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Education Faculty
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Jennifer Barce (email me)
Associate Professor of Education
Degrees: Bachelor's and doctoral degrees, Indiana University.
Professor Barce is Chair of the Education Department, and specializes in developmental psychology and language education. She's been working in the early childhood education field for almost 18 years through roles as a classroom teacher, an intervention specialist, and currently as an educator, with teaching experience in the preschool and kindergarten levels, and with reading intervention in the upper-grade levels. "I have always been fascinated by the ways in which young children learn and express themselves," Professor Barce said. "Good early childhood teachers have long lasting and meaningful influence on the lives of children." |
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Jerry McKim (email me)
Assistant Professor of Education
Degrees: Bachelor's degree in Sociology, Saint Joseph's College; Master's degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Psychology, Valparaiso University; Ed.S. in School Leadership and Administration, Indiana State University. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in School Leadership and Administration, Indiana State University.
Jerry McKim teaches courses in the Education Department at Saint Joseph's College, and also leads several sections of Core I, the College's renowned general education program. Before transferring to SJC as a student, he attended junior college at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. Professor McKim chose social studies as his major subject of study at SJC with the hope that he could one day inspire his students to embrace social studies as an avenue for better understanding of their world and themselves. He enjoys investigating historical events and searching for their consequences in the world in which we live today. He was also curious about the dynamics of both individual and group behaviors as a means to ascertain insights about why humans behave as they do. "I witness my students engage in reflective thought and application, which are partly the result of my initiative to move my students to acquire more conceptual knowledge, leading to significant insights or problem solving." |
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Thomas J. Ryan (email me)
Associate Professor of Education
Degrees: Bachelor's degree, Saint Joseph's College; master's degree, Purdue University; doctoral degree in Education, Nova Southeastern University.
Dr. Ryan began teaching at Saint Joseph's College in 1990 as an Adjunct Professor. He graduated from Saint Joseph's College as an English major and has served many educational capacities in his career: English and History secondary teacher, school corporation Language Department chairperson and Curriculum Director, Athletic Director, and secondary school administrator. In addition to Dr. Ryan's teaching responsibilities at Saint Joseph's College, he is a presenter at numerous educational conferences, and he and his wife, Beth, a Saint Joseph's graduate in Psychology, own Ryan and Ryan Consulting and Educational Development, Inc. |
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Lana Zimmer (email me)
Assistant Professor of Education
Degrees: Bachelor's degree in Education, Ball State University; master's degree in Education, specialization in Science Education, Purdue University; K-12 teaching certification in Science, Social Studies, and Visual Arts.
Professor Zimmer's tenure with Saint Joseph's College started in 2002 as an Adjunct Professor for the Education Department. In 2005, she was promoted to full-time faculty and currently teaches courses related to science education and instructional strategies. Prior to SJC, she taught eighth-grade science at Rensselaer Central Middle School for 10 years. Her career began with teaching visual and industrial arts within a vocational education program at Lowell Middle School; her next position was overseeing the curricula for upper elementary-level students in language arts and social studies at St. Augustine Elementary School in Rensselaer, where she was born and raised. Professor Zimmer holds a special interest in strengthening community partnerships between the College and surrounding areas, which she demonstrates through her involvement with the local Prairie Arts Council and Jasper County's Soil and Water Conservation District. In 2004, she earned the Environmental Education Award from the Environmental Education Association of Indiana. Other honors include receiving an Eli Lilly Creativity Fellowship, which allowed her to spend three weeks in Hawaii conducting field research in volcano ecology, and being honored as Teacher of the Year by Wal-Mart and the Jasper County Farm Bureau in 2000. Equipped with a wealth of hands-on learning in elementary education, Professor Zimmer loves using that knowledge to train the next generation of teachers. "I bring a very different set of experiences to SJC. I'm glad I can use them to make an immediate contribution to my students," she said. |
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