Maaike Bouwmeester, Ph.D.

Clinical Assistant Professor

Program Director of Educational Communication & Technology

NYU Steinhardt

 

Maaike Bouwmeester has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of educational software development, design research and the learning sciences. Her teaching and research focus is on learning design theory and process, experiential learning, and learning methodologies which bridge the divide between theory and practice, especially in professional and graduate education.

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One such approach includes "RICH learning" (Relevance, Inquiry and Challenge in Higher Education) which aims to foster creative and effective problem-solving among novice designers wrestling with complex design challenges. In her teaching, she has explored how technology and media affordances can effectively support constructivist approaches to learning in sustainable, scalable and innovative ways.

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Prior to joining the faculty at the Educational Communication and Technology (ECT) program at NYU, Maaike was Vice President of Product Development at Taskstream, an educational software firm, where she led the growth of the Taskstream from a start-up to a 100 employee full-service SaaS company. Taskstream products and services are currently used in over 400 post-secondary educational institutions in the United States.

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In her role as VP of Product Development at Taskstream, Maaike led team efforts in design research, strategic product development and planning, UX strategy, and Agile and Lean software development. She was responsible for hiring and managing multiple product development teams. Maaike's innovations in designing learning technologies span a wide range of projects including rubric and e-portfolios tools, data analysis and reporting capabilities, and educator productivity tools.

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Maaike Bouwmeester earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan (Sociology and Pre-Med) and her M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University School of Education in the field of Educational Communication and Technology. Before moving into educational technology, Maaike served in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping, where she was posted overseas in both Croatia and Bosnia.