Meet the Director of Gordon’s New Doctor of Education in the Science of Learning

Tell us about your background and what brought you to Gordon College.

At the start of my career, I was teaching fourth grade in a very marginalized school district, and I noticed that in every class there were eight to ten kids who simply weren't able to lift words off the page. A little later, while my husband was at seminary, I started teaching in Hamilton-Wenham, a much more affluent school district. But I noticed the same thing: in every class, there were seven to eight kids who just couldn’t read.

Later, when my own kids were in school, I noticed that my oldest daughter was having difficulty learning to read. Her teachers would say, “Just wait. She’ll figure it out. It’ll click eventually. Just surround her with good texts and literature.” But it wasn’t working, and she started having self-esteem issues and not wanting to go to school. As an educator, not knowing how to help my daughter read was devastating.

So, I reached out to an expert in literacy and dyslexia that I was teaching with at SUNY Oswego, and as she tutored my daughter, she showed me this body of research called “the science of reading,” and in just two years, my daughter progressed from a first to a sixth grade reading level.

I thought: why does no one know about this? Why aren’t children being taught to read this way in schools? For me, it’s simply not acceptable that so many educators don’t know how to help students when they are struggling to learn to read—school systems should provide access to literacy for all students. Every student has a right to read.

What is Gordon’s new Ed.D. in the science of learning all about? 

Our nation is experiencing a literacy crisis. Only 31 percent of fourth graders are reading on grade level. Action is required, and by launching this Ed.D. program with a concentration in language and literacy education, Gordon College has an opportunity to become a leading voice in the nation.

Graduates of our Ed.D. will be able to take their work to the next level in their current educational context, move into higher education as professors or researchers, or take on countless other roles in the field. Having expertise in the science of learning will provide significant leadership opportunities—there are nowhere near enough faculty at colleges that know this body of research. And put simply, there’s a clear need for educational doctorates, especially online programs like Gordon’s that are in alignment with the science of reading.

The United States is graduating an incredible number of students who are illiterate right now. It's not okay, and Gordon can help change that.

Can you explain what you mean by “the science of learning” and “the science of reading”?

The science of learning is an interdisciplinary body of research studying how people learn and how teaching can be designed to improve learning. It has to do with how the brain best acquires, processes, stores, and retrieves knowledge and skills. Specific areas of research address memory and retention, attention and motivation, practice and feedback, cognitive processes, and learning environments.

The science of reading is a body of more than 50 years of high-quality research—a preponderance of evidence that shows us how children learn to read and why some have difficulty. It demonstrates how we can assess, intervene, and provide access to the most efficient and effective strategies for teaching reading and writing.

You are adding Director of the Doctor of Education in the Science of Learning at Gordon to an already busy schedule. How do you get it all done? And do you ever have time for fun?

I don’t have much spare time! But there is a passion that compels when you feel a calling, and I just can’t walk away from that. I want to see every child have the access that is needed to learn to read, and I can see how the Lord led and guided me to do significant good in this space.

As for fun, spending time with my family is at the top of my list. My daughter and I love to garden, and we even dry herbs and make tea. In the summertime, I love to go boating and hiking to find solace in nature with my family. Also, I’m a super nerd—I can sit for hours and hours and just follow citations, one article after the next. Literally, if I had a day to myself to just follow citations through multiple articles . . . that would be fun for me. I love to rabbit hole!

To learn more about Dr. Doreen Mazzye and the Doctor of Education in the Science of Learning, please visit gordon.edu/doctor-of-education