Dr. Michelle Tenam-Zemach

Dr. Michelle Tenam-Zemach is a former professor of curriculum and instruction. Born and raised in New York City, Michelle graduated from SUNY Albany with a degree in English Literature and began her career as a middle school English Language Arts teacher in Brooklyn, NY, working with urban youth. Simultaneously, she continued her education, pursuing consecutive master’s degrees, an MA in English Literature at New York University and an MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Queens College. After relocating to South Florida, she continued her education and completed her EdD in Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Leadership at Florida International University.

For over 14 years, Michelle worked as a Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Nova Southeastern University. In that role, she developed and taught undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses face-to-face and online. She also led the development of a doctoral concentration in curriculum and teaching and directed the program for several years at the university. Her main focus for the concentration was infusing the principles of social justice, equity, and inclusion into the curriculum.

Among her other accomplishments, Michelle belonged to the first class of Phi Delta Kappan’s Emerging Leaders program and was awarded a President’s Grant from the university to continue her dissertation research on the presence of environmental sustainability themes in content standards. Despite her various roles, Michelle’s passion has always been teaching. She aims to impact students and shape their understanding of the social, political, and economic forces affecting education and curriculum.

In addition to her passion for teaching, Michelle enjoys scholarly work. She has published in several academic journals, including the Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, Curriculum Theorizing. She also has published two books: Rubric Nation: Critical Inquiries on the Impact of Rubrics in Education (IAP) and Unraveling the Assessment Industrial Complex: Understanding how testing perpetuates inequality and injustice in America (Routledge). She also served as Associate Editor of Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue.

Michelle is passionate about service and is highly active in many organizations. She is serving a third term on the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum Executive Council. She has also served on the advisory board of Bedford Academy, an innovative K-5 private school in New Hampshire. She also volunteers for several South Florida non-profit organizations focusing on underprivileged youth. When Michelle is not engaged in teaching, scholarship, or service, you can find her hiking, gardening, working out, or meditating. She also loves to attend the theater (musicals are her favorite). She is the mother of three incredible young men and the wife of the most loving and adoring husband. While she has many capacities and passions, her most passionate and relevant moments are spent with her family and friends.