I am an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University, specializing in curriculum and instruction and social studies methods. I teach and supervise pre-service teachers in a year-long teacher licensure program (GTEP) and provide professional development for teachers through a Teaching American History grant. My special interests are social studies methods and instruction and technology.
I earned my doctorate in educational leadership at Portland State University, and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. I worked as a high school administrator in Washington and Alaska for 8 years. Before becoming an administrator, I taught U.S. and world history, government, and economics at Howard Luke Alternative School in Fairbanks and supervised many social studies methods students and student teachers. The alternative school attracted a high percentage of Alaska Native youth, and our program featured interdisciplinary as well as subject specific teaching, experiential learning, and differentiated instruction. I also taught high school social studies in Colorado and Illinois to Hispanic and African American students as well as majority culture students.
Currently I am the President of the National Council for Social Studies, past president of the Oregon Council for Social Studies, and an active member of the Washington Council for Social Studies. During my 17 years in Alaska I had the opportunity to network with colleagues in the Alaska Council for Social Studies, present workshops, and develop curriculum materials in U.S. history, law related education, multicultural studies, gender and race equity, interdisciplinary teaching for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and the Alaska Department of Education.