Deborah Carlson is a research associate at the University of North Florida who has over 30 years of experience in education. She received her BA in childhood education from the University of Florida in 1976 and her MEd and EdD in elementary education and curriculum & instruction from the University of Florida and University of Tennessee, respectively. Her roles have included teacher, assistant professor, project manager, staff development coordinator, assistant principal, and principal for the Department of Defense Education Activity. She has authored and co-authored several publications related to curriculum development and evaluation.

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Deborah L. Carlson
12000 Alumni Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224-2678
Phone: (904) 620-5157
Email: dcarlson@unf.edu
a. Professional Preparation
University of Florida Gainesville, FL Childhood Education BA 1976
University of Florida Gainesville, FL Elementary Education M.Ed 1978
University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN Curriculum & Instruction Ed.D. 1983
b. Appointments
2015-Present Research Associate
Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
1987-2013 Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)
 Pacific Region Staff Development Coordinator
 Adjunct Professor, University of San Diego, Boston University, University of
Maryland (Curriculum Alignment and Standards, Examining Student Work, and
Examining Math Practices [PreK-12] )
 Assistant Principal and Principal, PreK-12
 On-Site Team Leader, Antilles School District, PR (PreK-3,9-12)
1985-1986 Assistant Professor,Curriculum and Instruction, UT, Knoxville
1983-1985 Associate Project Manager,U.S. Department of Education Grant, Tennessee’s Career
Ladder Program, UT Knoxville
1979-1981 Teacher,Music (K-6), Martha Manson Academy,Gainesville, FL
1977-1979 Teacher,Language Arts & Reading, Choral Music (6-8), Lincoln Middle School,
Gainesville, FL
c. Products
(i) Up to five most closely related to proposal project
Carlson, D., Wehry, S., & McLemore, B. (2016). The teachers’ voice: Using photovoice and
concept mapping to evaluate an innovative prekindergarten robotics program. In A. Cañas,P.
Reiska & J. Novak (Series Ed.) Springer Communications in Computerand Information Science:
Vol. 635. Innovating with Concept Mapping,7th International Conference on Concept Mapping,
CMC 2016,Tallinn,Estonia,September 5-9, 2016, Proceedings (pp. 241-254). doi: 10.1007/978-
3-319-45501-3_19
Wehry, S., Carlson, D., & McLemore, B. (2016). The Teachers’ Voice: Forming a Theoretical
Framework Combining a Prekindergarten STEM Curriculum and a Learning Curriculum. A. J.
Canas,P. Reiska, J.D. Novak (Eds.) Innovating with Concept Mapping, Proceedings of the 7th
International Conference on Concept Mapping. Tallinn, Estonia.
McLemore, B. Wehry, S., & Carlson, D. (2016). Using Concept Mapping to Compare
Intentionally Taught Outcomes with Actual Outcomes of a Prekindergarten Robotics and
Problem Solving Curriculum. A. J. Canas, P. Reiska, J.D. Novak (Eds.) Innovating with
Concept Mapping, Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Concept Mapping.
Tallinn, Estonia.
McLemore, B. Wehry, S., Carlson, D., Monroe-Ossi, H., Fountain, C., & Cosgrove, M. (2016).
Using concept mapping to assess 4- and 5-year old children’s knowledge in the robotics
and programming for prekinderten project. In A. Cañas, P. Reiska & J. Novak (Series
Ed.) Springer Communications in Computer and Information Science: Vol. 635.

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Innovating with Concept Mapping, 7th International Conference on Concept Mapping,
CMC 2016, Tallinn, Estonia, September 5-9, 2016, Proceedings (pp. 287-302). doi:
10.1007/978-3-319-45501-3_23
Carlson, D., & Bullion, P. (1995). A Team Approach to Cooperative Learning.
Teaching and Change,2(2),118-140.
(ii) Five other significant products or publications
Handler, J.,& Carlson, D. (1984). Shaping Tennessee's MasterTeacher Program - 1983. Part
1: Improving Teacher Quality through Incentives Project. ERIC, 340094,1-267.
Handler, J.,& Carlson, D. (1985). Shaping Tennessee's Career Ladder Program - 1985. Part 2:
Improving Teacher Quality through Incentives Project. ERIC, 337847,1-260
Community Strategic Plan: Volume I. (2013, April 1). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
http://www.dodea.edu/CSP/volume-I.cfm
Carlson, D. (Director) (1984, April 23). It's Time to Move: A Case for Movement Education in
the Music Class. American Education Research Association Annual Conference. Lecture
conducted from AERA,New Orleans.
Carlson, D., & Ellinger, T. (1990). Education in Korea: Feeling Bad and Doing Well. Foreign
Service Journal, 67(6),16-18.
d. Synergistic Activities
2016-2017:Research Associate for a 9-month STEM pilot program, responsible for developing and field
testing a robotics, programming, and problem solving integrated curriculum for prekindergarten students
in three centers located in Jacksonville, FL.(Florida Institute of Education, University of North Florida).
2015-2016:Research Associate for a 3-month STEM pilot program - Robotics and Programming for
PreK:An Early Learning Problem Solving Initiative (RAPP),at the Florida Institute of Education,
University of North Florida, implemented in three centers located in Jacksonville, FL.
2014-2015:Framer for the revision of the Florida Science Standards. Task force is responsible for
creating the foundation for the new Florida Standards, and to assist in the development of the essential
concepts and skills Florida students (K-12) will be required to achieve. This work will be used by the
Writers in developing the full scope of the new Florida Science Standards.
2007-2013:Principal, Amelia Earhart Intermediate School (grades 3-5) 640 students, 75 professional
staff; Bob Hope Primary School (grades PreK-2),750 students, 100 professional staff, Kadena Air Force
Base,Okinawa, Japan. Professional Focus:
Implemented a school-wide problem solving process through student, parent and teacher forums,
applied to science investigations and projects, that resulted in student and school-wide awards at the
District, Regional, and country-wide (Japan) level.
Observed, monitored, and evaluated teacher progress with and practical application of their learning
of new technology (Introduction to SharePoint; Introduction to Contribute, Camtasia, and Snagit),
for graduate level college credit, through the University of San Diego.
Designed, implemented, monitored, and assessed professional development for PreK-2 grade
teachers on the use of space,transitions, center-based learning, and developmentally appropriate
practices.
Created and supported (i.e. resources,collaboration time, peer- observations) three Professional
Learning Teams for grades 3-5 teachers:Robotics using Lego Mindstorms; Looking at Student
Work (LASW) with graduate level college credit; and Unpacking Standards within an integrated
curriculum.

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2012-2013:Task Force Member and Team Leader for 21st
Century Teaching, Leading, Learning (CTLL)
Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Curriculum Integration Module. Purpose: Identify
the connections between the pedagogical strands and instruction, technology and teacher support systems;
Develop training modules for Professional Development of 21st
Century Teaching, Learning, and
Leading. Professional development framework supports (PreK-12):adoption of the common curricular
standards, Common Core State Standards; adoption of assessments aligned to new curriculum standards;
conversion to digital learning environments; integration of science,technology, engineering, and
mathematics into all curricular areas; employment reform to change the way we recruit and retain talent.
1998-2000 Site Team Leader (STL) Pre-K – 12 and Adjunct Professor for the University of San Diego,
Antilles District, Puerto Rico. Purpose: A two year project focused on underperforming schools in
DoDEA worldwide. I provided on-site expertise and support for teachers in: curriculum/standards
alignment (EDU 567 N, University of San Diego: Curriculum Alignment and Standards for Early
Childhood Programs,graduate credit); effective teaching practices,and creating/using assessments
aligned with instruction.
1990-1995:Pacific Area Staff Development Coordinator (DoDEA): Supervised and evaluated a team of 6
staff development officers; serving four districts (Japan, Okinawa, Philippines, Korea),comprised of 50
schools and 24,000 students. Purpose: to provide instructional support for grade level PreK-12 teachers
through: analyzing, modeling, observing, and evaluating best teaching practices; creating and leading
study groups for teachers to share reflections on their learning; and (as an adjunct professor for Boston
University, University of Maryland, and University of San Diego), provide graduate level college credit
for their work.
e. Collaborators & Other Affiliations
(i) Collaborators and Co-Editors
zero Collaborators and zero Co-Editors
(ii) Graduate Advisors and Postdoctoral Sponsors
zero Graduate Advisor and zero Postdoctoral Advisors
(iii) Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate-Scholar Sponsor
zero Graduate Students Advised and zero Postgraduate-Scholars Sponsored