He earned his Ph.D. in Physical Education Teacher Education from The Ohio State University, M.S. in Athletic Administration from Eastern Illinois University, and B.A. in Physical Education and Sport Management from Baldwin-Wallace College. Jim's primary line of research relates to curriculum design, instruction, and implementation. Specifically, he has focused on the training of pre-service and in-service teachers with appropriate content using Models Based Instruction (MBI). Since 2012, Jim has been part of three accepted grant proposals to initiate, equip, and develop a Professional Development School at Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb in physical education.