Karen Thomas-Brown appointed to national committee on assessment of education progress

Karen Thomas-Brown, assistant professor of social studies and multiculturalism in the School of Education, has been appointed to the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Geography Standing Committee for the 2014 assessment.

NAEP is a primary source of national information about the status of student learning in a variety of school subject areas, including reading, mathematics, and science.

The NAEP geography assessment, which presents a broad view of what America's students know and can do in geography, was developed by a committee of geography and measurement experts to capture goals of the NAEP Geography Framework, which describes the goals of the assessment and what kind of exercises it ought to feature.

Thomas-Brown's appointment to the geography standing committee aligns with aspects of her research interests, which includes the impact of gender on the teaching and learning of geography and the incorporation of technology into the teaching of social studies.

Her current research projects include examining the impact of enrolling students in an after-school geography club on their geographic literacy and the use of natural disasters and culturally sensitive topics to teach social studies students empathy and social justice.

Thomas-Brown's appointment is effective immediately and will continue though the 2014 assessment cycle.