Robyn Wakalua Vierra, Ph.D.

Born and raised in Hawaiʻi, Dr. Vierra left the islands to earn a BA from Claremont McKenna College and to join Teach For America's ’03 LA Corps. During her placement, she taught 8th grade history while also earning an MA in Education from Loyola Marymount University. In 2008, Dr. Vierra earned an Advanced Literacy Certificate from Hamline University and transitioned to the elementary classroom – where she has been teaching for the past 10 years. Working at international schools in both Seoul and Shanghai, she has a deep understanding of cross-cultural issues in education. She has been part of numerous task forces involving strategic planning, teacher evaluation, faculty council, teacher advisory, and WASC accreditation. She received her Doctorate in Education from the University of Minnesota in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. Her dissertation looked at “Critical Thinking Assessment: The relationship with academic achievement and demographic factors.” Her research interests are critical thinking assessment and instruction, service learning, and cross-cultural education. She is an excellent communicator and consults on learning theory, instruction and delivery, data driven instruction, and action research. Dr. Vierra enjoys living in Hawaiʻi with her husband and two children.