Penn GSE Welcomes New Faculty

Penn GSE Dean Andy Porter has announced the addition of five new members to the School's faculty in the 2008-09 academic year.

Professor Yasmin B. Kafai comes to Penn GSE from UCLA. A learning scientist, she examines technology designs and cultures through the lens of constructionist theory, and her work has been essential to the broader development of research in games and learning in the United States and Europe. She also addresses gender equity issues, notably in her upcoming book Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat (MIT Press). Her research on children's learning as designers of games, simulations, and virtual worlds has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.

Practice Professor Mike Nakkula joins the GSE faculty from Harvard University. His research and his work as a practicing mental health professional focus on the development of resilience among low-income children and youth. Integrating counseling, mentoring, and educational processes, he works to help students thrive in school and in their transition to college and careers under the umbrella of Project Inventing the Future, a strength-based youth development initiative.

Blake Naughton has been named as the new director of Penn GSE's Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management. Naughton has most recently been an analyst in Education Policy at the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan policy research arm of the Library of Congress. There, his work focused on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and other postsecondary education issues. Prior to that, he worked in policy analysis and research at the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education and at the Stanford Educational Assessment Laboratory.

Practice Professor Diane Waff comes to GSE from Oakland, California, where she was a senior program associate at WestEd. A literacy educator, she works closely with secondary school teachers and community college professors to establish professional learning communities and habits of reflective practice that lead to innovations in curriculum and instruction. Her research focuses on how literacy-focused professional development for content-area teachers relates to changes in teacher practice and student outcomes. She has extensive experience as a high school teacher, district and building administrator, K-12 teaching and learning coordinator, and teacher researcher.

A psychologist and practicing child therapist, Senior Lecturer Caroline L. Watts focuses on developing healthy educational environments for children and youth. Her work is devoted to building capacity in mental health and educational systems to serve the complex needs of urban youth and families by creating innovative institutional partnerships among schools, universities, and community health organizations. Watts comes to GSE from Boston, where she was the founding director of Children's Hospital Boston's Neighborhood Partnerships Program.