BA, Taylor University; PhD, Indiana University, Bloomington
“Teaching young people is no one-size-fits-all endeavor; it is the most complex challenge that any professional could ever undertake. It forces you to think about identity and philosophy and logistics in concert; you can’t effectively teach without being incredibly wise to all of the contextual factors at play. This is why I love being a teacher of teachers at a deep-thinking place like Millsaps College. I am especially interested in pushing the envelope of what is conceived as “traditional” literacy education, and I define literacy as an inherently social form of “meaning-making.” I enjoy exploring with students and practicing teachers just how reading and writing practices are shifting, adapting, or remaining the same as learners interact with new media.
“In all of my courses, students will find themselves surrounded by a variety of texts (e.g. articles, textbooks, podcasts, blogs) and a variety of instructional approaches (collaborative, project-based, etc.). They will constantly be pushed to make connections between their community-engaged learning experiences (often situated in schools) and the theories we are discussing in class. I believe that learning spaces are co-constructed, and I actively invite students to stamp their own identities, passions, interests, and question marks into the curriculum. Millsaps’ commitments to cross-disciplinary connections and local-global partnerships make it a fertile space to explore the intersections of education, new media, society, and literacy practices in the 21st century.”
