Biography

Mahnaz Moallem is currently a professor of Learning Design/Instructional Technology and Research and Chair of the Department of Educational Technology and Literacy at Towson University, Towson, MD. She was a professor and Grant Coordinator at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), College of Education, where she worked since 1993. She received her Ph.D. and her Master of Science degree in learning systems design/ instructional technology and her certification in program design & evaluation from Florida State University. As a learning science researcher, she studies applications of various learning and instructional design theories and models for learning and human performance improvement. She has a special interest in problem-based/project-based learning (PBL) and assessment of complex learning outcomes such as problem-solving and critical thinking. She has taught several undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of learning design/learning sciences/instructional design/instructional technology and classroom evaluation and research. She has conducted both qualitative and quantitative research and received a national research award for the best qualitative study in instructional technology. Dr. Moallem has long-term experience using emerging technology in designing, developing, evaluating, and delivering undergraduate and graduate courses. During her career, she has designed, developed and successfully implemented, and evaluated several programs that have been using PBL as their pedagogical framework. In addition, within the last ten years, she has coordinated innovative projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education on the integration of PBL with computer modeling and simulation. She has worked with many international colleagues and serves on the editorial board of many prestigious national and international journals. Mahnaz has received several teaching and research awards and has served as a rotating scientist (IPA) for two years at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Moallem is an active member of the Association for Educational Communication and Technology and the American Educational Research Association. She has presented and published in the area of instructional design and instructional technology extensively.