Congratulations, Dr. Dave Boardman!

Dave BoardmanDave Boardman, co-director of the Maine Writing Project, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, Educator Responses to Technology Influences in a 1:1 Laptop Middle School.  Dave’s dissertation committee included Maine Writing Project Director Rich Kent, an Associate Professor of Literacy Education at UMaine, and Dr. Tanya Baker, a UMaine & MWP alum, who serves as Director of National Programs for the National Writing Project.  Other committee members were Jan Kristo, Associate Dean of the UMaine College of Education and Human Development; Susan Bennett-Armistead, Associate Professor of Literacy Education at UMaine; and Julie DellaMattera, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at UMaine.

Dave Boardman has spent much of his career in education examining how students learn with technology.  A native of Meriden, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts, he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Journalistic Studies and Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1987.  Dave worked as journalist for a variety of daily and weekly publications before starting a career in teaching in 2002.  He was awarded a Master of Education in Literacy Education in 2005 from the University of Maine.

Dr. Boardman has taught students in English language arts, journalism, and multimedia communications at high schools in central Maine, and around the world through online courses he developed.  He is an adjunct instructor in literacy at the University of Maine, and has presented at conferences throughout the United Stated on literacy, technology, and student engagement.  In 2006, Dave was named Educator of the Year by ACTEM, the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine.  His work has been published in the Journal of Maine Education, and by Heinemann and the National Writing Project.

Joining Dave’s committee for the open defense were Dr. Ken Martin, Associate Director of the Maine Writing Project, Dr. Cynthia Dean, co-director of the Maine Writing Project and Assistant Professor of Education & Coordinator of Teaching Certification at the University of Maine at Augusta, and Anne Miller, co-director of the Maine Writing Project.