Department of Secondary Education

Social Science Education Faculty

Adjunct Faculty       

In addition to the four full-time faculty at the Tampa Campus there are over ten adjunct faculty who are practicing teachers, administrators, and curriculum developers at the K-12 level. These post-masters, adjunct faculty are selected for their content and pedagogical knowledge of social studies education and its praxis in contemporary and diverse elementary, middle, and high school settings. The faculty are recognized as scholars, leaders and expert practitioners at the local, state, national and international levels and provide a breadth of knowledge, perspectives and practical experience that is truly unique.

Robert Bailey received a BA in International Studies and an MA in Secondary Social Science Education at the University of South Florida. He served for four years as a child abuse investigator for the State of Florida prior to joining the faculty at Jefferson High School Magnet for International Studies as a social studies teacher. Robert is also affiliated with the Patel Center for Global Solutions at USF designing global lesson plans. He received a fellowship for the 2004 Law Related Education program allowing him to study for five days in Tallahassee at the Florida Supreme Court with the Supreme Court Justices serving. In the summer of 2005, Robert was a Coca-Cola World Citizenship Program Fellow during the summer of 2005 which placed him in Zambia, Africa for three months working on child access to quality education issues in the developing world. Robert's cognate is Global Education.

Kenneth Carano is a former Peace Corps volunteer, who spent two years teaching elementary students and running an after-school program in Suriname, South America.  He has been teaching World History, Geography, World Religions, Psychology, Sociology, and Global Studies as a high school social studies instructor in Sarasota County for the past four years.  He also introduced the Why Me Club, a student-led global relief agency, to Booker High School (Sarasota).  Prior to teaching high school social studies, he was a behavior specialist for middle school self-contained classrooms in Leon County.  Mr. Carano holds a master’s degree in secondary social studies education from Florida State University and is pursuing a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of South Florida with a cognate in global studies.  He has had two of his anthologies of life in Suriname published in the novel Volunteer Tales and has received a Short Story laureate for one of his works of fiction.  Mr. Carano has presentations accepted at NCSS and FCSS.  His research interests are global perspectives in teacher education programs and preparing students to be effective citizens in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected.

Lynne A. Carlson serves as the undergraduate secondary education advisor at the University of South Florida.  She advises all the secondary education majors pursuing a bachelor’s degree.  She is a member of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and serves as the chair of the LGBTA Concerns Commission.  Prior to coming to the College of Education, she was an education advisor and recruiter on the USF Sarasota/Manatee campus and served as the College of Arts and Science advisor on  the USF/Lakeland campus.  She has over 20 years experience with the Florida state university system.  She worked at the University of Tampa as the Transfer Evaluation coordinator.  Ms. Carlson taught high school social studies for the Hillsborough County School District at Plant City and Chamberlain high schools.  She also belongs to the National Council for the Social Studies and American Educational Research Association.  She is a former member of the Suncoast Area Teacher Training honor program at USF and Phi Alpha Theta, the history honorary.  She plays the saxophone in her spare time. 

James Duran (Manny) has been a Middle School Social Studies teacher in the Hillsborough County (FL) School District for twelve years. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. During his tenure in Hillsborough County he has served as a Team Leader, Subject Area Leader, curriculum writer, textbook review committee member, and county level trainer. In 2000 he was a finalist for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year. Manny also has experience in the administrative field – serving as Assistant Principal for Curriculum at Monroe Middle School (Tampa). In addition to his experiences in the tradition classroom, Manny has served as a mentor for several years in the local Boys and Girls Club. As part of those mentoring experiences, Manny recently served as a chaperone on a trip to South Africa. Personally, Manny enjoys all things outdoors. He will be participating in his very first half-marathon run later this year.

Aimee L. Alexander-Shea has been a Professor of Reading at Hillsborough Community College for the past four years, served as the Reading Resource Specialist at a local high school and is a doctoral student in the Secondary Social Studies Program at the University of South Florida. At the USF, she developed and is now teaching an on-line, content-area reading course that focuses on the integration of reading and social studies. Ms. Alexander-Shea was an invited speaker at the annual international conference of The Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) in 2002, has presented papers at four sessions of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and served as the discussant for a session at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She currently has publications in three educational journals and has co-authored a chapter in Family and School Partnerships (2nd ed.). Her professional services include serving as an assistant book and journal editor, collaborating in the coordination of the Community of Scholars at USF, and reviewing program proposals for a professional organization. Her research interests include Reading in the Content Areas, Reading Strategy Instruction in the Social Studies, and Literacy Learning in Multiple Contexts.

Martha Ford has taught Geography, U.S. History, Spanish and ESOL, and served as a magnet school Curriculum Specialist. She is the Middle School Social Studies Supervisor for the School District of Hillsborough County. received a Master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Leadership Certificate from USF. Her undergraduate preparation included Social Science Education and Political Science at USF and University of Delaware. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of South Florida. Having been raised overseas, she has a strong interest in ensuring that the middle school Social Studies program prepares students to be effective citizens who not only contribute to our nation, but who can also function successfully in the global arena. Toward that end, her goal is that reading and other essential skills be reinforced throughout the study of vital, current and relevant content. Research interests include global connections and technology in social studies.

Susan Ganley has her master’s degree in Elementary Education and Educational Leadership. She is certified in Educational Leadership in the state of Florida. She has over 27 years of teaching experience and practical knowledge in the elementary grades and has mentored countless USF interns during that time. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction with a cognate in higher education. Throughout the years, Ms. Ganley has frequently served as team leader, peer teacher, and on the School Advisory Committee. In addition, she has represented her school with the county as environmental coordinator, science coordinator, and technology coordinator. Thousands of dollars in grant money has been brought into her school and classroom through the various grants she has been awarded in science, social studies, environmental education, and service learning. She specializes in teaching across the content areas providing for a coordination of learning modalities and has designed and implemented a continuous progress, multilevel, interdisciplinary project and presentation based curricular program. Her research interests include increasing high school graduation rates, closing the achievement gap, and building smaller learning communities.

Dennis Holt is the Supervisor of Secondary Social Studies for the School District of Hillsborough County, Florida, the tenth largest school district in the United States. He holds a master’s degree in secondary social studies education and is pursuing a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of South Florida. Mr. Holt is a National Board Certified Teacher and has ten years teaching experience at the middle and high school levels. He has contributed to several textbooks in the field of social studies education and recently co-authored a textbook on teacher certification. He regularly conducts training for Hillsborough County and surrounding school districts and has presented before the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). In addition, he has provided consulting services to textbook publishers and suppliers of educational services.

Jennifer Marques-Patterson teaches middle grades social studies to gifted and ESOL students. She has taught a wide range of social studies courses, including U.S. History, Geography, Government, Economics, Law Studies, and World History at the secondary level in Charlotte and Sarasota counties for the last six years. She has also served as department chair, peer teacher, and team leader. Ms. Marques-Patterson holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Science, a B.A. in Africana Studies, an M.A. in Social Science Education, and is pursuing her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an Emphasis on Social Science Education. She has published articles in various educational journals, contributed to a social science methods textbook, and developed curricular materials integrating social studies and technology. Additionally, Ms. Marques-Patterson was named FCSS middle school social studies Teacher of the Year for Charlotte County. She has served on several committees involving literacy and social studies curriculum development and has experience as a proposal reviewer for the College and University Faculty Assembly Graduate Student SIG and for the American Educational Research Association. Her research interests include multicultural and equity education, African American history, and bias in instructional materials.

Kelly Miliziano is currently the social studies department chair at Wharton High School in Hillsborough County and has taught in New York City and Athens, Greece before coming to Tampa in 1995. She received her undergraduate degree in Social Science Education from New York University, a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from USF, and is pursuing a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of South Florida. She has conducted numerous workshops for the teaching for higher order thinking in the social studies. Mrs. Miliziano has organized Model United Nations conferences for high school students both locally and internationally and is currently involved with the implementation of the U.N.A. Global Classrooms curriculum. Mrs. Miliziano has an interest researching the effective use of technology with an emphasis on incorporating global and multicultural perspectives into the high school social studies curriculum.

Carey Sullens-Mullican is a social studies teacher at Pinellas Park Middle School in Pinellas County.  She has taught at both the middle and high school level including courses in Florida History, United States History, and World History.  Prior to teaching social studies, she was a program counselor for female adolescent teenagers in Tennessee which focused on behavior management and reorganization back to academics.  During the 2004-2005 school year, she was nominated for Pinellas County Rookie Teacher of the Year.  She is involved in the 2005 Pinellas County Economic Expo which encourages excellence in teaching economics.  Mrs. Sullens-Mullican has presentations accepted at FCSS and has also presented at Practitioners' Conference on Civic Education sponsored by the Centre for Policy and Practice.  She is currently pursing a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of South Florida. Her research interests include the impact of a Multiple Intelligences curriculum on student achievement and self-regulated learning in the social studies classroom.  She holds a Master of Arts degree in Social Science Education from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Tennessee.

Jason O'Brien is a high school teacher at Tampa Catholic. He is nearing the completion of his doctorate is Social Science Education at the University of South Florida. Mr. O'Brien has been an adjunct instructor at the University of South Florida since January 1999, and he as taught several content area and methods courses related to Social Studies. Mr. O'Brien has co-authored the first text written that offers social studies teachers specific pedagogic strategies to help them teach English Speakers of Other Languages. Mr. O'Brien has published in national and state journals and his research interests include teacher planning and the effects of having English Language Learners in social studies classes.

Patricia Rodriguez has over 20 years of teaching experience and served three years as assistant area director in Mexico City supervising 45 middle schools before coming to Tampa. She is certified in social studies in the state of Florida and has been teaching World Geography in Pasco County for two years. Mrs. Rodriguez has a bachelor’s degree of science in history and education and was awarded at graduation with a national distinction as one of the best students of her country.  She earned a masters degree in teaching in social studies at the University in South Florida, and is currently working toward a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction with concentration in both social studies and educational measurement and research methods. At USF, she teaches an on-line, content-area reading course that focuses on the integration of reading and social studies. Her research interests include multilevel modeling methods, diversity, Hispanic Americans, immigration, and literacy issues correlated to educational reform and school attrition.

Caroline Sheffield has taught middle grades social studies for the past seven years – five of those years as a teacher of the gifted.  She has taught a number of courses including World Geography, World History, an Anthropology elective, and a Holocaust elective in both the School District of Hillsborough County and Duval County Public Schools systems.  During her seven years in the classroom, she has also served as team leader, magnet lead teacher, and as a professional development trainer.   Additionally, she has written social studies curriculum for both Duval County Public Schools and the School District of Hillsborough County.  Ms. Sheffield received her master’s degree in Anthropology from Wake Forest University and her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary.  She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of South Florida, with a cognate in gifted education.  Her research interests include factors influencing gifted student interests in the social studies, diverse students populations in the social studies, and the use of trade books in the middle grades social studies classroom.

Karen Holland Wilkins is the Youth Connection Coordinator at Adams Middle School in Tampa, Florida. Her job entails working with “at risk” students and finding them employment opportunities. This exciting program encourages a positive attitude towards themselves and school. She has her bachelor’s degree from University of South Florida in elementary education and a specialist degree in educational leadership from National Louis University and is a doctoral student at the University of South Florida in social studies education. She has been published in Trends and Issues and on the web at Education-World atwww.education-world.com/. Ms. Wilkins has presented at: NCSS, FCSS, T^3, and the National Middle School Association annual conference. Ms. Wilkins’ research interests are the irrelevancy of history textbooks to middle school students, reading in the content area, and trade books.

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