Dessy Stoycheva received her BAE in Applied Linguistics- English and Bulgarian Studies from St. Cyril & St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, her MAE in Educational Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa, and her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Northern Iowa.

Dr. Stoycheva is an expert in Educational Psychology with 15 years of overall teaching experience with various grade levels and 11 of those years in higher education. She has been involved in course development, conducting research, reviewing research based on journal and organizational guidelines, presenting research at conferences, organizing and coordinating work groups, and supervising pre-service teachers as a faculty advisor and in service learning projects in the community. Her background working with diverse, non-traditional, and traditional students in the US and Europe allows her to facilitate the individual needs of various learners.

The courses Dr. Stoycheva taught include K-12 TESOL and Psychology, Community College General and Developmental Psychology, University level Educational Psychology, Learning and Motivation, and Curriculum and Instruction courses. Her broad research interests focus on higher-order cognition and learning, child development, literacy, STEAM education, and the psychology of interpersonal forgiveness. Dr. Stoycheva is particularly interested in applying an interdisciplinary approach to studying learning and development to inform instructional strategies, interventions, and practices for promoting the whole child’s development. To this end, Dr. Stoycheva is actively engaged with higher education research and instruction and has contributed to peer-reviewed journals and organizations, such as the American Education Research Association and the American Psychological Association.