Dr. Leonard Sheehy is a Adjunct Computer Science Professor at Sussex County Community College. Dr. Sheehy is also employed by the United States Army as a STEM instructor. He works with scientists and engineers to develop and implement hands-on, state of the art lessons and activities for the camp located on the base at Picatinny Arsenal. He retired in 2019 from Randolph Township Schools as a technology teacher after 28 years. There he taught robotics, computer programming and crime scene investigation classes.He is also the robotics club advisor and head of the sixth grade ski club. Prior to this position Dr. Sheehy taught physics and chemistry at Randolph Middle School. Dr. Sheehy earned a Doctorate in the Educational Technology Leadership Doctoral Program at New Jersey City University. His focus was on Robotics. 

Professional Growth Plan

My goal is to increase accessibility to education through technology. Learning is limited for some due to lack of means or through disability. Educational technology can bridge the gap for these individuals by providing access to communication, information, and knowledge. I would like to research the best practices in teaching with technology and share this knowledge with others. I will begin by studying the works of authors such as Seymour Papert, Jean Piaget and Marina Umaschi Bers, just to name a few. This will provide me with the skills necessary to communicate my vision of innovation while teaching with robots. The doctoral program at NJCU will allow me to be part of the new vision of learning. I wish to become part of fabricating the future of education by studying how to implement robots as a mathematics manipulative. I will apply the research conducted during the last two years to address what Papert calls a poverty of materials in mathematics education (Papert, 1993, pg. 20). I have completed self-assessments provided by Peter Northouse in his book Leadership Theory and Practice (Northouse, 2013). These assessments have defined me as an authentic leader. I combine the practical and ethical qualities listed in his work with the optimistic traits listed by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie in their book Strengths Based Leadership to form my leadership style (Rath,Conchie, 2008). I believe that all members of the team should experience success. This can be accomplished by finding the good in everyone and by providing encouragement to those less fortunate. I believe that robotics will become even more revolutionary: assisting the disabled, improving the life of the elderly, and providing advanced medical treatments. In order to assist in this revolution I have developed goals for myself. I plan to become an expert in robotics education. I will accomplish this by continuing to study leaders in the field such as Amy Eguchi. Her work in preparing teachers in the use of robotics in education has been groundbreaking. I will also study educational robot manufacturers and suppliers to insure that I remain current with the latest hardware and software products by imitating contact with those organizations. I will write grants to obtain new materials so that I can research innovation. I will continue to present at conferences such as The New Jersey Technology & Engineering Educators Association, design curriculum for robotic education, advise educators on new robotic education breakthroughs, and obtain a Doctorate in Educational Technology from New Jersey City University.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Papert, S. (1993). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas 2nd edition. New York: Basic Books.

Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow. New York: Gallup Press



Committed to Service

Dr. Sheehy is committed to researching the latest educational technology tools available in order to bring the highest quality education to students. Past teaching experience includes; Director at College Gifted Programs, Curriculum Consultant/Demonstrator Liberty Science Center, Computer Instructor at Gibbs College, Computer Instructor at Ocean County College. Dr. Sheehy has worked extensively with disabled students including his employment as a computer instructor at The Matheny School.

Contributions

• Sussex County Community College, STEM Exploration and Adventure Day, host 2020.
  
• LEGO Master Educator 2018 - 2020.
  
• Codie Award judge 2015 - 2018.
  
• Robotics instruction day NJCU April, 2015.
  
• Robotics presentation NJEA convention, 2015.
  
• ISTE, Teacher Toolkit, 2015
  
• Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference, 2016
  
• Girls in Technology, Robots in Education, 2016
  
• NJEDGE, Robots and Drones in Education, 2016
  
• ISTE Poster session - Robotics, Robotics in Education presentation, 2016
• United States Army, Picatinny Arsenal, Summer program design and implementation 2013-2016
• Title I robotics instructor, Randolph, NJ 2016
• Link to Dr. Sheehy's artifacts.

Publications

Challenges in Technology and Its Influences on Education and Training Journal of Applied Learning Technology (JALT), Volume 5, No. 2. 

Link to Dr. Sheehy's classroom website.

Philanthropy

Morris Association of Retarded Citizens - 33 year contributing member.  Malala Fund, A school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley School established by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist and youngest-ever Nobel Peace laureate. 2015 contributor.  Girls in Technology - Hudson Community College. 2015, 2016 contributor. 

Certifications

Microsoft Word Expert -2019 Python Programming for Everybody - 2019 Python Database - 2019 Python Webdata - 2019 Digital Citizen Certified Teacher, Common Sense Media.  RobotC, Carnegie Mellon - pending.  New Jersey Supervisors Certificate.  New Jersey Teachers Standard Certificate. 

Contact

leonardsheehy@gmail.com