Dr. Alysia Roehrig, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, joined the faculty at Florida State University in 2003 and serves as the Learning and Cognition Program Coordinator. She earned both her Ph.D. and M.A. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Roehrig’s research interests focus on issues related to effective teaching, particularly exploring the successes of students labeled at risk for school failure. She primarily focuses on the literacy learning and motivation of students as well as the professional development of teachers for using texts by diverse authors. She has published articles in the Elementary School Journal, the Journal of Literacy Research, Science, and The Teacher Educator. Her most recent article, “Differences in American and Turkish preservice teachers’ beliefs about the effectiveness of classroom management practices,” is currently in press. Her latest chapter, “The fierce urgency of now: CDF Freedom Schools and culturally relevant pedagogy,” is co-authored with the co-executive directors of North Florida Freedom Schools. Her most recent book, No more sharpening pencils during work time and other time wasters, was co-authored with her former doctoral student Beth Brinkerhoff. The book was written to empower teachers to use the time they have to enhance their students’ cognitive engagement. Dr. Roehrig is committed to making educational research accessible to the public. Check out the FSU College of Education Research Briefs.
Dr. Roehrig is the Principal Investigator and Director of PURPOSE: Partners United for Research Pathways Oriented to Social Justice in Education. PURPOSE is an Institute of Education Sciences funded Pathways to the Education Science Training Program intended to increase the diversity of the doctorate in education. She also teaches the following graduate level courses: Methods of Educational Research, Theories of Learning and Cognition in Instruction, and College Teaching. She was honored with the Crystal Apple Award from Michigan State University’s College of Education in 2009. She won the University Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award in 2014 and has been nominated three times for FSU’s and twice for the College of Education’s University Graduate Teaching Awards.
Dr. Roehrig is also the Research Director for North Florida Freedom Schools (NFFS), a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® Partner. The Freedom Schools program grew out the work of the historic 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi when free alternative schools were organized during the Civil Rights Movement with the goal of achieving equality. Dr. Kristal Clemons and Ms. Keely Norris, in collaboration with Dr. Roehrig, established the nonprofit NFFS in 2015 to provide an opportunity for children in the Tallahassee and Gadsden County communities to participate in free summer camps focused on reading texts by diverse authors and making a difference in the world.
For more information on Dr. Roehrig, please visit her vitae below.
