Carolyn R. Kaldon, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
About Dr. Kaldon
Dr. Kaldon is a Research Assistant Professor with the Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) at The University of Memphis. She has extensive experience working with districts and schools in the Mid-South and nationwide to conduct meaningful and high-quality research from local to federal levels focused on improving student success. Her specific areas of expertise include school-based research related to literacy and STEM programs, as well as academic interventions for at-risk students. Her broad research specialties include research design, instrument development, and data analysis, with which she recently led the evaluation component of the Shelby County schools' Race to the Top project focused on improving their mentorship/coaching models in the district and its impact on teacher evaluation and student improvement. Dr. Kaldon served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on a national multi-site, quasi-experimental study for students in grades 3-5 of a targeted, small-group literacy intervention---the Leveled Literacy Intervention System. She also served as the PI on a multi-state instrument development project in partnership with Heinemann Publishing, which is focused on developing a brief literacy tool to identify elementary students reading below grade level so they can be routed quickly to appropriate intervention, if needed. Additionally, she recently served as a co-PI on a five-year Investing in Innovation fund (i3) Validation grant from the US Department of Education's Office of Innovation & Improvement, working in conjunction with the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) to evaluate the impact of the SSEC's LASER program, an inquiry-based science instruction model. Dr. Kaldon's role focused on the methodology, data collection, and reporting efforts for this large-scale, multi-site, mixed-method Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), which had stringent data collection, analysis, and reporting requirements. Dr. Kaldon also holds a Professional Teaching License for grades 1-8, and maintains certification in all areas related to conducting ethical research. Dr. Kaldon received her Ph.D. from Penn State in 2007.
Education
Ph.D., Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 2007;
M.S., Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 2004;
B.A., with honors in Psychology, Rhodes College, 1998;
Teaching License, State of Tennessee, Grades 1-8, 1998.