LaToya Chandler
Specialized in design and research of STEM environments for project-based, career-connected STEM curriculum in rural and informal learning contexts. Designed experiential curricula —particularly integrating robotics, rocketry, AI literacy and applied engineering to promote technical skill development and sustain STEM pathways. Co-led the development and implementation of credit-bearing college courses and summer STEM programs that examine how experiential learning influences students’ confidence, belonging and interest in STEM and technical careers. My work bridges curriculum design, informal STEM education and workforce pathway development with a focus on broadening rural student participation in high impact STEM programs.This portfolio showcases a professional collection of previous and current educational work implemented in STEM learning spaces.
Education
PhD. University of Florida, Curriculum & Instruction | Apr 2026
Dissertation: Exploring In-Service K-12 Teachers’
Computational Strategies in Learning Java Programming.
Concentration: Education Technology
Committee Chair: Maya Israel, PhD.
M.Ed. University of Florida, Curriculum & Instruction | May 2020
Thesis: Impact of Interactive Visualizations in Learning Math-
Fluency in a Computer Supported Environment.
Concentration: Education Technology
A.S. Santa Fe College, Digital Media Technology | May 2016
B.S. Florida A&M University, Environmental Sciences | May 2008
Thesis: Effects in Recovery of Goliath Grouper “No-Catch
Policy” in South Florida.
Concentration: Policy & Risk Management
A.A. Santa Fe College, Biology | May 2003
Professional Experience
Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida | September 2022 to Present. Instructional Designer | Interdisciplinary Sciences
Design and develop interdisciplinary STEM curriculum for three college-credit elective courses and a summer institute serving high school students through National Science Foundation-funded STEM initiatives (Award #1800955 and Award #2201539). Authored curriculum unit with teacher-facing facilitation materials and student learning resources.
Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida | Oct 2022-Present. Co-Principal Investigator | Guitars Rocketry and Robotics Advanced Technical Education.
National Science Foundation Grant #2201539
Served as Co-Principle Investigator for a National Science Foundation-funded STEM initiative (Award #2201539) supporting Guitars Rocketry and Robotics Advanced Technical Education (GRRATE). Co-lead strategic planning, research design and implementation of the GRRATE summer institute. Oversaw daily program operations and teacher professional development. Contributed to program data collection, impact reporting. Collaborated with institutional leadership and community partners to broaden the STEM initiative in the Alachua and Bradford County areas.
Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida September | 2022 to 2024. Interim Director III | Andrews Center & Watson Center
Directed operations for two regional campus centers, supervising 12 staff and overseeing academic scheduling, enrollment management and student services. Implemented recruitment and retention strategies that strengthened enrollment stability and student persistence. Coordinated faculty assignments to maximize efficiency and student access.
Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida | May 2020 to Jan 2023 Adjunct Professor | Interdisciplinary Sciences
Served as lead instructor Robotics, Rocketry and Guitar ISC1006 Course, delivering hands-on project-based STEM instruction. Implemented experiential learning strategies to cultivate STEM identity, critical thinking, and career readiness among rural students. Designed interdisciplinary curricula integrating engineering, physics, and applied sciences using frameworks of universal design for learning and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Youth Impact K-8 STEM, Starke, Florida | May 2014 to Aug 2021. Coordinator | Curriculum Design
Directed a community-based informal STEM initiative designed to broaden participation among rural K-8 learners. Designed and implemented project-based STEM curricula to cultivate early interest, confidence and awareness in STEM fields. Managed partnerships with local STEM industry leaders to deliver career exploration and enrichment programming.
Bradford High School, Starke, Florida | Aug 2017 to Aug 2018. Teacher | Interdisciplinary Sciences
College prep reading and FSA test preparation. Structured academic intervention plans for struggling students. Coordinated and implemented intensive reading course design for standardized state test preparation.
Related Experience
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida | Aug 2020-Present. Graduate Research Assistant | CSEveryone Center
Interdisciplinary research investigating meaningful K-12 engagement in technology
mediated learning focused on increasing strategies that reduce barriers to participation.
Time4CSforAll | May 2020-Dec2022. Research & Curriculum Team | UChicago STEM University of Florida
NSF funded research practice partnership integrating problem-based learning to increase student opportunity to engage in computer science with equitable outcomes focused on broadening participation in groups underrepresented in STEM through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning.
Santa Fe College | Aug 2020 – Aug 2021 STEM Academic Coach | Santa Fe College Learning Commons
Regulation planning, coaching and support for college freshman and dual enrolled high school students in STEM subjects: Biology, Environmental Sciences and Chemistry.
United States Navy | Jan 2011-Aug 2014. Electronics Technician | Naval Officer Candidate School
Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Petty Officer
Intermediate troubleshooting specialist in UHF Radio, Sonar Navigation and Missile Navigation Systems.
Publications
Chandler, L. Hutchins,N., Zhang, S., Lin,J., McKenna, J. Barret, J., Israel, M. (In Press, 2026). Co-Designing a UDL-based AI-integrated Instructional Unit: Insights to Teach AI Perception in Elementary Classrooms. Springer.
Chandler, L., Banfield, S., & Jerzak, P. (2026). Guitars, Rocketry, and Robotics: Increasing Rural Student Attitudes Toward STEM Technical Education and Careers. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 50(1), 35-53.
Yan, W., Luo, F., Israel, M., Liu, R., & Chandler, L. T. (2025). How Do Elementary Students Apply Debugging Strategies in a Block-Based Programming Environment?. Education Sciences, 15(3), 292.
Strickland, C., Ramírez-Salgado, A., Weisberg, L., Chandler, L., Di Domenico, J., Lehman, E. M., & Israel, M. (2023). Designing an Equity-Centered Framework and Crosswalk for Integrated Elementary Computer Science Curriculum and Instruction. Journal of Computer Science Integration, 6(1): 2, pp. 1–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26716/jcsi.2023.4.17.46
Israel, M., Chandler, L., Cobo, A., & Weisberg, L. (2023). Increasing access, participation and inclusion within k–12 cs education through universal design for learning and high leverage practices. Computer science education: Perspectives on teaching and learning in school, 115.
Chandler, L., Weisberg, L., Israel, M., Strickland,C. (2023). The Development of an Equity-Centered Curricular Crosswalk for K–12 Computer Science Education. Paper presented at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Retrieved October 9, 2023 from the AERA Online Paper Repository. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/2012437
Conference Presentations
Chandler, L., Ganapathy Prasad, P., Huang, R., & Israel, M. (2026, February). Exploring K-12 In-service Teachers’ Strategies Applied in Learning Java for the First Time. In Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2 (pp. 1253-1254).
Chandler, L., Huang, R., Israel, M., & Ganapathy Prasad, P. (2025, February). Exploring K-12 In-Service Teachers’ Process of Plan Monitor Evaluation in Java programming. In Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2 (pp. 1409-1410).
Hutchins, N. M., Chandler, L., Lin, Y., McKenna, J., DeFoe, A., & Israel, M. (2025, February). AI literacy for young learners: A co-designed robotics unit for students to discover the world beyond human senses. Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2, 1734–1734.
Banfield, S. & Chandler, L. (2025, October). Summer Camp Programming for High Schoolers: Tips for Success. 2025 ATE Principle Investigators Conference. Washington D.C.
Chandler, L. & Banfield, S. (2024, October). Impacting Rural Student Self-Efficacy through Real-World Applications in STEM. 2024 ATE Principle Investigators Conference. Washington D.C.
Chandler, L. (2024, July). Facilitating Student Engagement in Guitars, Rocketry, and Robotics to Increase Self-Efficacy in STEM. HI-TEC Annual Conference 2024. Kansas City, MO.
Bennet, A., Chandler, L., Cobo, A, Ramirez-Salgado, A., Weisberg, L., Williams, J. (2022, April). Strategies for Using Universal Design for Learning in K-8 CS. CSTA Equity in Action Summit 2022.
Chandler, L.T. (2022, April). Increasing Diverse Participation Through a Learning Community Using a Blended Curriculum. STEM Guitar Summit.
Israel, M., Cobo, A., Yan, W. Liu, R., Chandler, L. (2022, April) Developing Scaffolding Debugging Strategies to Support Metacognition during Programming. AERA Annual Meeting 2022.
Weisberg, L., Ramirez-Salgado, A., Chandler, L., Israel, M., Strickland, C. (2022, July). Reducing Barriers to K-12 CS Participation Through Universal Design for Learning and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. CSTA Annual Conference 2022
Chandler, L.T. ( 2022, May). Flipping the Classroom. STEM for All Video Showcase.
Carnes, C.E. & Chandler, L.T. ( 2021, July). Guitars, Rocketry, and Robots: Participatory learning and creativity in STEM. Louis Stokes Regional Center for Excellence Mindsets for STEM Conference.
Banfield, S.A., Calhoun, C.D., Carnes, C.E., Chandler, L.T., & Greenidge, G.M. (2021, May). Guitars, Rocketry, Robotics! Facilitators Choice Award Winner. STEM for All Video Showcase 2021
Greenidge, G.M. & Chandler, L.T. ( 2021, July). How Gender and Race Informs Our Work. Guitars, Rocketry, and Robots: Participatory learning and creativity in STEM. Louis Stokes Regional Center for Excellence Mindsets for STEM Conference.
Educational Resources & Toolkits
Chandler, L. (2024, January). GRRATE 8-day Rocketry [Lesson Unit]. Guitars Rocketry and Robotics Summer Institutes. sfcollege.edu/grrate
Chandler, L. (2025, January). GRRATE 8-day Electric Guitar Engineering [Lesson Unit]. Guitars Rocketry and Robotics Summer Institutes. sfcollege.edu/grrate
Chandler, L. (2024, January). GRRATE 8-day Robotics [Lesson Unit]. Guitars Rocketry and Robotics Summer Institutes. sfcollege.edu/grrate
Hutchins, N.,Chandler, L. (2024, October). VEX 123 + AI Co-design [Lesson Unit]. CSEveryone Center. University of Florida. VEX Robotics.
Israel, M., Chandler, L., Cobo A. & Weisberg, L. (2023, January). Integration of Inclusive CS Education Frameworks” Increasing Access, Participation, and Inclusion Within K-12 CS Education Through Universal Design for Learning and High Leverage Practices [Figure]. In S. Sentence & N. Howard (Eds.), Computer Science Education (2nd Ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Weisberg, L., Chandler, L., Ramirez-Salgado, A., Israel, M., Strickland, C., DiDomenico, J., Lehman, L. (2023, May). Curricular Crosswalk: PBL+UDL+CRP [Crosswalk Guide]. Time4CSforAll. Timeforcs.org
Chandler, L., Weisberg, L., Ramirez-Salgado, A., Israel, M., Strickland, C., DiDomenico, J., Lehman, L. (2022, October). Integration of Inclusive Frameworks in K-12 CS Education [Videos]. Time4CSforAll. Timeforcs.org. https://timeforcs.org/videos/
Chandler, L. (2022, May). Flipping the Classroom: Guitars, Robots & Rocketry [Video]. STEM For All Video Showcase 2022. https://stemforall2022.videohall.com/presentations/2604.html
Professional Affiliations
Community College Presidents Initiative in STEM | Cohort 2 Fellow (2023-2026)
Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) | Member
Association for Computing Machinery | Member 3759068
Community Service
S.E.A.S: Specifics, Equality, Academia & Sports Youth Development Organization
Volunteer | Youth Cultural STEM Development
Summer Youth Impact for STEM
Enrichment Coordinator | STEM Curriculum Development
North Florida Suns
Advisory Committee | Marketing and Image Development
Technical Skills
Instructure Canvas Design Tools
Adobe Articulate
Final Cut Pro
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Character Animator
Adobe Premiere Pro
Cinema 4D
human-centered Design in stem education 