Michelle Heckman

Biography

Michelle Heckman is a proud alumna of the University of Rochester. She attended the University of Rochester for her bachelor's in political science and history, completed the Take Five Scholars Program in German language and culture, and then completed her master's in TESOL with additional certifications in literacy. She then taught as both a literacy specialist and English as a new language teacher in local public schools, including Rush-Henrietta, Rochester, and Penfield. 

Heckman returned to the University of Rochester in 2019 for her doctorate in teaching and curriculum, focusing on language learning and mindfulness. She is conducting a study on the outcomes of an after-school mindfulness program for English Language Learners designed to support their socio-emotional development.

During her doctorate, Heckman has been part of an NSF-funded research project focusing on the motivational experiences of secondary students with a diagnosis of Specific Learning Disability in the sciences. As part of the research team, she published as second author for a paper titled “School Connectedness and Academic Self-Efficacy During Pandemic Learning: A Mixed Methods Study of Middle School Students' Science Experiences" in The Journal of Early Adolescence.

Additionally, from 2020 through 2023, she was an active member of the Doctoral Student Peer Support Association, during which time she helped organize two conferences available to the University of Rochester community and Monroe County educators. The conferences featured nationally renowned researchers including Bettina Love and Richard Ryan, but also provided opportunities for graduate students to share their work through presentations and workshops.