PhD Program in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education

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Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education Ph. D.
Doctoral Student Profiles

Doctoral Students in Teacher Education

Matt Missias

I am originally from Kalamazoo , Michigan and completed both my undergraduate and masters degrees at Michigan State . I began my work on my PhD in 2006 after five years of teaching high school in Traverse City , Michigan . My interests are focused around the curricular and pedagogical imagination of teachers of social studies, especially within the induction phase. I am interested in the ways that teachers understand, know and present social studies curricula. Further I am interested in exploring the boundaries (real or imagined) that teachers construct, or are constructed for them, within their practice that either liberates or constrains the way that they imagine their practice. I am currently teaching the senior level methods course (TE 407 and TE 408) as well as serving as field instructor for several interns. I am also currently co-editing a book with Elizabeth Heilman and Ramona Fruja that examines the best practices of social studies methods pedagogy.

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Mark Kissling

I am a doctoral student in teacher education, beginning at MSU in the fall of 2007. I’ve taught (and learned) in a number of different settings including a public high school, a private home, a summer enrichment program, and a basketball camp. I see great hope in education.

I am interested in teacher preparation, interdisciplinary education, education as a means for social justice, teacher narratives, and curriculum development, especially centered around aspects of popular culture such as (folk) music. The more I study topics related to critical pedagogy, the more I want to continue studying topics related to critical pedagogy.

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Kevin Holohan

My name is Kevin Holohan. I was born and raised in Chicago, attended DePaul University for my undergraduate degree in Secondary English and History Education, and taught in a Chicago Public high school for five years. I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004 and taught for Grand Rapids Public Schools' juvenile detention program before moving on to a position coordinating adult tutoring for the Kent County Literacy Council.

I began in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program at Michigan State during the fall of 2007. I am directly involved
secondary Social Studies teacher education. As a field instructor, I work with student teachers of high school Social Studies. In addition, I have assisted with and co-taught TE 401 and TE 804 in Michigan State's College of Education.

My primary research interests center on critical pedagogy and media education/media literacy. I am also interested in notions of popular culture and the "everyday" in schools and classrooms as sites of resistance and spaces for transformative human agency.

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Jim Garrett

I am Jim Garret. My area of focus is secondary social studies (teacher) education. I am more specifically concerned with the ways in which students, teachers, and researchers make sense of social knowledge. Throughout my studies and research I have employed the lenses of media studies, critical and postmodern theory, as well as psychoanalytic approaches to learning in order to focus, organize, and problematize my thinking.

I have had the opportunity to not only work teaching social studies methods courses (TE407 and TE408), related teaching labs, and field instructing, I also am a graduate of the MSU teacher preparation program.

I began my doctoral program in the fall of 2005. At the time I was teaching full-time at Mason High School in Mason, MI, where I had been teaching since graduating from the MSU teacher education program. While there, I taught economics, world studies, psychology, and media studies.

Publications:
Garrett, H. J. (2008). Book Review of Novel Education: Psychoanalytic Theories of Learning and Not Learning, by Deborah Britzman. Teachers College Record, Date Published: November 15, 2007 http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 14770

Conference Presentations
Garrett, H. K., & Schmidt, S. (2008). “Narrating Critical Encounters: Social Studies Teachers Experiences in South Africa.” Paper presented at the National Meeting of the American Education Research Association, New York, NY. March, 2008.

Garrett, H. J. (2007). “High School Students, Media Pedagogy, and Democracy”. Paper presented at the College and University Faculty Association of the National Council for Social Studies Conference, San Diego, CA, November, 2007.

Garrett, H. J. (2007). “Technology as Social Study: Inscribing Broader Notions into the Discourse of social Studies Education.” Paper presented at the College and University Faculty Association of the National Council for Social Studies Conference, San Diego, CA, November, 2007.

Garrett, H. J., & Kendall, S. (2007). “Critical Mythology of Teacher Education.” Paper presented at the National Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. April, 2007.

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Kristy Brugar

In 2007, I began my doctoral work with in teacher education with an emphasis is secondary social studies. I am interested in teacher preparation, professional learning communities, middle school teaching and learning in social studies, citizenship, and history instruction. At MSU, I am responsible for field instruction of student teachers and major and minor labs for secondary social studies (TE 407/8).

Prior to coming to MSU, I taught middle school social studies in public and private schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Michigan. I have presented at national, state, and local conferences. In addition I have developed curriculum materials for Public Broadcasting System on subjects ranging from citizenship to religious history to women’s issues.

Additionally, I have taught social studies methods courses at Oakland University in Rochester, MI and at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

Published Materials
Brugar, K. (2004). Lewis and Clark: An Interdisciplinary Unit. Middle Level Learning, 19(2), M3-M7.
Published Instructional Materials
Baker, M., Brugar, K., Johnson, C., & Mater, M. (2004). American trailblazers. Dearborn, MI: The Henry Ford.
Caldie, C. & Brugar, K. (2004). Concepts across the curriculum: Volunteerism. Alexandria, VA: Public Broadcasting System.
Brugar, K. (2003). Concepts across the curriculum: Transportation. Alexandria, VA: Public Broadcasting System.
Brugar, K. (2003). Japan: Memoirs of a secret empire: Classroom guide. Washington, D.C. Devillier Donegan Enterprises.
Brugar, K. (2003). Lawrence of Arabia: Classroom resources. Washington, D.C. Devillier Donegan Enterprises.
Brugar, K. (2003). Martin Luther: Classroom resources. Washington, D.C. Devillier Donegan Enterprises.
Brugar, K. (2002). Concepts across the curriculum: Citizenship. Alexandria, VA: Public Broadcasting System.
Brugar, K. (2002). Concepts across the curriculum: The Western Frontier. Alexandria, VA: Public Broadcasting System.
Brugar, K. (2002). NOW with Bill Moyers. Global women and poverty: Take action. New York: Public Affairs Television.
Brugar, K. (2002). NOW with Bill Moyers. Global women and poverty: Starter activities. New York: Public Affairs Television.
Brugar, K. (2002). Peter, Paul and the Christian Revolution: Teacher resources. Washington, DC: Devillier Donegan Enterprises.

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Shannon Sweeny
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent most of my adult years in Seattle, Washington. I attended Seattle University for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Biology (1994) and a Master in Teaching (1999).

In Seattle, I taught a 5th/6th multiage class for five years and middle school math for one year. I lived in Virginia for two years and worked as a middle school math/science peer coach and a K-6 math specialist. Throughout my years as a classroom teacher, I facilitated Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) professional development seminars for teachers in Washington, Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia. I also taught graduate level courses for math specialist programs at George Mason University and University of Virginia.

I started the PhD program at Michigan State University in 2007. I am passionate about helping elementary school teachers and students develop deep conceptual knowledge of mathematics. I am interested in research that focuses on teacher knowledge and teacher learning for both pre-service and in-service teachers. I am also interested in issues related to equity and urban education.

While at MSU, I have been able to teach the two math methods courses for undergraduates in the elementary teacher education program. I teach TE 801 in the fall and TE 402 in the spring. This year, in addition to teaching those two classes, I will have the opportunity to teach TE 801 to a group of students who will spend their internship year living and teaching in Chicago.

Descriptors:
• Teacher education and teacher learning
• Mathematics education
• Urban education

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Kevin Burke

I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago.  I completed my undergraduate work in English at Boston College and received my MEd through the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, after which I returned to BC where I taught freshman writing, worked in student formation and discernment while completing an MA in Higher Education Administration.  As a member of the ACE program I taught secondary English and Theology at a small Catholic school in Phoenix.

I began the PhD program in 2006.  My interests sit at the boundaries/borders of a few areas.  Particularly for our purposes here I’m looking at teacher education and teacher learning, cultural studies, critical theory/social justice through a feminist lens of gender (and critical masculinity) studies.  I’m beginning to sharpen my focus to examine the ways that masculinity and spirituality map onto—shape and determine—each other in (overtly and covertly) religious contexts.
While at MSU I have taught in the department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, as well as for the College of Arts and Letters.  Currently I am teaching TE 250, a course centered on the ways in which schools (and schooling) create(s), perpetuate(s), and exacerbate(s) inequality; additionally I’ll be working with the lab section of TE 407 and TE 408 in secondary English and will serve as a field instructor for interns.

Conference Presentations

Burke, K., Meritt, K, & Tuckey, S. (2008). “Situating narratives across borders.” ‘Paper’ presented at Writing Research Across Borders, Santa Barbara, CA. February, 2008.

Burke, K. (2007). “Foundings.” Paper presented at the Symposium for the Study of Midwestern Literature, East Lansing, MI. May, 2007.

Publications
Burke, K. (2008). Silhouettes. In The spirit of ACE. South Bend: ACE press.

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Mark Low

I am a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the program of Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy. My research interests focus on the ways in which state-, district-, and school-level policies and practices affect the human capital development of teachers and students. In my dissertation, I am studying the effects of veteran colleagues and school policies on the commitment levels of early career teachers in public and Catholic schools.

You can find more information about my background and my experiences at MSU by visiting my webpage: www.msu.edu/~lowmark.

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Tim Ford

I am a fourth-year in the Curriculum, Teaching, and Ed Policy program. My research interests lie in field of sociology of education, with a primary orientation towards understanding how schools and families contribute to social inequality and/or social stratification.  Within schools, I am particularly interested in understanding the effects of various aspects of the social organization of schooling (in particular social trust), and in making them work for school improvement as well as social justice for disadvantaged groups such as the children of migratory workers. At MSU, I am currently an instructor for TE 250, Human Diversity, Power, and Opportunity in Social Institutions, and a graduate research associate for the John A. Hannah chair, Dr. Barbara Schneider. I am also a member of the Educational Policy Analysis Archives New Scholar editorial board, a graduate student editor of the Sociology of Education journal, and the editorial manager for the AERA Handbook of Educational Policy Research—a handbook containing over 70 chapters and commentaries from leading scholars in educational policy to be published in early 2009.

Before coming to MSU, I worked with migrant children and their families for over 5 years in various capacities. I was a volunteer English instructor at a community-based ESL program for migrant families, and served as a graduate assistant for the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at the University of Kansas. My last position was as an Instructional Specialist/Migrant Recruiter in the Kansas City MO metro area. I provided ESL and migrant professional development and support services for 22 districts.
I have a Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Truman State University in Missouri.

Publications:

Maier, K. S., Ford, T. G., & Schneider, B. (2008). Are middle-class families advantaging their children? In L. Weis (Ed.), The way class works: Readings on school, family, and the economy. New York: Routledge.

Schneider, B., Ford, T. G., & Perez-Felkner, L. (in press). Social networks and the education of children and youth. In The 3rd International Encyclopedia of Education. London: Elsevier.

Sykes, G., O’Day, J., & Ford, T. G. (forthcoming).  The district role in instructional improvement.  In, D. Plank, G. Sykes, & B. Schneider (Eds.), AERA Handbook on Educational Policy Research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ford, T. G., & Youngs, P. (under review). How policy context shapes trust in schools: Understanding how Success for All promotes trust in a high-performing urban Midwestern district.  Educational Policy.

Selected Presentations:

Maier, K. S., Ford, T. G., & Schneider, B. (2008, August).  Adolescent parent involvement and school advantage: Gendered understandings of how competitive home and school experiences mediate adolescents’ academic achievement and well-being.  Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

Ford, T. G. (2008, March).  Building social trust between ELL migrant students and ESL program staff: An examination of two school districts’ staff development opportunities.  Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.

Maier, K. S., Ford, T. G., Schneider, B. (2008, March) Social class and child-rearing practices:  Are middle-class families advantaging their children?  Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Chicago, IL.

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David McLaughlin

I am from Ontario, Canada and completed undergraduate science and education degrees there. I spent 13 years teaching mostly middle school math and science at international schools in Colombia, Turkey, and Thailand. While in Thailand, I completed my Masters degree through MSU’s Graduate Studies in Education Overseas.

I began the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program at Michigan State in 2005. Since this time I have been able to work as a field instructor for secondary science and have taught elementary science methods courses (TE401 and TE402). I have also held research assistantships investigating the design of science materials and instruction for diverse learners.

My interests include elementary science teacher preparation and access to basic education for marginalized populations in less-developed countries.

Publication
Tate, E. D., Clark, D. B., Gallagher, J. J., & McLaughlin, D. S. (2008).
Designing science instruction for diverse learners. In Y. Kali, M. C. Linn &
J. E. Roseman (Eds.), Designing coherent science education. New York:
Teachers College Press.

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Maria Selena Protacio

I am Maria Selena Protacio, a doctoral student in Teacher Education and specializing in literacy. Prior to coming to MSU, I studied in the University of the Philippines for my undergraduate degree and completed my M.Ed. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, also focusing on teacher education and literacy

I taught English in a state high school in the Philippines for three years, and this teaching experience prompted me to pursue a graduate degree so that I can investigate the reading motivation levels of students as a number of my students were unmotivated to read. At MSU, I teach TE 301, which is the beginning literacy course that students take once accepted into the Teacher Education program. Even at the undergraduate level, students seem to have differing levels of reading motivation. I am currently investigating how these reading motivation levels influence preservice teachers' beliefs about literacy teaching and learning.

As a bilingual person, I am also very interested in second language education. Specifically, I am interested in how motivated bilingual and biliterate students are with literacy.

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Adriane (Adie) Slaton

I came to MSU to learn how to best serve students specifically at under-resourced urban schools and to become a pre-service teacher educator myself. I am particularly interested in how teachers learn to teach secondary science effectively to low-income students and how they can guide their students in becoming agents for change at home, in school and in the community. At MSU, I am learning ways to better prepare pre-service teachers to promote social justice in their teaching and incorporate service learning in the classroom.

Prior to coming to Michigan State , I taught high school science for four years in Chicago . My experiences as a classroom teacher have directly informed my research interests. In particular, I am focusing on ways to strengthen teacher preparation for science teaching candidates planning to teach in urban, under-resourced schools. I am also interesting in thinking about ways we teach students (K-12, undergraduate and graduate) to critically think and question texts and ideas we often take as fact or passively accept as true.

My first year, I worked with Professor Angela Calabrese-Barton on a project looking at middle school girls’ engagement and participation in science. Through this project, we considered the role of “respect” in urban classrooms: both from the perspective of theorists and those of the students and teachers. In this project, we videotaped classroom periods, interviewed students, and had the participants engage in a photo journal project to identify when respect is used in a science classroom an entry for participation and engagement. During my first year, I also had the privilege of working with six secondary teacher interns as a field instructor. In this capacity, I visited interns bi-monthly, acted as a liaison between MSU and the interns/mentor teachers and I supported my interns in any way I could (from co-planning to cleaning classrooms!). Field instruction was a great experience for me.

Last year, my second year here, I taught TE 302, MSU’s Literacy Across Content Areas/Learners and Learning in Context course as well as the lab sections for the science methods class (TE 407/408). I have missed teaching since coming to MSU, so I loved getting back into the classroom.

I have met the most amazing people here. You never know when a quick greeting in the hall will blossom into a two-hour conversation about education or projects around campus. I am constantly impressed with the passion for education my colleagues possess. Secondly, I have truly learned so much since the beginning of my program. I am beginning to find that “pleasure reading” no longer involves best sellers, but rather readings on urban education, social justice, pre-service teachers and science education (okay, and the occasional best seller!). This program pushes you to discover ideas, theories and people that interest you.

I actually love East Lansing (well, okay, maybe not December through March). You should know that this is one of the grayest towns in the continental U.S. I bought the seasonal depression lights and I am convinced they helped! The other months: this place is amazing! There are tons of festivals, trails, rivers (canoeing!), and forest preserves. It is so convenient to take a book (or a jog) over to Lake Lansing and spend the afternoon there. East Lansing even smells good (clean, crisp, nice)! Aside from physical geography, the people here are unbelievably kind. It is not uncommon to ask for directions and a person will draw you a map, offer to walk you there, etc. In short, East Lansing is a great place for doctoral studies.

Publications

Slaton, A. (2008). Book Review: Against common sense: Teaching and learning toward social justice, by Kevin Kumashiro. Radical Teacher, 81, 40-41.

Presentations/Conferences

Co-presented issues in urban science to TE 250 class in Spring, 2007

Presented model science lesson to TE 302 Spring, 2007 and Fall, 2007

Accepted at Multicultural Education Conference in Birmingham , AL., February, 2008

Presented at NARST conference, April, 2008

www.msu.edu/~slatonad

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