General Information
Biography
My name is Kelly Gomez Johnson and I am the Department Chair of Teacher Education and an Associate Professor of STEM Education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. My teaching and research focus on effective and equitable K-16 STEM teaching, learning and leadership practices, particularly in mathematics. I thrive in collaborative settings where I can learn from and lead colleagues and students in teaching, research, and service experiences. I serve on internal and external STEM education projects which have attracted over $4 million in funding since 2016. These student-centered projects investigate active teaching and learning communities in college mathematics, multi-layered support mechanisms in STEM, and scholarship programs to recruit, develop, and retain highly-qualified STEM teachers. My greatest passion is teaching which includes the opportunity to teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, new faculty across campus-initiatives, and community leaders and teachers through engaged research and service.My professional philosophy is to serve and empower others through relevant learning experiences and collaborations so they can achieve personal fulfillment and maximum success. I am blessed to do what I do, and I live by the wise words of Dr. Maya Angelou, "When you know better, you do better".
Teaching Interests
Along with teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses at UNO, I enjoy mentoring faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. I enjoy collaborating with various stakeholders on curriculum and course initiatives across campus, our Omaha metropolitan community, the state of Nebraska, and nationally, through various organizations.Most recently, my primary teaching responsibilities have included:Planning for Effective Teaching- General Methods,Methods of Teaching Secondary Mathematics,STEM Integration in Today's Classrooms,Curriculum Planning and Instruction in STEM,Data-Driven Decision Making for Educators.In 2020, I was honored to receive the UNO Alumni Teaching Award for the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. In 2021, I was recognized by the Office of Academic Affairs at UNO with the campus-wide Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2023, I was honored to accept the Dr. Hollie Bethel Professorship of Education. I am humbled to walk in the footsteps of Dr. Bethel serving in my current department chair role which has such a rich history of inspiring educators and leaders.
Research Interests
I have served as an educational researcher on various National Science Foundation (NSF) grants including as the Principal Investigator (PI) for the NebraskaMath Omaha Noyce grant aimed at increasing the number and quality of dual-degree mathematics teachers serving in high needs schools. I have also served as a CoPI on three additional NSF-funded projects including:1) Noyce Science program to increase the number and quality of dual-major secondary science/education majors.2) S-STEM project to support underrepresented students in STEM fields with mentoring, research experiences, and professional development.3) IUSE COMmunities of Mathematics Inquiry in Teaching (COMMIT) project to promote, support, and sustain active learning and inquiry teaching practices in communities of practice of college mathematics faculty.My primary research areas include:Mathematics Education K-16 (preservice teacher preparation & inservice teacher training & practice)STEM EducationInstructional LeadershipProfessional DevelopmentInstructional Coaching and MentoringCulturally Responsive and SustainingTeaching PracticesIn 2020, I was recognized by the UNO Teacher Education Department (TED) with the departmental Outstanding Researcher Award.
Service Summary
In 2022, I became the inaugural STEM TRAIL Center Leadership Fellow. In this role I serve as a liaison on campus STEM Education planning and work to connect parties from across interdisciplinary units to innovate and investigate STEM-related practices and research. Along with long-standing service on the UNO STEM Leadership team, I was also a founding member of the UNO WiSTEM organization and former president of the organization. Through this role, I have been able to translate my service to the statewide level on both the Executive Planning Committee and Conference planning committee for the statewide Nebraska Women in STEM organization since 2022. Through the WiSTEM organization on campus, I was proud to lead a mini-grant initiative that awarded 66 campus-wide Peer Mentoring Mini-grants to faculty and staff across six colleges to improve personal and professional performance and job satisfaction of faculty and staff.For the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, I previously served as the Dual Enrollment Liaison to 12 Omaha- area high schools partnerships. I continue to collaborate with high school Education Academies and Pathway programs (e.g., Burke High School Advisory Board member). I serve on various college and department committees including on the Undergraduate (BRIDGES) and Secondary Graduate committees for the Teacher Education Department. As chair, I am passionate about engaging our faculty in continuous improvement planning to ensure that we offer relevant and high-quality programs for all of the students we have the pleasure of serving.My passion is to serve our UNO community and students along with our community school districts including students, teachers, and administrators. Since leaving K-12 classroom teaching, I have ultimately wanted to make sure that the work I am blessed to do continues to indirectly make an impact on children learning in PK-12 schools. My goal is to support instructional and structural innovations to empower teachers, support leaders and ultimately, provide more effective and fulfilling learning experiences for ALL PK-16 students.
Awards and Honors
2021 UNO Excellence in Teaching Award, Teaching - 2021
2020 University-wide Department Teaching Award , Teaching - 2020
2020 Outstanding Researcher Award, Scholarship/Research - 2021
2020 UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award (AOTA) recipient, Teaching - 2020
New Investigator Fellow Award Nomination, Scholarship/Research - 2018
Education
EDD, University of Nebraska -Omaha, Omaha, NE, Educational Leadership, Educational Administration, 2017
MA, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln,NE, Master of Art in Teaching-Mathematics, Mathematics, 2011
MS, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Omaha,NE, Secondary Education, Improvement of Instruction, 2007
BS, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, Secondary Education, Mathematics, 2006
Professional Development
Community of Practice: Research, Writing Accountability Group- Teacher Education, 10/01/2019
Workshop, The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education: Social Justice, Equity, & the Pandemic - 07/10/2020
Licensures and Certifications
Nebraska Teaching Certificate, Nebraska Department of Education, 08/15/2016 - 08/31/2026
Scholarship/Research/Creative Activity
Selected Publications
Gomez Johnson, Kelly, Jakopovic, Paula, von Renesse, Christine. 2021. Supporting teaching and learning reform in college mathematics: Finding value in communities of practice , Journal for STEM Education Research. .
Jakopovic, Paula, Gomez Johnson, Kelly. 2021. Beyond traditional teacher preparation: Value-add experiences for preservice secondary mathematics teachers. , Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 23, 1, 5-31.
Karabon, Anne, Gomez Johnson, Kelly. 2020. Conceptualizing culture: How preservice teachers in the rural Midwest confront subjectivities. , Teacher Education Quarterly.
Gomez Johnson, Kelly, Jakopovic, Paula. 2020. What's the Value? Measuring Value in Complex Social Learning Environments with PreService Mathematics Teachers, Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership Conference , 2020, 63-66.
Gomez Johnson, Kelly, Nebesniak, Amy, Johnson, Kelly. District-University Collaborations to Support Reform-Based Mathematics Curriculum Implementation, The Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College (JMETC), 10, 1, 17-20.
Externally Funded Research
NebraskaMATH Omaha Noyce Partnership, National Science Foundation, Federal, 11/01/2014 - 10/31/2020
NebraskaMATH Omaha Noyce: Phase2, National Science Foundation, Federal, 10/01/2019 - 09/30/2024
The IBL Communities Project, National Science Foundation, Federal, 10/01/2019 - 09/30/2022
S-STEM EMPLOYEE, National Science Foundation, Federal, 10/01/2019 - 09/30/2024
The IBL Communities Project, National Science Foundation, Federal, 10/01/2019 - 09/30/2023
Service
Department, College, and University
WiSTEM Pro^2 President, Committee Chair, Lead UNO's WiSTEM Pro^2 organization through campus and community partnerships, campus networking, development of programming events, and communication and interaction with committee chairs. , 08/01/2017 - 08/31/2017
Nebraska State-Wide Math Teacher Preparation Meeting, Task Force Member, State organizations including K-12 partners, community colleges, colleges, and universities come together to discuss mathematics teacher preparation and how the new AMTE standards might direct a common vision., 10/01/2017 - 10/31/2017
TED Secondary Graduate Committee, Committee Member, 01/01/2016 - 01/31/2016
Professional
Engagement Scholarship Consortium, Reviewer, Conference Paper, Served as a reviewer for the Engagement Scholarship Conference held in Omaha, Nebraska., 03/01/2016 - 03/31/2016
Media Contributions
Magazine, Midlands Business Journal, Contributed to the article "Underrepresentation still prevalent within STEM, financial services fields", 11/24/2017
Consulting
Academic, Omaha, NE, 03/01/2018
Academic, Omaha, NE, 09/01/2016