ROBIN CHAPPELE THOMPSON, PhD
My work in education spans 25 years. My Master’s degree in Elementary Education, ESOL endorsement, certification in K-12 Reading, and certification in Preschool Education provide me with a strong knowledge base in the teaching and learning processes. At the school level, I have been a teacher, literacy coach, and curriculum coordinator. After earning my Doctorate of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Childhood Reading and Language Arts, I worked as an instructor at the University of South Florida where I supervised interns, taught literacy, assessment, and writing courses in the College of Education. Currently I serve as the Director of Early Learning in the School District of Manatee County, where curriculum design and implementation for PreK – 2 has been a focus area for my work. The best part of my job is that I get to play with four-year-olds and work with teachers every day! My areas of special interest include the role of play in early learning, multimodal literacies in young children’s lives, and learning through making. Since implementing StoryMaking in some of our preschool classrooms, our local museum and our library, I have studied formal and informal learning environments, researched learning spaces, and worked with Michelle to develop learning continuums associated with open-ended materials used in the makers’ movement, and specifically StoryMaking.