Hi! I’m Dr. John McCullough. {updated in August 2018}
I’m a Professor in the Education Department at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. I’m also the Chairperson and Graduate Coordinator of the department. I have a D.Ed. in Elementary Education, an M.Ed. in Science Education, and a B.S. and Secondary Education Certification in Mathematics. This is my 27th year as a full-time faculty member in the department. Prior to working in the Education Department, I worked for a Science Education Grant, also at CUP. My first education job was teaching at Cranberry Area School District in Seneca, PA. I taught Junior High Mathematics and Senior High Computer Science for 4 years.
Christmas 2017
I have been married to my best friend Leeann since 1984. We have 3 sons. Our oldest son Corey is a freelance writer, novelist and B.S. Anthropology Graduate from Clarion. He and his wife Vanessa, a Speech Therapist, have two wonderful daughters, Lily and Nora. Our middle son Shawn is a School Psychologist Graduate Student at the University of Penn. In his spare time, he drives for Lyft and Uber. Our youngest son Kyle is a Senior at Edinboro University. We also have a great family dog, Shadow, a black lab/shepherd mix. We live in the big city of Kennerdell, PA…. mostly known for its lookout high above the Allegheny River and for its old railroad tunnels.
In my spare time I love to be outdoors, fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, taking pictures, golfing, kayaking, or building yet another deck.
I have been using computers and the Internet for many years. Since 1989, I have been a die-hard Apple Macintosh fanatic. I recently purchased another Macintosh Laptop, the 12th Mac computer I have owned. My tech skills are quite good on Macs and adequate on Windows machines. I just wish computers would work all the time! (Wasn’t that what we were told… they always work?… Ha!) My favorite thing to tell anyone that will listen regarding computers is “if all else fails, deprive them of power.” If they stop working correctly, pull the plug!
I believe very strongly in the educational theory of Constructivism and the Growth Mindset. You learn as you do and as you make mistakes. I am not a very good instructional presenter, but I’m an excellent instructional facilitator. In other words, I can’t lecture very well, but I will effectively lead students in the right direction. There is lots of work time during my classes, so students learn many things on their own.
One of my favorite quotes is “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” Therefore, I expect everyone to try new things in the course. I expect people to leave their comfort level and reach for new heights.
Dr. John McCullough 