Dr. Susan Marie Zoll

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Department, Office, or School
Department of Elementary Education
  • Adjunct Faculty I

Institute of Early Childhood Teaching and Learning

Dr. Susan Zoll currently serves the dual-role of Associate Professor in Elementary Education, as well as Director, Institute of Early Childhood Teaching and Learning at ΢Ȧ managing the development and implementation of two new Bachelor degree programs offered to educator’s currently working in the field: B.S., Early Childhood Learning (PreK-2 certification) and B.S., Birth-5 Concentration.

Professional Experience

Dr. Zoll specializes in early childhood education and children’s language and literacy development. Her experiences range from classroom teacher and school administrator, to her more recent work in four interventions funded by the U.S. Department of Education: Early Reading First (ERF 2004, 2006, 2009) and an Early Childhood Education Professional Development research project (ECEPD 2006). Her work in the development of an assessment protocol has been recognized by the USDOE’s Doing What Works website.

She is the former Co-Director of Professional Development at the Center for Early Learning Professionals and a former faculty member of Wheelock College (Boston, MA), teaching both undergraduate and graduate level courses in teacher preparation. Through her work with the Center for International Partnerships and Programs at Wheelock College she also taught educators in Singapore and Barbados; co-led a service-learning trip in Belfast, NI with students exploring the impact of violence on young children’s development; and conducted a needs-assessment in unregistered early childhood programs in townships in South Africa.

Dr. Zoll is also a founding partner of an evaluation firm based in Providence, Murray / Zoll & Associates.

Education

University of Rhode Island Ph.D. Education
Providence, RI 2012
Kappa Delta Pi - 3.9 GPA

Dissertation: From “at risk” to “at promise”: An Evaluation of an Early Reading First Project

New England Montessori Teacher Education Center 
American Montessori Society (AMS) teacher certification
Cambridge, Massachusetts 1993

Salem State College
Salem, Massachusetts 1986
B.A. English

Professional Associations

Selected Committees/Panels

Committee on Online Learning 2014
΢Ȧ

Assessment and Early Learning Standards Sub-Committee 
Early Learning Council, Rhode Island - January-August 2014

Office of Head Start (OHS) 
Grant Application Review Panel - August 2012 – 2013

Rhode Island State Literacy Team 2010-2012
Comprehensive State Literacy Plan
http://www.ride.ri.gov/instruction/DOCS/΢ȦLP/΢ȦLP_Spring_2012.pdf

Head Start National Research Conference 2012
Peer Reviewer

Community Dialogue on Early Education and Care 2012
Planning Committee, Wheelock College - 2012 and 2013

Professional Development Committee, Co-Chair 2008-2011
Ready to Learn Providence and members of the early childhood community of Providence,
Pawtucket, and Central Falls, RI.

΢Ȧ, Outside Advisory Committee 2008-2011, 2014

Project LAUNCH Local Wellness Council, 2009- 2011
Brown University

Reggio Emilia Study Group - Wheelock College 2007
Reggio Emilia, Italy

Mind in the Making, Family and Work Institute (facilitator) 2006

Wilson Reading Program (K-12 overview) 2002

Professional Development

Working with Fathers to Support Young Children’s Language and Literacy Development
Beautiful Beginnings, Providence Rhode Island 2012-2013

Aspire Institute: Center for Assessment and Screening Excellence (CASE)
Wheelock College, 2012 - 2013
Leadership in Assessment, Curriculum, and Quality Program Development – a newly developed
3-credit course facilitated with early childhood administrators & educators across Massachusetts.

Using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-IV) in Early Childhood Settings
Wheelock College May 2012
Training provided to pre-service teachers on the use of the PPVT-IV, a standardized tool to
measure children’s receptive language / vocabulary.

Language and Literacy in the Home to Improve Child Outcomes 2010-2013
Ready to Learn Providence, RI
Annual professional development provided to family childcare providers to obtain state licensing; focus on learning environments, theoretical foundations of children’s language and literacy development, overview of best practices in assessment of children’s learning, and application of course theory to classroom practice.

Preschool Teacher & Administrator Professional Development Summer 2012
Providence, RI 

The Importance of Language and Literacy Development: Practical Ways to Improve Program Quality and Children’s Readiness for School

 

Vocabulary Development through Children’s Literature

 

Preparing the Environment for Language and Literacy Learning Experiences

 

Dialogic Reading: A Multiple Reading Strategy to Improve Comprehension

 

Response to Intervention: Using Data to Inform Instruction

 

Honors Program Presentation, Wheelock College February 2012
How Policy and Programs Influence Research

Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
MA DEEC presentation to Massachusetts Superintendents February 2012
Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment, Teaching Strategies GOLD

MA DEEC Board Meeting, Panel Discussion February 2012
Teaching Strategies GOLD

MA DEEC Webinar March 2012
Formative Assessment: A review of three formative assessment tools proposed in the MA Race to
the Top application.

MA DEEC Professional Development Training March 2012
Ware School Department (Massachusetts) Formative Assessments

Teaching Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Settings Spring 2011
Ready to Learn Providence, RI

Using Personal Literacy Plans to Understand Children’s Literacy Learning January 2011
AmeriCorps Training, Providence, RI

Research-Based Literacy Experiences in the Classroom August 2010
AmeriCorps Training, Providence, RI
​ċ

Selected Publications

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) November 2013
Annual Conference, Washington, DC
Moving Beyond Data Collection! Organizing Data to Tell the Story of Children’s Development

New England Environmental Education Association (NEEEA) November 2013
Annual Conference, Providence, RI
Evaluation Partnerships: Empowering Programs and Building Capacity

University of Fort Hare, South Africa August 2013
Early Childhood Education as a Tool for Social Justice

American Educational Research Association (AERA) April 2013
From “At Risk” to “At Promise”: An Evaluation of an Early Reading First Project

Maryland Head Start Conference November 2012
Moving Beyond Data Collection! Organizing Data to Tell the Story of Children’s Literacy
Development

Wheelock College, Board of Trustees and Incorporators October 2012 
From “At Risk” to “At Promise”: An Evaluation of an Early Reading First Project

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida November 2011
A Data Trilogy – Child, Teacher, and Mentor: Observations and Analysis to Inform Professional
Development in Early Literacy

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Professional Development Institute, Providence, RI June 2011
Transforming Teacher Practice to Improve Quality: A Study of an Aligned Professional
Development and Mentoring Model

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Professional Development Institute, Providence, RI June 2011
Putting the Puzzle Together: Using Child, Teacher, and Mentor Data to Inform Evidence-Based
Decision Making Regarding Curriculum, Assessment, and Professional Development

National Head Start Research Conference, Washington DC June 2010
Transforming Teacher Quality: A Study of an Aligned Professional Development Model

Rhode Island Early Childhood Conference, Bryant College, Smithfield RI May 2010
Intentional Language & Literacy Experiences throughout the Preschool Curriculum

Rhode Island Early Childhood Conference, Providence RI April 2006
Current Trends in Emergent Literacy (session1)
Literacy through Children’s Inquiry in Nature (session 2)

Publications

Zoll, S. (2013). Countdown to fall. First Person, Boston Globe Magazine, August, 23, 2013.
Retrieved from http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2013/08/17/backschoolreadiness/
rx5RtEoqMhB8Spxp6VzffI/story.html

Zoll, S. (2013) An Evaluation of the 2013 Bay Institute for Teachers. Save The Bay, Providence,
RI. (unpublished evaluation).

Zoll, S. (2013) Towards social justice: A needs assessment of early childhood education in South
Africa. Boston, MA: Wheelock College (unpublished evaluation).

Zoll, S. (2012). Before they enter school: A chasm of learning experiences. Retrieved from
http://info.wheelock.edu/aspirewire/bid/162140/Before-They-Enter-School-A-Chasm-of-
Learning-Experiences. Aspire Wire, Wheelock College.

Zoll, S. (2012). From “at risk” to “at promise”: An evaluation of an early reading first project.
ProQuest.

Zoll, S. (2011). Sustainable practices in mentoring: Tools to support child outcomes and a
mentoring protocol in early literacy. NHSA Dialog, 24(4), p. 1-4. Washington, DC: National
Head Start Association. DOI: 10.1080/15240754.2011.613131

Zoll, S. & Rosenquest, B. (2011). Sustainable practices in mentoring: Tools to support
child outcomes and a mentoring protocol in early language and literacy. NHSA Dialog, 24(4), p.
1-16. Washington, DC: National Head Start Association. DOI: 10.1080/15240754.2011.613124