Academics
Education Faculty
Laima Ruoff, Department Chair
Associate Professor of Education
B.A. University of Rochester; M.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison; 
Ph.D. University of Washington-Seattle
Dr. Ruoff joined the Education Department in 1981. She teaches child development to both undergraduate and graduate students in the elementary licensure programs and supervises student teachers in local elementary schools. Areas of professional interest include child development, supervision/mentoring of student teachers, effective teacher preparation and English as a second language. Dr. Ruoff enjoys engaging in a variety of outdoor activities with her husband and two grown children.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 314
Phone: 802.654.2278
Box 281
E-mail: lruoff@smcvt.edu
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Judith Hillman
Professor of Education
B.S., M.Ed. University of Missouri; Ph.D. University of Nebraska
Dr. Hillman's fields of expertise are literacy development, children’s literature, literacy assessment and the supervision of student-teachers. She teaches courses in the teaching of reading and writing and has published a text, “Discovering Children’s Literature.” Married to a psychologist and the mother of three children, Dr. Hillman sings in several choral groups and is a Minister of Music in her church.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 316
Phone: 802.654.2412
Box 281
E-mail: jhillman@smcvt.edu
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Mary Beth Doyle
Associate Professor of Education
B.S., M.Ed. State University College of New York at Buffalo; Ph.D. University of Minnesota
Dr. Doyle's primary teaching responsibilities at Saint Michael’s are with secondary education undergraduate and graduate students. Her areas of specialty include working with students who experience severe disabilities and collaborative teaming. This work involves creating curricular adaptations to support students in inclusive classroom communities. In addition, Dr. Doyle presents and writes extensively on the roles and responsibilities of paraprofessionals in public schools.
Saint Edmund's Hall 312
Phone: 802.654.2279
Box 281
E-mail: mdoyle@smcvt.edu
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Aostre Johnson
Associate Professor of Education
A.B. Harvard University; M.Ed. Harvard Graduate School of Education;
Ed.D. University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Dr. Johnson's areas of specialization are curriculum and pedagogy, lifespan development, early childhood education and ethical, religious and spiritual dimensions of education. She teaches courses in both the graduate and the undergraduate education departments, coordinates the graduate curriculum concentration and elementary licensure program and also directs the Program on Spirituality and Education. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a major in social relations and received her master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She then founded and taught in innovative university laboroatory schools and other schools for a number of years before earning her doctorate in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a focus on curriculum and foundations. She has published a number of articles relating to creative, ethical, religious and spiritual dimensions of development and education.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 310
Phone: 802.654.2436
Box 281
E-mail: ajohnson@smcvt.edu
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Jody Willis
Associate Professor of Education
B.A. DePauw University; M.Ed., Ed.D. University of Vermont
Dr. Willis has enjoyed working with Saint Michael’s elementary education majors since 1981, teaching primarily the Math Methods course, Pedagogy course and student teachers. Her professional interests include the relationship of children’s literature, Multiple Intelligence Theory and multicultural content to the teaching of elementary school mathematics. Her primary research is an ethnographic study of an existing one-room school in Vermont. Personal interests include travel, reading, hiking, kayaking, quilting, crafts and spending time with friends and her family consisting of three children and two grandchildren. She has a summer home on Lake Champlain and a winter home in Ashland, Oregon.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 318
Phone: 802.654.2376
Box 281
E-mail:jwillis@smcvt.edu
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Valerie Bang-Jensen
Assistant Professor of Education
A.B. Smith College; M.A., Ed.M., Ed.D. Teachers College, Columbia University
Dr. Bang-Jensen joined the Education Department at Saint Michael’s College in 2001. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary literacy and supervises student teachers in local schools. Areas of professional interest include children’s literature, nonfiction, and first-hand learning experiences. She hopes to develop a children’s literature garden at Saint Michael’s with a Biology Department colleague, Mark Lubkowitz. Before joining the Saint Michael’s faculty, she taught literacy courses to pre-service and in-service teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has taught kindergarten through grade 6 in public and independent schools and served as a literacy and assessment consultant for schools, districts and museums.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 220
Phone: 802.654.2822
Box 281
E-mail: vbang-jensen@smcvt.edu
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Claudine R. Prairie
Assistant Professor of Education
B.S. Purdue University; M.Ed. Saint Michael's College; Ed.D. Indiana University (pending)
Claudine Prairie teaches adolescent development for undergraduates and The Decision to Teach for graduate students. She will also be supervising four student teachers in the field.
She expects her doctorate in education this year from Indiana University in Bloomington, in educational leadership and policy studies. Her dissertation is titled, “A Qualitative Study of Teacher Interpretation and Instructional Decision-Making in Response to Student Voice."
Ms. Prairie co-authored a teacher’s guide, “Using Standards in Your Classroom: A Teacher Resource Guide,” for the Vermont Department of Education, and she made conference presentations with colleagues titled “Teacher Quality Enhancement” and “Middle Frame for School Improvement.” She is particularly interested in personalized learning and the concept of teacher dispositions.
Saint Edmunds 306
Phone: 802.654.2741
Box 281
E-mail: cprairie@smcvt.edu
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Anne Judson
Instructor of Education
B.A. Rutgers University; M.Ed. Tufts University; Ed.D. University of Vermont
Dr. Judson is director of the graduate programs in education and coordinator of the technology in education program. Her master’s and doctoral concentrations were child development and educational administration respectively. Her areas of interest are the impact of technology on learning, professional development (pre-service and in-service) and the impact of the 2002 “No Child Left Behind” law on K-12 schools. Among the courses she teaches are Integrating Technology into the Curriculum, Introduction to Educational Research, Capstone Seminar and Student Teaching Seminar. She enjoys hiking, yoga and drawing.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 316
Phone: 802.654.2611
Box 281
E-mail: ajudson@smcvt.edu
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Jonathan Silverman
Instructor of Education
B.S., M.S., Ed.D. University of Vermont
Coordinator of the Arts in Education program, Dr. Silverman's areas of interest are arts education, aesthetic perspectives on education, interdisciplinary curriculum, creativity and foundation. He strives to help students become “more imaginative, resourceful and critically reflective practitioners.” His philosophy is that the arts offer members of society a viable way to become knowledgeable, literate and morally responsible. His courses include Aesthetic Perspectives on Culture and Education, Arts: The Creative Process, Educator as Artist, and Student Teaching Seminar.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 308
Phone: 802.654.2306
Box 281
E-mail: jsilverman@smcvt.edu
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Karen Donovan
Visiting Instructor of Education
B.S. Keene State College; M.Ed. University of Vermont
Karen Donovan worked as recreation director, adaptive physical educator, elementary educator and special educator over the past 25 years. Currently she is a visiting instructor at Saint Michael’s teaching one undergraduate course, Individual Differences, and two graduate-level courses, Legal Issues and Special Education Practicum. She has two children currently attending Saint Michael’s, and her husband works for Rainforest Alliance. She enjoys hiking, photography, Nordic skiing, her cabin in the woods, friends and family.
Saint Edmund's Hall 304
Phone: 802.654.2826
Box 281
E-mail: kdonovan@smcvt.edu
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Rebecca Wigglesworth
Visiting Instructor of Education
B.A. Stanford University; M.A.T. Brown University
Becky Wigglesworth has taught in the Education Department since 1999, when she began teaching Content Area Literacy for the graduate program. She is currently in an interim position as the undergraduate secondary education coordinator. In this role, she teaches Secondary Education, the final course in the secondary undergraduate sequence prior to student teaching. She also teaches the senior seminar that accompanies student teaching, and supervises both graduate and undergraduate student teachers. Ms. Wigglesworth began her career as a secondary English teacher, most recently at Champlain Valley Union High School in Vermont. She coordinates placements at CVU and other schools in the area. Ms. Wigglesworth is particularly interested in content area literacy, and continues to teach the graduate course on that topic.
Saint Edmund’s Hall 322A
Phone: 802.654.2495
Box 281
E-mail: bwigglesworth@smcvt.edu