MAT: Secondary Education Core Faculty
Dr. Amy Bentz
Faculty Specialist and Co-Director of the MAT-Secondary Education
"We are the change we have been waiting for"Barack ObamaAfter Dr. Bentz earned her bachelors in Geology from Michigan State University, she worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. Dr. Bentz decided to follow her passion for teaching and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Wayne State University. She taught Integrated Earth/Physical Science and Environmental Science at Royal Oak High School before pursuing her doctorate degree in Science Education from Western Michigan University.
Dr. Bentz is a co-director of the MAT: SE Program. She teaches curriculum and assessment methods courses, supervises internship seminars and coaches teacher candidates in the field. She is passionate about equity and inclusion in the classroom. Embracing differentiated instructional methodologies, along with integrated formative assessment, help her teacher candidates meet the needs of a diverse student population.
Dr. Summer Davis
Assistant Professor: MAT-Secondary Program
“It’s this deep desire to not just give back, but to give of self and to actually make space for other people to enter into conversations that oftentimes they might not be a part of, they might be excluded from or they might not be represented in . . . to foster a collective impact in education”
Valerie Kinloch
Dr. Davis holds her PhD in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education from Indiana University with a concentration in Urban Education Studies (IUPUI). Her research centers societal issues that affect disproportionate outcomes for individuals in the realm of education. Through her focus on scholarship regarding the preparation of preservice teachers for their roles in classrooms and society, she is committed to understanding how teacher education is manifested and how this is replicated or disrupted within PK-12 students' educational experiences.
Before pursuing her PhD, Dr. Davis was a middle school classroom E/LA teacher for fourteen years. During this time, she coached track and field, swimming, and founded the first women's cross-country team in an urban high school. Many of these life experiences have assisted her understanding of the practical and theoretical concerns of classroom teachers, as well as those they serve. Through understanding critical issues, she believes areas of disconnect can be remedied to strengthen and create more positive outcomes for students and communities.
When not teaching and researching, Dr. Davis enjoys partaking in a variety of athletic activities, attending collegiate and professional sporting events, playing and listening to music, and brushing up on her pop culture references.
Allison Hart-Young, Ph.D.
Professor and Co-Director of the MAT-Secondary Education
“Dialogue further requires an intense faith in humankind, faith in their power to make and remake, to create and recreate, faith in their vocation to be more fully human (which is not the privilege of an elite, but the birthright of all).”
Paolo Freire
A native of Connecticut (land of the Quinnipiac people), Dr. Hart-Young (she/her) holds a bachelors degree in Psychology from Swarthmore College, with certification in secondary social studies, and a masters degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her PhD is from the Combined Program in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan, where she studied adolescence and motivation. Her research agenda has evolved to examining the beliefs of pre-service and in-service teachers as well as teacher retention.
Dr. Hart-Young is a co-director of the MAT: SE Program. Her pedagogical focus includes educational and developmental psychology for secondary education. She subscribes to humanist and social constructivist approaches to teaching and learning, leading to an emphasis on the power of classroom community, dialogue and critical thinking. She is committed to making educational psychology relevant to teacher preparation and practice.
Dr. Hart-Young prefers the outdoors, hiking, canoeing and backpacking. Visiting National Parks is her jam and she is regularly mistaken for a park ranger. She is also a musician (vocal and instrumental). Her reading list is mostly non-fiction.
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