate about bilingual education and culturally responsive teaching. Languages: English, Spanish
Elizabeth Sánchez-Cooney

Elizabeth Sánchez-Cooney

is from Indianapolis, Indiana, and is studying Sociology, Spanish, and Global & Community Impact at BYU. Her family heritage from Chiapas, México makes the work done by Transforming Teaching very near to her heart. Languages: English, Spanish
Elizabeth Tolman

Elizabeth Tolman

is from Parker, Colorado, and is studying Elementary Education with an emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at BYU. Her passion for teaching and commitment to inclusive learning make the work done by Transforming Teaching especially meaningful to her. Languages: English, Spanish
Sage Stonely

Sage Stonely

is an Elementary Education major from Cedar City, UT. While serving a Spanish-speaking church mission in the Southern United States, she has grown a deep love for different cultures. She was drawn to Transforming Teaching because of her desire to collaborate with a diverse group of educators while also promoting equitable education for all. Languages: English, Spanish

Research Partners

Graciela Cordero-Arroyo

Graciela Cordero-Arroyo

received her B.A. in Pedagogy from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Master of Education from Harvard University, and Ph.D. in Philosophy and Education Sciences from the University of Barcelona. She completed a Specialization in Educational Policy and Management at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences-Mexico. She is a Senior Researcher (Investigadora Titular) and Coordinator of the Educational Diagnosis and Research Unit at the Institute of Educational Research and Development (IIDE) of the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC). She served as the Director of IIDE-UABC from 2003-2011. She is the founding editor of the Electronic Journal of Educational Research (Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, https://redie.uabc.mx/redie). From 2019-2022, she was the President of the International Observatory of the Teaching Profession, managed by the University of Barcelona. Her research focuses on teacher training and teacher policies. Learn more about her research here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Graciela-Cordero-Arroyo
Santiago Cueto

Santiago Cueto

is an educational psychologist with a bachelor´s degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and a PhD from Indiana University. He has been a Visiting Researcher at the University of California at Davis and the University of Oxford. He is currently a Senior Researcher at GRADE and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at PUCP. His main areas of interest are education and human development. His work has been recognized with several awards, including in 2018, when he received the Magisterial Palms in the degree of Amauta by the Ministry of Education of Peru.
Adam Lefstein

Adam Lefstein

is a professor of education and the Morton L. Mandel Director of the Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research and teaching focus on pedagogy, classroom interaction, teacher learning, and educational change. In investigating these issues, he takes a linguistic ethnographic approach, in which he combines the holistic interpretation that characterizes ethnography and the rigorous tools and systematic approach of linguistics. He is especially interested in the intersection between research and professional practice: how practitioners interact with research knowledge and how researchers can conduct studies that are meaningful, rigorous and helpful for educators. See his professional website here: https://lefstein.huji.ac.il/
Juan Manuel Luna Castañón

Juan Manuel Luna Castañón

Licenciado en Psicología Educativa por la Escuela Normal Superior de Nayarit, México, Maestría en Ciencias de la Educación por la Universidad del Valle de México (UVM) y Maestría en Investigación Educativa en la Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (UAA); Doctorado en Educación, estudios realizados en la Universidad de Durango, campus Zacatecas, México. Con 30 años de servicio en el sistema de formación docente y actualmente en procesos de formación continua de maestros en servicio. Actualmente, Maestro Titular de tiempo completo en el Centro de Actualización del Magísterior en Aguascalientes, México; la función actual es Coordinador de Planeación de Instituciones y Proyectos de Investigación. La línea de investigación: procesos de formación docente.
Dr. Leslie Reese

Dr. Leslie Reese

is a professor emerita at California State University Long Beach. She has carried out collaborative research projects with colleagues in Spain, Mexico, Guatemala and the U.S. on children’s language and literacy development in English and Spanish, linguistic minority rights, culturally responsive pedagogies, equitable mathematics instruction, and instruction of English language learners. She is a docent at a local historic site and has recently authored Rancho Los Cerritos: People Who Shaped the Land with The History Press.
Lois A. Yamauchi

Lois A. Yamauchi

is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Hawai’i Mānoa. She leads CREDE Hawai‘i, a project devoted to improving preschool to higher education for all learners, including those from Indigenous and other culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. CREDE promotes equitable and engaging instruction, including Instructional Conversations, discussions between teachers and small groups of learners. Dr. Yamauchi and CREDE colleagues collaborated with Bryant Jensen to develop Instructional Conversations for Equitable Participation, Instructional Conversations that include all students and their backgrounds and languages. For more information on Dr. Yamauchi’s research visit: https://coe.hawaii.edu/ceri/affiliates/lois-a-yamauchi/