Dr. Paula Cristina Azevedo
Dr. Paula Cristina Azevedo has worked in the field of education for over 15 years with a variety of experiences and expertise. She served as a high school social studies teacher in San José, California. As a high school teacher she collaborated with faculty to develop innovative social justice cross-curricular teaching practices and curriculum. In addition, she provided professional development and state-wide workshops on integrating instructional technology in the classroom.
Prior to joining Marymount University, Dr. Azevedo was the Clinical Coordinator for Secondary Education at George Mason University. In this position she developed the partnership model in collaboration with faculty, local school administrators and teacher leaders while coordinating placements for teacher candidates. As a teacher educator she supervised, advised, and provided feedback and guidance to support candidates’ teaching practices. She also taught numerous courses for the College of Education and Human Development, such as Foundations of Secondary Education, Teaching Social Studies in the Secondary School, and Advance Teaching Social Studies in Secondary School. She continues to teach Seminar in Secondary Teaching, Research in Secondary Education, and mentors a doctoral student at Mason.
In addition to her experience in teaching, advising and supervising, Dr. Azevedo has supported national research projects about teacher effectiveness, such as the National Center for Teacher Effectiveness Project, Best Foot Forward Project, and the Education Northwest Project. She’s also consulted local school districts on research projects and initiatives. In collaboration with the National Park Service and with the leadership of Dr. Jenice View, she researched the impact the “Learning Historic Places with Diverse Populations” professional development had in engaging teachers and rangers to build and sustain working relationships in order to impact place-based learning for diverse learners. Recently, Dr. Azevedo has participated in self-study research with Dr. Anastasia Samaras and co-created the Adjunct Faculty Self-Study Collaborative at Mason, an online community of adjunct faculty conducting self-study research. She is currently researching with colleagues at George Mason University on the impact of teacher candidates’ understanding of research and how their teacher research projects influence their teaching practices.
In her current role in Marymount University, Dr. Azevedo is the Director of Education Clinical Experiences where she coordinates teacher candidates’ field and student teaching experiences.
She is also the founder of The Meditating Teacher where she creates and writes about mindfulness practices for educators, school leaders, and parents. In her spare time she enjoys relaxing with her family, gardening, practicing yoga, and walking with her dogs, Zoé and Zeus.
