Learning Sciences & Human Development

Going with the flow: How Marisa Mendoza-Maurer is rewriting what education is and can be

Ichigo Takikawa — Wed, 21 May 2025 20:38:00 +0000

Going with the flow: How Marisa Mendoza-Maurer is rewriting what education is and can be Ichigo Takikawa Wed, 05/21/2025 - 14:38

When Marisa Mendoza-Maurer moved from Hawai’i to Colorado to begin her PhD program, she didn’t come alone. She brought with her a husband, two young children and a decade's worth of classroom experience as a secondary English teacher. The leap across an ocean and into a rigorous doctoral program is just one of the many monumental ventures she is undertaking.

Mendoza-Maurer is now in her second year in the ��ϳԹ� School of Education's Learning Sciences and Human Development program, a space that aligns with her passions for literacy, identity and compassion.

Her work seeks to bridge metacognition—thinking about one's thinking—with self-compassion, aiming to help adolescents construct more empowering narratives about themselves.

"So many students would tell me, 'I’m not a reader or writer,' or 'I’m stupid,'" she said. "I realized that the type of narrative that youth say about themselves, particularly as they negotiate their literacy identity, really matters."

Centering Compassion in the Classroom

That realization propelled her towards research and led Mendoza-Maurer to the Renee Crown Wellness Institute, where she facilitates a course for the compassion and dignity certificate that’s part of the School of Education's Master's in Teacher Leadership program, part of ��ϳԹ� Online. There, she helps current educators learn to extend compassion not only to their students but also to themselves.

"It's really easy for educators to have negative self-talk, too," she said. "There’s this expectation to do it all and do it well. Consequently, a lot of us put guilt and judgment and self-blame on ourselves, saying that if we’re not able to grade all our papers on time, we’re failing. If we’re not attending to the students and the parents and doing our curriculum the way we planned, we’re not 'good teachers.'"

Things like meditative practices are part of the curriculum, reframing teaching as an emotional practice as much as an intellectual one.

"You can rewire your brain for compassion, it teaches you to be more mindful and aware of your thoughts," she said. "It’s about being mindful and aware enough to recognize the suffering, and then doing mindful practices to alleviate that suffering."

Mendoza-Maurer believes that at the end of the day, it’s about educators— and others—giving themselves grace. There’s a lot of pressure for both students and educators to be perfect, but she believes we are all learning.

“It’s about being comfortable with the mess and knowing how to be happy and compassionate regardless.”

Creative, Expressive Education

This ethos drives her work at The Laboratory for Ritual Arts & Pedagogy, or The RAP Lab, a creative scholarly community led by Assistant Professor Kalonji Nzinga. There, Mendoza-Maurer used the transdisciplinary research hub to explore her academic voice through oral recitation, particularly by way of spoken word poetry.

It was in that experimental space, she says, that she felt empowered in a way traditional learning environments hadn’t quite offered. She felt like she had found an avenue where she was able to have fun with theory and ideas and engage with them in a way that made sense to her.

While she acknowledges that there is certainly a place for the traditional academic journal, she also believes "there's an opportunity to make space for more creative forms of writing and publishing," she said. “I want to push forward different notions of what academic writing could look and sound like.”

From the RAP Lab, Mendoza-Maurer has found that there are others like her, critical scholars looking to be creative in their work. She recalls a member who plays the violin and facilitates community-based improv workshops to aid in music composition.

"People often say, 'It didn’t just make me think—it made me feel," she said of the lab’s community gatherings and open mic events.

She finds this particularly important, as many people will not read an academic journal, but they are more likely to listen to music or watch videos. After watching a performance, audience members have said “it's inspiring me to act on the things that I've learned,” she says, "I’m feeling it."

She believes that this is what good education should do: "It connects these ideas, and helps you want to do something to help the world."

The Power of Paddling and Persistence

Outside the classroom and research settings, Mendoza-Maurer finds renewal in another passion: outrigger canoe paddling.

It’s a sport she's practiced while living in Hawai’i, and it's deeply connected to Hawaiian culture and community.

Mendoza-Maurer turned to canoeing during a painful chapter of her life. When she was not selected for a competitive paddling race, she organized her own crossing of the Moloka’i Channel, the waterway between the islands of O'ahu and Moloka'i that is known for its mentally and physically grueling conditions for paddlers. In a one-woman canoe she paddled across 46 miles of open ocean, supported by friends and family in an escort boat.

“I just needed to prove to myself that I could do it. And I did,” she said.

Her journey from classroom teaching to PhD seminars, from ocean waters to Boulder's foothills, has been far from linear, but her passions flow and interconnect with deep intentionality. Mendoza-Maurer doesn’t just study identity development—she lives it.

"Ultimately, I want students and teachers alike to know: you are enough," she said.

When Marisa Mendoza-Maurer moved from Hawai’i to Colorado to begin her PhD, she didn’t come alone. She brought with her a husband, two young children and a decade's worth of classroom experience as a secondary English teacher. The leap, across an ocean and into a rigorous doctoral program, was nothing short of monumental.

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Meet Sarah Leonhart, accidental adrenaline seeker and intentional equitable education advocate

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 22:37:26 +0000

Meet Sarah Leonhart, accidental adrenaline seeker and intentional equitable education advocate Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/26/2023 - 16:37

Sarah Leonhart credits her support system for helping her pursue and persist in graduate school. Much like hucking a cliff—her true story of accidentally skiing off a cliff with friends, a move reserved for adrenaline junkies —Leonhart entered graduate school in the Learning Science and Human Development program at ��ϳԹ� as a leap of faith, and she is grateful for the support from her network of friends and family.

While working in higher education at the University of Utah, a mentor encouraged her to enroll in a graduate program in education, and she chose ��ϳԹ� to be close to family in Colorado.

Fast forward to today, and Leonhart has been selected by program faculty as the Outstanding Graduate of the Learning Science and Human Development program.

Her research interests include equitable K-12 science education and school hegemony, and faculty honored her as an eager and interdisciplinary student, who dives deeply into how student success and failure are constructed and resisted from sociological, anthropological, and historical perspectives.

Through the program, she has made a powerful impact on the analyses of state science leaders’ noticing for equity. She also contributed to studies of middle and high school student’s collaborative problem solving for the National Science Foundation’s cutting-edge Institute for Student-Artificial Intelligence Teaming (iSAT), an interdisciplinary research community dedicated to transforming classrooms into more effective, engaging, and equitable learning environments through the development of the next-generation collaborative learning.

Leonhart's capstone work focused on ideological hegemony and the perpetuation of systems that continue to disadvantage marginalized communities.

"She advocated for disruption of concepts like meritocracy and competitiveness that define success in terms that inherently advantage dominant culture," said a peer. "Her work was a true "capstone," clearly building on discoveries and concepts she gathered throughout her MA program."

Leonhart will graduate from the ��ϳԹ� School of Education having made her mark on learning sciences studies, while making time for well-being and hobbies and encourages graduate students who follow to do the same.

“You have to make time for yourself,” she says to other students. “Grad school can feel overwhelming and there is a mindset of toxic productivity in academia. Carve out time to explore your hobbies, spend time with friends, and enjoy what Colorado has to offer.”

In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself

I was born in raised in Des Moines, Iowa (go Hawkeyes!) although I've moved around quite a bit since then. Before coming to ��ϳԹ�, I was working at the University of Utah/Department of Veterans Affairs as a Research Analyst. My mentor, Andrea Kalvesmaki, was completing her PhD in educational policy from the UoU. Andrea provided me with the knowledge and confidence to navigate applying to graduate school, specifically education programs. I selected ��ϳԹ� to be closer to 2 of my 3 sisters. A lot of my family is from Colorado so it felt like coming home."

What is one of the lessons from your time at ��ϳԹ� that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

One of the greatest lessons that I learned while at ��ϳԹ� was the importance of community. My greatest, most memorable moments were with my friends and family: singing along to Harry Styles with my friends, accidentally hucking a cliff while skiing with my roommates, engaging in discussions with my classmates... these are the learning moments and stories that I carry close to my heart.”

What does graduating from ��ϳԹ� represent for you and/or your community?

Graduating from ��ϳԹ� is a testament to the support of my family. As cliche as it sounds, I wouldn't have been able to do it without them. They have provided me with a solid foundation to build upon and I cannot thank them enough. I want to give a special shoutout to my grandparents. Their unwavering support over the years has been incredible. Y'all, look at the heights we've reached!”

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

You have to make time for yourself. Grad school can feel overwhelming and there is a mindset of toxic productivity in academia. Carve out time to explore your hobbies, spend time with friends, and enjoy what Colorado has to offer. Also, go to therapy. CAPS is a great resource! ”

What continues to drive your passion for your work after graduation?

My family and the youth.”

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