Marjorie Roth Leon, Ph.D.

National College of Education Dean’s Office

Areas of Expertise:

• Curriculum Development
• Diverse Learners
• Urban Teaching and Learning
• Family-School Partnership Building
• Children’s Literature

Biography:

Marjorie Roth Leon provides curriculum consultation to National Louis University faculty in the areas of program development and course design. In past years, she has taught courses in the Educational Psychology and Educational Foundations and Inquiry programs.

Dr. Leon consults with teachers, school administrators, and families about effective strategies for helping children master academic and social-emotional learning challenges to further their success at school and in the community. She has served as the past Adult Programs Coordinator for the North Suburban Chapter of C.H.A.D.D., Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. Dr. Leon focuses on examining human diversity themes within the child and young adult popular literature. She has served on the editorial review board of the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research and is a journal reviewer for Children’s Literature in Education.

Her professional affiliations include membership in the American Educational Research Association (Division K, Teaching and Teacher Education; SIG 35, Online Teaching and Learning; SIG 128, Teaching Educational Psychology; and SIG 147, Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the American Psychological Association (Division 15, Teaching Educational Psychology).

Recent Publications:

Leon, M. R. (2016). Restorative justice in urban schools: Disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, 12, 195-196.

Leon, M. R. & Price, T. A. (Spring 2016). On the cutting edge: Movements and institutional examples. Issues in Distance Education, New Directions in Higher Education, 173, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Leon, M. R. (2015). Distributed mentoring: Preparing preservice resident teachers for high needs urban high schools. Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, 10, 104-121.

Leon, M. R. (August 12-14, 2014). Localized Learning Object Repositories: Supporting Curriculum Development, Instruction, and Scholarship. Proceedings of the 30th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Madison, Wisconsin.

Leon, M. R., Price, T. A., Beth-Halachmy, S., & Efron, E. (August 7-9, 2013). Institutional Change: Impetus for Curriculum Re-Design and Faculty/Student Community Building. Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Madison, Wisconsin.

Leon, M. R. (2008). Family-school partnership building skills for school psychologist trainees, Trainers of School Psychologists Trainers’ Forum, 28(1), 19-35. 

Recent Presentations:

Leon, M. R. & Schevera, N. (April 16, 2014). Electrified English: Interactive Learning Activities to Jumpstart Student Engagement and Learning. Allerton English Articulation Conference, Monticello, Illinois.

Leon, M. R. & Schevera, N. (October 10-11, 2013). I Need a Hero: Using Popular Culture to Enhance Student Learning. Illinois Community College Faculty Association Teaching and Learning Excellence Conference, Springfield, Illinois.

Leon, M. R., Price, T. A., Beth-Halachmy, S., & Efron, E. (August 7-9, 2013). Institutional Change: Impetus for Curriculum Re-Design and Faculty/Student Community Building. 29th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Madison, Wisconsin.

Adams, C. and Leon, M. R. (February 22, 2011). Socio-behavioral Effectiveness of a Secondary Level Peer-Mentoring Program for Autism. National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention, San Francisco, California.

Education: 

2012 M.S. English (Written Communication) National Louis University
1985 Ph.D. Psychology Northwestern University
1983 M.S. Psychology Northwestern University
1975 M.S. Education (Instructional Technology) Syracuse University
1974 B.S. Anthropology University of California Davis

Research and Interests:

Curriculum design and development in higher education
Evidence-based prevention and intervention programs for diverse learners
Psychological Themes in Children's Literature
Urban Teaching and Learning
Family-School Partnership Building

Contact Information: 

Marjorie  Roth  Leon, Ph.D.
(847) 947-5187 (Telephone and Fax)
mleon@nl.edu