AACTE Congratulates Journal of Teacher Education Holmes Fellows
AACTE is proud to introduce three Holmes Scholars who have been selected by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team for a mentoring opportunity. The selected scholars will co-author an editorial or manuscript that will appear in one of JTE’s special anniversary issues in 2024. Through JTE, AACTE is committed to ensuring that the next generation of education scholars, particularly underrepresented scholars, are supported as they advance their research and scholarship.
Tahnee Wilder, University of Central Florida
Exceptional Education
“Methodologically, researchers in teacher education are using data analytics and machine learning to analyze large datasets and identify patterns and trends in how learners regulate attention, emotions, and behavior. These advances can be used to develop more effective teaching strategies and interventions tailored to the needs of diverse learners, including students of color with communication disorders.”
Tahnee L. Wilder is a multifaceted individual, born and raised in sunny South Florida, with a rich heritage stemming from her Haitian and Filipino roots. As a licensed and board-certified speech-language pathologist (SLP), she has honed her skills over the past 14 years in both medical and educational settings, specializing in evidence-based therapeutic interventions to rehabilitate deficits in feeding, articulation, language, and cognition for both adults and children.
Currently, a doctoral candidate in the Exceptional Education program at the University of Central Florida with a cognate in Cognitive Neuroscience, Tahnee is also a TELEPORTS Fellow, where she works diligently on projects that utilize cutting-edge technology to improve the accessibility of curricular materials for diverse learners.
Faculty Recommendation: “Tahnee has developed a strong methodological skill set that includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches. She has also demonstrated a deep commitment to ethical and rigorous research practices, which is reflected in her thoughtful and thorough approach to data analysis and interpretation.”
Darla Edwards, College of William and Mary
Educational Policy and Family Engagement
“As a former school principal, I have seen the impact that family engagement has on students’ success, school climate, and teacher effectiveness.”
Darla Edwards has over 20 years of experience in education as a teacher, school principal, and educational consultant. Because of her expertise and knowledge in education, she was appointed by the governor to serve on Virginia’s Board of Education. In this capacity, she helped to develop policies and standards to support the learning of Virginia’s schoolchildren. As a passionate advocate for family engagement, she is the co-founder of Successful Innovations and the FACE Learning Network, organizations focused on providing schools with resources and training to support equitable family and school partnerships. Her organization is also the co-host of the annual National Family Engagement Summit for educators each year with the National Association of Family, Community, and School Engagement (NAFSCE). Her research interests include family math, family engagement, and minority students’ math achievement. As a doctoral student at William & Mary, she is mentored by two of the nation’s leading experts in family engagement: Steven Constantino and Margaret Constantino.
Faculty Recommendation: “Darla has over twenty years of experience in education as a teacher, principal, and educational consultant. As an educational consultant, she has worked with schools and districts around the nation to support more equitable family and school partnerships. She is also the founder and host of the National Family Engagement Summit, one of the premier conferences for family-facing educators in the nation.”
John Samuels, University of Florida
Arts Education/Ethnodrama
“…theory posits the arts as liberatory pedagogy, pedagogy that addresses racism, encourages activism for students, teachers, parents, and all other educational stakeholders, and unleashes creative and artistic imagination. It is in this deeply imaginative, intellectual, and artistic work that I believe teacher education and teacher education research needs to go.”
John (Hank) Samuels is a Ph.D. candidate in the Teachers, Schools, and Society program in the College of Education at the University of Florida. A former elementary school teacher, Samuels is interested in the intersections of teacher education, professional development, creativity, and arts integration. He is specifically interested in examining how teacher educators, practicing teachers, and preservice teachers can support the imagination-intellectual development of their students.
Faculty Recommendation: “Hank seeks every opportunity to infuse joy and creativity into his teaching and research, bringing value to every research team with whom he collaborates. He’s designed research around his teaching of a technology integration course in elementary education, and joined research teams in educational technology, computer science education, and practitioner inquiry.”
Tags: Holmes Program, JTE
