Education
- D.Ed., Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- M.S., Slippery Rock University
- B.S., Grove City College
Specific courses or specialties
I spent eight years teaching at the middle school and high school level before joining the Grove City College Education Department in the fall of 2012. Middle-school was my favorite level of education. (Yes, I know that makes me slightly crazy, but being slightly crazy is a good characteristic for a middle school teacher.) Just like middle school is a time of transition, freshman year is also a time of transition for new Grove City College students. The skills and knowledge that I honed during my years teaching middle schoolers have in many ways guided my philosophy for helping our freshmen acclimate to GCC, which is why I especially enjoy teaching the education intro courses here at the college.
It was a bittersweet decision to leave the middle school classroom since I enjoyed my time there and I felt was making an impact in students’ lives. But I see my calling here at Grove City College’s Education Department to train the next generation of educators with the following two principles:
If we wish to make an impact and model our teaching after Jesus the Master Teacher, then “students need to know how much you care, before they will care how much you know.” This is a theme that I talk about often in my courses: You never know if you are the one caring adult in a student’s life that will make all the difference in helping him or her excel later in life.
The second theme reflects my view of teacher-education. I often share the “how and why” of what I am doing as a professor so that my pre-service teachers can connect theory with practice. I believe that teacher education programs are a “time for the pre-service teacher to learn how to move from one side of the desk to the other.” Teaching requires different skills and aptitudes than being a student. Thus, I see my calling to equip pre-service teachers with these skills by modeling and explaining effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment in my courses.
Over the past decade, the Grove City College Education Department has grown our middle level program to one of the largest and most successful in the state! Our grads from this program go out to do great things all over the nation.
In addition to teaching the intro education course, I teach a variety of special interest courses. I believe that exploring one’s passions and areas of interest is essential for growth and development. So over my time at Grove City I have offered a variety of one-credit special interest courses as students have expressed interest in these various subjects:
- EDUC 202 – Intro to the Teaching Profession
- EDUC 205 – Overview of the Teaching Profession (Dual-enrollment only)
- EDUC 206 – Clinical Introduction to the Teaching Profession
- EDUC 329 – Middle Level Curriculum and Instruction
- EDUC 350 – Education for the Mission Field
- Various studies courses based upon student interests such as Curriculum Evaluation and Capturing the COVID-19 Gap.
Selected publications
- “Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain,” presented at the Pittsburgh Regional Faculty Symposium March 2019.
- “Developing an Undergraduate Curriculum Evaluation Course: A discussion on how to partner with schools and community members to help pre-service teachers learn best practice,” presented at the 2017 PAC-TE Teacher Education Assembly.
- “Learning, leading, and teaching through service: A course design to prepare teachers to think globally by standing with partners in the educational mission field,” presented at the 2016 PAC-TE Teacher Education Assembly.
- “A Simulated Teaming and Scheduling Activity to Prepare Pre-Service or In-service Teachers to be Effective Teaming Participants,” presented at the 2016 PAMLE Annual Conference.
- “Teachers’ instructional style and preparing students for the 8th grade PSSA,” presented Pennsylvania Science Teacher Association Conference.
- Dissertation: "Differences in Eighth Grade Science Student and Teacher Perception of Students’ Level of Input into Academic Planning and Decision Making," successfully defended March 2014.
Hobbies/Interests
- I am the Troopmaster of Trail Life USA Troop-1116 in New Castle, PA. We have over 35 young men who are on a path to building Christ-centered character through outdoor adventure and courageous leadership.
- Our family enjoys camping and touring the U.S. in our 1976 vintage Silver Streak trailer that I spent several years restoring.
- I enjoy spending time in God’s creation by hiking, backpacking, fishing, and hunting.