Leadership
Mariana Castro
Curriculum Designer & Instructor
Mariana Castro is a Curriculum Designer & Instructor for The Discussion Project. As Deputy Director at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), she is committed to improving educational outcomes for diverse student populations and fostering collaborations across academic disciplines and practitioners.
Castro brings over 30 years of experience in education as a science, bilingual teacher, and college instructor at Edgewood College, UW-Whitewater, and UW-Madison. Her work on policy has focused on development of language standards in Spanish and English. Her research integrates her background as an educator, passion for working with multilingual students and their teachers, and commitment for social justice. Selected publications include the books Advancing Equity in Dual Language Programs: A Guide for Leaders (2020) and Language Power: Key Uses for Accessing Content (2017); the articles Resilience, collaboration, and agency: Galapagos teachers confronting the disruption of COVID-19 in the Journal of Environmental Education (2021) and Bilingual investments of dual language immersion program alumni in the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (2022) and various book chapters. She serves as Principal Investigator for research related to language practices of multilingual students, dual language immersion programs and teacher professional learning.
Castro has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master of science degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She is based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mariana Castro
Mariana Castro is a Curriculum Designer & Instructor for The Discussion Project. As Deputy Director at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), she is committed to improving educational outcomes for diverse student populations and fostering collaborations across academic disciplines and practitioners.
Castro brings over 30 years of experience in education as a science, bilingual teacher, and college instructor at Edgewood College, UW-Whitewater, and UW-Madison. Her work on policy has focused on development of language standards in Spanish and English. Her research integrates her background as an educator, passion for working with multilingual students and their teachers, and commitment for social justice. Selected publications include the books Advancing Equity in Dual Language Programs: A Guide for Leaders (2020) and Language Power: Key Uses for Accessing Content (2017); the articles Resilience, collaboration, and agency: Galapagos teachers confronting the disruption of COVID-19 in the Journal of Environmental Education (2021) and Bilingual investments of dual language immersion program alumni in the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (2022) and various book chapters. She serves as Principal Investigator for research related to language practices of multilingual students, dual language immersion programs and teacher professional learning.
Castro has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master of science degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She is based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Discover more team members
The Discussion Project is developed by leading educators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Coursework is designed to improve classroom discussion and leads to higher levels of engagement, belonging, and learning for students. Learn more about the leadership team and how they can help your instituion move forward.
The Discussion Project
Research and development
It is funded by a $1mm grant from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Create an equitable and inclusive classroom climate conducive to high quality discussion.
Build institutional reputation for teaching quality
Improve student and instructor engagement and retention
Implement strategies that develop students’ discussion skills.
Strengthen departmental profiles
Ready to have a discussion?
Submit your information for a personalized course walk-through with The Discussion Project team to better understand how it can support the growth of your instructors, departments, and institution.