Meet the team
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Anna Mukhongo, PhDLearning Skills Specialist(313) 577-1024
hl8336@wayne.eduBefore joining the Office of Learning and Teaching, Dr. Mukhongo worked as a student teacher educator at the University of Eldoret in Eldoret, Kenya, and Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. There she was responsible for guiding students toward mastery in the principles of the art and science of teaching and learning to ensure that they were equipped to meet the diverse needs of their students. Dr. Mukhongo’s commitment to effective teaching has afforded her the opportunity to play an integral role in designing and providing oversight to an array of clinical instructional programs. In addition to working as a graduate and undergraduate instructor in higher education, Dr. Mukhongo has also served in secondary education as a career counselor where she assisted high school students with assessing their interests, abilities, and values to develop and map their career trajectories. In the Office of Learning and Teaching, she provides ancillary support to students working in Segments 1, 3, and 4 of the undergraduate medical education program.
Dr. Mukhongo is a graduate of Clemson University where she earned a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She also holds a Master of Education degree in Curriculum Development and a Bachelor's degree in Education. Dr. Mukhongo’s scholarly interests include understanding the role of instruction and curricular materials in promoting learning, active teaching and learning strategies, and the integration of global citizenship in education programs.
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Zsa-Zsa Booker, PhDLearning Skills Specialist
313-577-1729
at0811@wayne.eduIn 2017, Dr. Booker joined the School of Medicine from the Academic Success Center to work as a Learning Skills Specialist in the Office of Learning and Teaching. Her commitment to student excellence is far-spanning at Wayne State University. In addition to serving as an adjunct instructor, Dr. Booker has also worked as an academic advisor, project manager, and data analyst in several departments across the university. In 2020, Dr. Booker was honored with the Osmosis Raise the Line Faculty Award for Outstanding Service to Students in Healthcare. Dr. Booker is responsible for providing students with supplementary academic strategies to support their performance in Segment 2 of the undergraduate medical education program.
Dr. Booker is a twice graduate of Wayne State University holding a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education Evaluation and Research and a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Forensic Science from Marygrove College. Her research interests center on program evaluations and institutional effectiveness.
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Marissa M. Zhu, PhDCurriculum Specialist
313-577- 9428
hp4151@wayne.eduDr. Zhu joins the Office of Learning and Teaching in the capacity of a Curriculum Specialist. Her core responsibilities include working collaboratively with the pre-clerkship and clerkship Segment Directors and faculty in the development of rigorous and engaging courses and evaluating and improving the utilization of instructional materials.
Dr. Zhu identifies as a social cognition researcher focusing on how people learn in complex domains (i.e., courses involving real-world application, open-ended problem-solving, and difficult subject matter). She applies theories of self-regulation learning and observational learning to design instructional activities that target and promote professional competencies such as intercultural competence, professional noticing, and knowledge application. Dr. Zhu’s research publications appear in the Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Teaching Learning for Effective Instruction, and Intercultural Education and center on (1) leveraging digital technologies to support curricular innovations in teaching and learning; (2) applying video-based cases to improve professional noticing; (3) and, studying undergraduate students’ use of self-regulated learning strategies to support intercultural competence.
Dr. Zhu holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Oakland University and a Master of Arts degree in New Media and New Literacies from the University of Michigan. Her doctoral degree in Educational Psychology and Technology was conferred at Michigan State University. Dr. Zhu plans to continue her scholarly research pursuit in academic medicine where she hopes to produce studies that explore (1) incorporating digital applications to enhance problem-based learning and case-based learning; (2) applying video-cued methods to develop medical students’ professional noticing; (3) developing intercultural competency training and assessments for medical education.
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Tara M. Reid, EdDDirector, Office of Learning and Teaching
313-577-0677 ag7337@wayne.edu
Dr. Tara M. Reid is a professional educator who has an extensive background in compulsory and higher education. Currently, she provides oversight and leadership in the Office of Learning and Teaching. As Director of OLT, she is responsible for guiding a team of doctoral-trained, highly-skilled educators in the curation of innovative educational resources that foster the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of student-facing and faculty-facing programming in the School of Medicine.
Dr. Reid views herself as an advocate of change, promoting, championing, and supporting horizontal and vertical continuous quality improvement initiatives across the education spectrum. Her desire for quality improvement led her to be one of 30 educators hand-picked by the Michigan Department of Education to serve on the State Superintendent’s think tank devoted to Anti-Racist Anti-Bias work in Michigan schools and universities.
Dr. Reid is a native Detroiter and a four-time alumna of Wayne State University. Her research interests explore intersectionality and achievement outcomes of marginalized and minoritized students in historically white institutions.
