IECE Faculty

Dr. Jessica Branch is an associate professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education and director of the IECE program. She received her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Toledo. She co-taught in a public preschool as an intervention specialist before becoming a preschool special education supervisor for a county in Ohio. Her research interests include the connection between child interests and engagement levels, equipping teachers to use evidence-based practices, and the use of play to enrich high-quality learning environments.

Dr. Mi-Hwa Park is a professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She has taught preschool and kindergarten in South Korea and the United States. Her research and teaching interests focus on emotional scaffolding, self-regulation, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, and play. She has a Ph.D. in early childhood education from the University of Texas at Austin.