Jennifer Russell

Professional Title
Associate Professor/Research Scientist
Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
Jennifer Lin Russell is an assistant professor of Learning Sciences and Policy in the School of Education and a research scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research examines policy and other educational improvement initiatives through an organizational perspective. Her recent work examines two primary issues: (1) how schools create social and organizational structures that support reform; and (2) how inter-organizational collaborations can be structured for educational improvement. In the first strand she has examined how teachers’ social networks influence their implementation of reform mathematics practice in two urban districts. The second strand of research examines how organizations can productively collaborate to pursue educational improvement. In a recent publication, Russell explored how informal education organizations, such as museums and community centers, collaborate with schools and districts to expand regional educational opportunities for children and youth. And in a new study funded by the William T. Grant Foundation she is collaborating with colleagues at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to identify essential capacities and design consideration for the formation of networks aimed at improving persistent problems of education practice. Her research has also been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the Institute for Education Sciences. Russell received her BA in Political Science and Urban Studies from Northwestern University, her MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of San Francisco, and her PhD in Policy, Organization, Measurement and Evaluation from the Graduate School of Education at University of California, Berkeley.