Researcher Bios:

      Curious. Innovative. Independent. The researchers at the Kingsbury Center have a common goal: to investigate strategies for advancing academic student growth and improving our schools. By partnering with diverse educational leaders, our team is helping to revolutionize education research with high quality data that is designed to inform, empower and make a difference.

      John Cronin
      Mike Dahlin
      Don Draper
      Sarah Durant
      G. Gage Kingsbury
      Rebecca Moore
      Yeow Meng Thum
      Yun Xiang
      Yun Xiang
      Title: Research Specialist
      Additional Biographical Information:

      Yun joined NWEA in 2008 after four years of educational research at Boston College. She has also served as a research assistant at Tufts University and an educator at Boston College and Jinnan Collage in Tianjin, China. Yun’s recent published works and presentations include a look at ethnic differences in achievement growth, research involving the professional satisfaction of teachers and a comparative study of teacher development. Yun holds a Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College, and a B.A. in English Education from Xiangtan Normal University, China.

      What do you feel is your greatest professional accomplishment?
      My next project.
      If you could live anywhere, where would that be?
      Happy to be wherever I am.
      What intrigues you most about the work you do?
      Being updated of what people think about education. Having the opportunity to learn from those who know better. Being challenged by how much I don’t know and how much I can learn.
      What are three of your favorite things to, when you're not working?
      Riding my bike, doing yoga, and reading.
      What do you feel is the role of education in our society?
      Education ought to be the hope that most of people in our society cherish — where you are born does not decide where you end up. Right now it is a battlefield of different ideologies, religions, political trends, etc.