Dr. John Almarode is the Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professor of Education, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education.  John is also the Co-Director of James Madison University’s Center for STEM Education and Outreach and co-editor of the Teacher Educator’s Journal.  He began his career in Augusta County, Virginia, teaching mathematics and science to a wide‑range of students.  At James Madison University, he works with pre‑service teachers in elementary science methods, and actively pursues his research interests including educational neuroscience, the design and measurement of classroom environments that promote student engagement and leanring, interest and engagement in STEM disciplines, specialized STEM high schools, and college and university laboratory schools. The work of John and his colleagues has been presented to the United States Congress, Virginia Senate, at the United States Department of Education as well as the Office of Science and Technology Policy, The White House.  John has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on the application of neuroscience to classroom, school, and home environments.  He has authored multiple articles, reports, book chapters, and two books including Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6 - 12 (Corwin Press, 2013).

John lives in Waynsboro, Virginia with his wife Danielle, a fellow educator, their two children, Tessa and Jackson, and labrador retreivers, Angel and Forest.