Meet Dr. Patricia Dickenson

 I began my career as a classroom elementary teacher in South Los Angeles, however my passion for working with kids and my love for teaching was evident years before it became official.  My favorite game to play as a child was “school”.  Long after the last bell of the school day would ring I would spend hours pretending with friends and siblings what it would be like to be the teacher.

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As much as I loved learning being a student was not easy for me.  I remember spending hours sitting at the dining room table struggling to make sense of content.  My hard work and effort paid off and I was accepted to the University of Massachusetts Amherst with an academic scholarship. I was the first in my family to graduate and at that point decided  I really wanted to be a teacher. 

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My first few years teaching in South Los Angeles were challenging, but I learned so much from my students and really felt like I was making a difference.  There were days when things were extremely difficult like when my school was on lockdown because of a gang shooting or when one of my students lost her father to a drive-by.  Life in the big city of Los Angeles had many challenges but also opportunities to shape students' lives and share a passion for learning.  My students always challenged me to be the best version of myself.

After ten years of classroom teaching, I decided to pursue a doctorate degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Southern California.  In 2009, I became "Dr. D", and followed my calling to support teachers and help them discover a love of teaching through lesson planning, technology integration, and social-emotional learning. 

In 2021 I published "Technology Infused Math Instruction: Teaching Outside the Box" which has been adopted at three universities throughout the country.  

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