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Director, Secondary Teacher Preparation Program

Biography

Robin Gordon began her career as a secondary science teacher in both public and private schools in Southern California. She also worked as an administrator and program specialist for an experimental preschool program in Pasadena Unified. Her B.S. was in Animal Science from Cal Poly University, Pomona. She completed a Masters in Special Education with an emphasis in Gifted Education at Cal State University, Los Angeles in 1985. She worked under the guidance of Dr. Barbara Clark, a noted authority in that field. Dr. Gordon’s thesis was titled "A Study on the Use of Intuition" in which she examined the implementation of classroom lessons that focused on developing students’ intuitive thinking skills.

Dr. Gordon completed a Ph.D. in Education at the Claremont Graduate University in 1989. Her doctoral dissertation, "Learning to Teach: A Descriptive Study," was a qualitative research project that focused on uncovering how teachers learn their craft. In 2004, Dr. Gordon completed a second Ph.D. in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate University. Her dissertation which was titled "The Murder of Spinoza and Other 17th Century Alchemists: A Modern Look at a Long Ago Mortificatio Tale," focused on the nexus of depth psychology and alchemy using the work of Carl Jung.

Dr. Gordon’s area of research is multi-disciplinary. She is examining ways to deepen the meaning that students encounter in secondary curriculum. Thus, she is writing about classroom strategies that encompass activities that address differentiated instruction by going beyond traditional teaching methods such as using the dialogue process, incorporating Clark’s Integrative Education Model, and bringing stories into the secondary curriculum. Dr. Gordon is also writing a book on women alchemists that crosses the fields of women’s studies, history of science, and depth psychology.

Courses Recently Taught:

• EDU 123 - Women's Voices in Literature
• EDU 166/266 - Principles of Secondary Education & Content Area Modules
• EDU 200 - Research Methods
• EDU 251 - Child and Adolescent Development and Learning Across Cultures
• EDU 296A - Masters Project Proposal Seminar
• EDU 296B - Masters Project Seminar
• EDU 323 - Supervised Teaching Seminar
• PSY 290 - Workshop