Gess LeBlanc

Gess LeBlanc received his doctoral degree from the Ph.D. Program in Developmental Psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He is an expert in the field of child and adolescent development and is the former Chair of the Department of Educational Foundations and Counseling Programs. Dr. LeBlanc is a co-founder of Hunter’s Urban Center for Assessment, Research, and Evaluation (UCARE) and a co-founder of the college’s MA Program in Educational Psychology.

As a developmental psychologist, Dr. LeBlanc has taught graduate courses in research methodology and undergraduate and graduate courses in educational psychology, child development, and adolescent development. He is a past recipient of Hunter College’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Hunter College School of Education’s Harold Ladas Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was awarded the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Equality and Excellence in Education, Inc.

Dr. LeBlanc’s research investigates the impact of developmentally and culturally responsive teaching on school climate. This research has been published in both psychological and educational journals and has garnered awards from the Spencer Foundation and the American Psychological Association.

• LeBlanc, G. (with Tim Frederick and the writers of Youth Communication) (2021). Who’s In My Classroom? Building Developmentally and Culturally Responsive School Communities. John Wiley & Sons.
• Evangelista, P. & LeBlanc, G. (2021). Most Improved Student: Understanding positive change in academic performance, pp. 211-228, in Morten G. Ender, Raymond A. Kimball, Rachel M. Sondheimer, and Jakob C. Bruhl (editors). Teaching and the Learning the West Point Way: Educating the Next Generation of Leaders (New York and London: Routledge)
• LeBlanc, G. (2016). A Conceptual Framework for Creating Culturally Responsive Token Economies. Curriculum and Teaching, 31(1), 27-45.
• LeBlanc, G. (2008). A Developmental Ecological Perspective on the Development of Meaningfulness in Adolescent Boys, Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion.
• LeBlanc, G. (2004). Enhance Intrinsic Motivation Through The Use of a Token Economy, Essays in Education, vol. 11, Fall
• LeBlanc, G. & Bearison, D. (2004). Teaching and Learning as a Socially Constructed Activity, Cognitive Development, 19, 499-515
• Bearison, D.J, & Dorval, B. (with G. LeBlanc, A. Sadow, & D. Plesa, and commentary by A. Stetsenko) (2002). Collaborative Cognition: Children Negotiating Ways of Knowing. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press.
• Subotnik,R., & LeBlanc,G. (2000). Teaching Gifted Students in a Multicultural Society. In J. Banks & C. Banks (Eds.) Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, 4th edition.

• LeBlanc, G. Development of an Observation Protocol to Identify Developmentally and Culturally Responsive Teaching, PSC-CUNY Research Awards, (2017-2018), $5,795.20
• LeBlanc, G. Principal Investigator, Evaluation of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Theatrical Teaching Institute, Roundabout Theatre Company, (2015-2016), $15,000.
• LeBlanc, G., Principal Investigator, Graves, S. Co-Principal Investigator, Teacher Opportunity Corps. The Culturally Responsive Teacher Project, New York State Education Department Office of K-16 Initiatives, (2011-2014), $240,000.
• LeBlanc, G., Principal Investigator, Teacher Opportunity Corps. New York State Education Department Office of K-16 Initiatives, (2009-2011), $180,000.