Faculty Directory

Donovan, Courtney

Courtney Donovan PhD

Associate Teaching Professor
  • School of Education & Human Development

I was a middle school science teacher who essentially worked myself out of a job because I was asking too many questions and trying to use data to make improvements. I realized I needed more training which led me to a PhD in research methods and statistics. Now that I have the knowledge and tools I need, I have three goals: First, I want to provide practitioners with tools they need to make improvements and decisions based on good data and ensure that practitioner voices are heard across research fields (i.e. teachers, clinicians, clients, program users). Second, my love of STEM pulls me to ask questions that are science and math education related and drives much of my research. Third, I love supporting other researchers with measurement and modeling techniques. Plus, I love teaching classes that can be intimidating (i.e. stats!) and making them accessible to all my students. Check out my Research Website and YouTube Channel for resources.

Areas of Expertise

  • Psychometrics and Measurement, specifically using Item Response Theory via Rasch modeling
  • Quantitative Methods, specifically advanced modeling with Structural Equation Models
  • Qualitative Methods
  • Mixing methods

Education, Licensure & Certifications

  • PhD in Research Methods and Statistics
  • MA in Curriculum & Instruction with teaching license in secondary science
  • BS in Biology

Resumes/CV:

Awards

  • 2022 CU Denver campus award for Excellence in Research and Creative Work for Instructional, Research, and Clinical Faculty
  • 2022 School of Education & Human Development’s Excellence in Research Award
  • 2020 CU Denver Graduate School Award for Mentoring Doctoral Students
  • 2019 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Practices Related to Non-Tenure-Track Faculty; given to the SEHD Faculty Research Center
  • 2018 Service Award from the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association
  • 2016 Excellence in Youth Services Award for the Putting SPELL (Supporting Parents in Early Literacy through Libraries) into Action grant work from the Colorado Association of Libraries
  • 2014 Best Graduate Student Paper Award from the International Objective Measurement Workshop

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