The Outsider Within Team

Producer & Moderator      

Judith Dunkerly, Ph.D., (she/her/hers) is an award-winning Associate Professor of Literacy,  Language and Culture and Co-Director of the Literacy Research and Development Center in the  Department of Teaching and Learning, Darden College of Education and Professional Studies at  Old Dominion University. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies, Judith was an elementary teacher  and literacy specialist in Las Vegas, Nevada. Judith’s research utilizes critical theories to explore  the intersection of critical literacy, social justice, and human rights to examine systemic injustice  and oppression. Recently she has worked with pre-service elementary teachers to increase their  advocacy and allyship for LGBTQIA+ children and families.

Producer & Moderator      

Melva R. Grant (she/hers/ella), an ODU Professor of Mathematics Education, Graduate Program Director for the Mathematics Specialist Program focused on developing inclusive teacher leaders who value socially justice. Her overarching research is about broadening participation in STEM for underrepresented people. She engages in self-study research (SSR) to improve her teaching practice, evidences her teaching excellence, and bolsters her resilience in the academy (e.g., Grant, 2019; Grant & Butler, 2018). Her SSR began by focusing on customizing simulation technology to develop mathematics teacher efficacy for using discussion after problem solving for mathematical sense-making for effective equitable mathematics teaching (Grant & Ferguson, 2021). Her research expanded to include examining critical friendship development, its characteristics (Kastberg & Grant, 2020), and qualitative trustworthiness (Grant & Lincoln, 2022) and methodology.  

Contributor

Jihea Maddamsetti is an Assistant Professor of elementary education at Old Dominion University. Her research interest includes social justice issues, teacher identities, and embodiment from humanizing perspectives in the field of elementary teacher education and language teacher education. Some of her work has been published in the Action in Teacher Education, Journal of Education for Teaching, Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, Urban Education, and Urban Review. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum Instruction and Teacher Education at Michigan State University.

Contributor 

Jomo W. Mutegi is an Associate Professor of science education at Old Dominion University (ODU), and President-Elect of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST). Dr. Mutegi’s research aims to (a) better understand and disrupt systemic racism in STEM education; and (b) advance practical curriculum for STEM learners. His work appears in several respected journals. Guided by the counsel of Dr. Amos Wilson who reminds us that, “The function of education is to secure the survival of a people,” Dr. Mutegi works to conduct research and create educational materials that contribute to the survival of African people.

Contributor 

Kristine Sunday is an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning and Undergraduate Program Director for Early Childhood Education at Old Dominion University. As a researcher, Dr. Sunday draws from post-structural and post humanist approaches to pose questions about young children, learning, and the visual arts in early childhood classrooms. Her research has appeared in handbooks and other edited volumes as well as national and international peer reviewed journals including Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education and Studies in Art Education. She holds a PhD in Art Education from The Pennsylvania State University