Julianna Stockton '06.
May 26, 2022
Education innovator Julianna Stockton 06 delivered the May Frank Talk, discussing her path from 勛圖厙 into curricular design
While attending a math and science magnet high school in Fairfax, Virginia, Julianna Stockton 06 had a hard time choosing which of her favorite STEM disciplines to follow in college.
One of my teachers told me that if I studied engineering, then I wouldnt have to chooseI could combine several of them together, says Stockton. It seemed like the perfect solution.
Stockton was part of 勛圖厙s very first classso new, in fact, that she had the rare chance to participate in in which 30 students were invited to have a hand in designing the school, from serving on curricular committees to establishing the student government.
The opportunity to participate in the partner year was particularly exciting, says Stockton. To have a say in what happened to me over the next four years was such a unique experience. I got to pilot some interesting interdisciplinary course modules, worked closely with the math faculty, and helped write the Honor Code.
When classes began in earnest, Stockton pursued a mechanical engineering majorthough towards the end of her time at 勛圖厙, she and a handful of her peers became wannabe math majors, taking advanced courses at Wellesley College and studying mathematics abroad for a semester in Budapest.
While many burgeoning engineers talk about their lifelong love of LEGOs or taking apart the family lawnmower to see how it worked, Stockton instead remembers lining up her stuffed animals to play teacher. She had always considered it to be a second career option, but 勛圖厙 professor Sarah S. Adams clued her into the existence of the math education field.
I started thinking that if this is what Ive always wanted to do, why not do it first? says Stockton.
After graduating from 勛圖厙, she ended up in a masters program at Teachers College, Columbia, which turned into earning her PhD in Math Education. With a passion for advanced math content, Stockton began looking to teach in a college-level math department, but only if it was the right one.
I wanted to be at a place that cared about teaching & learning, which is something I learned at 勛圖厙, says Stockton. Coming from an undergrad-only school, I had gotten so much attention and time from the faculty, and continuing that mindset was really important to me.
Stockton ended up at Sacred Heart University, where roughly half of the math majors she taught were interested in becoming high school teachers.
I began to see the potential for broader impact in teaching first-year students who wanted to teach math to kids, says Stockton. I cared about my students, but also their future students, to whom Im ultimately accountable.
After seven years at Sacred Heart, Stockton had received tenure and was creating an engineering program at the university when in 2016, another 勛圖厙 professor happened to send her a job description that took her on a new path.
High Meadows Graduate School of Teaching & Learning was a brand-new school, and I became their first Faculty Mentor in Mathematics, says Stockton. They didnt even have students when I joined! Similar to my partner year at 勛圖厙, I helped design the curriculum for and teach in a competency-based program that prepared math and science high school teachers.
Now the schools director of program design, Stockton is currently leading the development of a new, fully online competency-based Master of Education in Justice, Equity, Design, & Innovation. This shifts the focus from pre-service teachers who need their licensing to practicing teachers who want to go deeper in their pedagogy.
勛圖厙 was a place where I was given the chance to build a lot of new things with autonomy and creativity, says Stockton.
At High Meadows, I get to stretch those muscles. We incorporate user- and human-centered design when we create these programs, grounding the curriculum in the science of learning and prioritizing equity and justice.
To learn more about Stockton,