Curriculum, Instruction, & Special Education Degree Paths
Curriculum, Instruction, & Special Education Faculty and Staff
Nick Bourke
Chair, Associate Professor | College of Education
Dr. Nicholas Bourke is Department Chair and professor at Auburn University at Montgomery in the College of Education-Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology. Dr. Bourke is the Chapter Counselor for the Education Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi, and is heavily involved in creating meaningful clinical experiences for his students. His research interests include documenting impacts of nonformal education experiences and elementary environmental education. Before coming to Auburn University at Montgomery, Nicholas served as a classroom teacher for 22 years in a variety of settings including public and parochial schools. His teaching duties revolved mainly around science and math instruction with students ranging in age from 4th-9th grades.
Faculty’s Expertise: Environmental Education, Elementary Education, Nonformal Education, Program Evaluation, Science Education, Math Education, Clinical Experiences for Elementary Teachers
Shanta Varma
Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Distance Ed & Collaborative Partnerships; Professor
Shanta Varma
Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Distance Ed & Collaborative Partnerships; Professor | College of Education
Dr. Shanta Goswami Varma is Professor of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Distance Education & Collaborative Partnerships. With more than two decades of experience in online education, she has led initiatives in instructional technology, digital equity, and open educational resources (OER). Her leadership has expanded AUM’s online programs, strengthened faculty development, and advanced both domestic and international partnerships. Her research focuses on student engagement, digital literacy in marginalized communities, and the use of OER to promote access and retention in higher education.
Faculty’s Expertise: Distance Education, Instructional Technology, Digital Equity, Open Educational Resources (OER), Online Program Development, Faculty Development & Training, Global & Community Partnerships, Digital Literacy in Marginalized Communities, Student Engagement in Online Learning.
Tara Beziat
Professor | College of Education
Dr. Tara L.R. Beziat is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Auburn University at Montgomery. Her research focuses on metacognition and its effects on teaching, learning and assessment. More recently, her focus has been on helping college faculty make changes to their teaching and assessment that lead to significant gains in learning while improving faculty morale. She is currently a consulting editor for Teaching of Psychology and has served as the president of the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association.
Faculty’s Expertise: Quantitative Methods, Grant Writing, Faculty Development, Metacognition
Sara Bicard
Professor | College of Education
Dr. Sara Ernsbarger Bicard is a professor of special education at Auburn University at Montgomery. She has served in a variety of educational and community settings as a special teacher and behavior analyst. Her research and publications in leading journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Phi Delta Kappan focus on positive behavioral and academic interventions to support students with disabilities and improve classroom outcomes.
Faculty’s Expertise: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Inclusive Special Education, Behavioral Intervention Strategies, Teacher Preparation and Professional Development
Sherry Campbell
Clinical Professor | College of Education
Mrs. Sherry Campbell has over 23 years of combined teaching experience at both the K-12 and university levels. She is passionate about preparing future educators through engaging, research based instruction that emphasizes equity, technology integration, and authentic assessment. Her professional journey reflects a strong commitment to fostering lifelong learning and supporting the success of diverse students.
Faculty’s Expertise: Pre-service Teachers, Instructional Technology, Authentic Assessment
Gilbert Duenas
Professor | College of Education
Dr. Gil Duenas has served as a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology, College of Education, Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) since Fall 2011. As a full professor, he provides instruction (face-to face or online) for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidates, as well as facilitates 10-hour field experiences, 100-hour practicum, and the one-semester internship for eligible candidates. His research focus centers on the influence of the Hispanic household on children’s out-of-school mathematics and literacy learning, and on the role of pedagogical practices that acknowledge and value young children’s cultural and social diversity.
Faculty’s Expertise: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Latino Household and Children’s Out-of-School Learning, Valuing and Affirming Play-Based Learning in Early Childhood
Jennifer Good
Assistant Dean of Accreditation, Professor
Jennifer Good
Assistant Dean of Accreditation, Professor | College of Education
Dr. Jennifer Good serves as a professor and the Assistant Dean of Assessment and Accreditation for the College of Education. She completed her doctorate in Educational Psychology at Auburn University, and she served as a member of the faculty and/or academic administrator at The Citadel (1 year), Auburn University (11 years), Auburn University at Montgomery (4 years), Spring Hill College (9 years), returning to AUM a second time in 2024.
Faculty’s Expertise: Assessment, Professional Development, Writing Pedagogyd
Dan Henry
Assistant Professor | College of Education
Dr. Dan Henry has been a teacher at all levels for 43 years, including high school and in higher education settings. His areas of expertise include public schools, teaching methodologies, program evaluation and qualitative research. Before coming to AUM, Dr. Henry was the director of the Auburn Center for Evaluation. Dr. Henry is a certified teacher in Alabama.
Faculty’s Expertise: Program Evaluation, Educational Psychology, Teacher Preparation
Samantha Hood
Associate Professor, AUMTeach Co-Director
Samantha Hood
Associate Professor, AUMTeach Co-Director | College of Education
Dr. Samantha Junkin Hood is currently an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education and Co-Director of AUMTeach. She began her educational career as a Title I Mathematics Teacher, then transitioned to the district role of Professional Development and Leadership Specialist, where she collaborated with struggling high schools. She later became a 6-12 Mathematics Curriculum Specialist.
Faculty’s Expertise: Math Education, Secondary Education, Instructional Strategies, Story, and Teacher Leaders
Shelly Hudson Bowden
Professor | College of Education
Dr. Shelly Hudson Bowden is a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology within the College of Education, Auburn University at Montgomery. Her Ph. D. is in Early Childhood Education. She taught kindergarten for 14 years and now as a college professor, teaches Education Specialist research courses. Her research interests include mentoring and creating naturalistic classroom environments.
Faculty’s Expertise: Early Childhood Education, Mentoring, Creating Naturalistic Classroom Environments.
Traci Johnson
Assistant Professor | College of Education
Dr. Traci Johnson is an assistant professor at AUM, College of Education, teaching undergraduate and graduate literacy courses and supervising interns. She has over twenty years of experience in the education field. Her professional history includes teaching literacy, math, and technology methods for the last ten years at the undergraduate level and have taught elementary grade levels K, 1, 3, and Title I Reading and Math.
Faculty’s Expertise: Literacy, Lesson Planning, Field Experiences, Internship, Cooperating Teachers
Erin Klash
Associate Professor | College of Education
Dr. Erin Klash is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education. She teaches a variety of foundations of education courses to students in an array of programs. Her qualitative research interests include topics related to strategic teaching and assessment/evaluation.
Faculty’s Expertise: Strategic Teaching, Instructional Strategies, Assessment/Evaluation, Qualitative Research
M. Sabrina Lasseter
Administrative Associate | College of Education
Tami Shelley
Associate Professor | College of Education
Kate Simmons
Professor | College of Education
Dr. Kate D. Simmons is a Professor of Special Education where she specializes in instructional strategies that enhance academic and behavioral outcomes for students with exceptionalities. With over five years of experience in public education, she has authored 19 peer-reviewed articles, two book chapters, and delivered over 71 presentations at various professional conferences while at AUM. Dr. Simmons has secured multiple grants, including for AUM’s Virtual Avatar Laboratory (VAL), has held chairs in the Special Education Programs Caucus (SSEPC) for over 11 years, and served on 66 committees inside and oustide of the university.
Faculty’s Expertise: Behavior Management, Curriculum Design, Virtual Worlds, Direct Instruction
