Learning Sciences & Human Development
William “Bill” Penuel, Distinguished Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development in the School of Education, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences—one of the highest honors in academia and a historic milestone for the school. Penuel, whose election was announced on April 22, is the first faculty member from education ever elected to the Academy.
Collette Heskett’s parents always lovingly remind her that she was born to be in science education. From a young age, Heskett spent most of her time playing “teacher” with her toys or observing bugs in their habitats for hours. Many years later, Heskett is now the 2026 CU ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ School of Education's Outstanding Capstone graduate.
When Marisa Mendoza-Maurer moved from Hawai’i to Colorado to begin her PhD, she didn’t come alone. She brought with her a husband, two young children and a decade's worth of classroom experience as a secondary English teacher. The leap, across an ocean and into a rigorous doctoral program, was nothing short of monumental.
Sarah Leonhart credits her support system for helping her pursue and persist in graduate school. Much like hucking a cliff—her true story of accidentally skiing off a cliff with friends, a move reserved for adrenaline junkies —
Quinton Andre Freeman comes from a family of educators.  His wife, Adrienne, is a middle school principal. His parents, now a retired county agent and a retired special education teacher, met while student
A leader on campus in broadening participation in STEM education as the most recent director of the BOLD Center, Tanya Ennis is committed to developing and studying strategies that can create a more equitable environment for
Douglas Watkins already had a busy and fulfilling career and family life, when he enrolled in the master’s program in the CU ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ School of Education to deepen his grounding in learning sciences. With a newly minted
Lianna Nixon is an environmental photographer and activist, but on Earth Day 2020, she was not thinking about marches or demonstrations. That was the day she found out if her spot on the world’s largest polar research expedition was still on despite
College opportunities, not to mention graduate studies, were rare in the small Southern African country of Zimbabwe where Tafadzwa Tivaringe grew up. With unyielding support from his parents, his community, and mentors, Tivaringe, or “Taphy” as he