The Investigations Center Staff
Dionne Champion
Bio
Dionne started her career at TERC in 2017 as a Postdoctoral Fellow, researching STEM learning and identity in informal learning spaces and seeking to understand how the body can be a resource for sense-making and contribute to the development of agency. She is a learning scientist, a chemical engineer, an educator, and a dancer. Dionne has spent more than twenty years designing and engaging youth in interdisciplinary programming that disrupts hierarchies between the arts and the sciences and supports healthy conversations around race, power, equity, and social issues. She has written proposals, developed curricula, and implemented programming for pre-school through college-aged learners. Her current research focuses on the design and ethnographic study of environments that utilize dance to engage youth and scientists in physics, computational thinking and modeling, and complex systems. Dionne returns to TERC as a lead researcher on the Investigations project, focused on supporting the development of equity resources.
Cinthia Colón
Bio
Cinthia comes to TERC with many years of experience in Boston Public Schools – as a full inclusion classroom teacher, ESL teacher, mentor, peer evaluator, and, currently, a middle school learning specialist. She brings years of experience with the Investigations curriculum and a passion for cultivating equitable and accessible learning environments in diverse communities. Her focus has always been on bringing students’ and colleagues’ lived experiences into the math and science classroom.
Karen Economopoulos
Bio
Karen is the director of the Investigations Center for Curriculum and Professional Development. Her work on Investigations spans all three editions; she oversaw the development of K-2 for the 1st edition, and co-directed the development of the 2nd and 3rd editions. Karen works extensively with classroom teachers, administrators, and school districts in the area of curriculum reform. She is a former K-2 teacher with a special interest in supporting the range of learners in elementary classrooms. More »
Arusha Hollister
Bio
Arusha is one of the authors of both the 2nd and 3rd editions of Investigations in Number, Data and Space. She has also developed both in-person and online professional development for Investigations. Before working at TERC, Arusha was an elementary school classroom teacher and a math coach. More »
Megan Murray
Bio
Megan has been involved in the development and writing of all three editions of Investigations in Number, Data, and Space. Originally a classroom observer who spent many hours in field test classrooms, she is now a senior author, specializing in grades K-2. She has also developed and facilitated professional development around Investigations in particular and elementary mathematics in general. More »
Susan Jo Russell
Bio
Susan Jo began her career in education as an elementary classroom teacher and math coach. She co-directed the original development and second edition of Investigations in Number, Data and Space. Her research has focused on children’s mathematical understanding and on how teachers can learn more about mathematics and about children’s mathematical thinking. Current work centers on early algebra, number and operations, mathematical argument, and how teachers can support students to engage in mathematical practices. More »
Annie Sussman
Bio
Since joining TERC in 2015, Annie has worked on the development and writing of the 3rd edition of Investigations in Number, Data and Space. A former elementary school teacher, Annie has experience using the Investigations curriculum in grades 1-4. Her current projects include designing professional development to support mathematics teaching and learning through use of the Investigations curriculum, and work on two research studies that examine ways to effectively support student engagement in the Standards for Mathematical Practice. More »