Kinsey Simone

About

Dr. Kinsey Simone is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator specializing in quantitative methods, research design, program evaluation, and predictive modeling. She brings a unique blend of data fluency, global collaboration, and human-centered inquiry to her teaching and research.

Dr. Simone leads projects that integrate clinical insight, lived experience, and advanced statistical techniques through Mad Topics, a novel framework she launched in 2024. Mad Topics has been nominated for the Grawemeyer Award in Education and has expanded internationally to include praxis and research partnerships in China and Slovenia. The framework has informed the first quantitative Mad Study (accepted by SAGE in 2024) and reached over 1,000 practitioners, students, educators, and community members through symposia and praxis initiatives.

Her international collaborations span China, Slovenia, Russia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the Philippines, with projects focused on inclusive education, trauma, and systems change. Dr. Simone’s work is grounded in empirical research, evaluation design, and field observation, and is informed by her fluency in Spanish and her experience working across cultures and sectors.

Her publications span the International Journal of Curriculum & Instruction, the Journal of Global Education and Research, the Asian Journal of Inclusive Education, the Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, the International OCD Foundation, the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, and the American Evaluation Association.

A hallmark of her teaching is making quantitative research accessible and engaging. She is currently in the proposal stages of developing a textbook on her teaching approaches to quantitative research design for Cognella Inc. With a background in English, Professional & Technical Communication, Spanish, and Cello Performance, she blends analytical rigor with creative thinking. Her teaching approach dismantles the notion of the bell curve as inevitable, resulting in consistently high student engagement and achievement.

Dr. Simone is also active in research at the intersection of behavioral insight and artificial intelligence. She collaborates with I-Corps and AI-Corps faculty and has co-led development of an NSF proposal focused on teaching emotional and social intelligence to future AI industry leaders—reflecting her belief that this intersection is vital for national innovation, research, and education.

Beyond academia, she is a musician and songwriter who views creative practice as central to her scholarly work. Her lifelong study of the cello and her experience writing songs and poetry inform her ability to connect, empathize, and communicate across disciplines.

Degrees and Certifications

• PhD, Program Planning & Evaluation, Tennessee Tech University
• MA, Curriculum & Instruction, Tennessee Tech University
• BA, English, Tennessee Tech University

Teaching, Research, and Professional Interest

• Quantitative research methods and design
• Program evaluation and impact assessment
• Predictive modeling in education and human services
• Trauma-informed, equity-driven pedagogy (Mad Topics framework)
• Inclusive education systems and policy
• Global and cross-cultural education research and praxis
• Mental health literacy and lived experience in research design
• Integration of behavioral insight and artificial intelligence
• Emotional and social intelligence training for AI industry leadership
• Interdisciplinary approaches to systems change
• Music, creativity, and arts-based research methods
• Community-engaged and practice-based research collaborations