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Library Shelves

Research

As a true practitioner, I study clinical practice. Specifically, I look for ways to maximize school-university partnerships in order to provide teacher candidates with rich clinical experience. Much of my research focuses on establishing high-quality school-university partnerships, as well as how to select, train, and support mentor teachers.

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Recently, I have begun to work on a teacher pipeline initiative at St. John Fisher University. The overarching goal is to get more students of color in teacher preparation programs and, ultimately, in K-12 classrooms. As part of this work, I have begun to research the qualities or competencies a mentor teacher must have in order to effectively work with a teacher candidate of color. In other words, what are the characteristics of a culturally responsive mentor teacher? This is a large gap in the literature, so this is very exciting research.

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I also study social justice and equity-based instructional practices. I dedicate a significant amount of time to my own professional development around anti-racist curriculum, and I engage in any diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts available to me on campus. I have begun to research the impact of an equity-minded syllabus on students' perceptions of belonging, and look forward to digging into this more.

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Finally, I have begun to study the mental health needs we increasingly see in schools and how they impact student performance, specifically focusing on adolescents. I am partially through a Master of Social Work program in order to enhance the teacher preparation curriculum in my department. My goals are to better equip future teachers with knowledge and strategies that can help them engage with students who may be in crisis.

Research Exhibitions

The Mentor Teacher Blueprint: Building Effective Clinical Practice Through School-University Partnerships

Fisher Showcase, 2024, Rochester, NY.

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Reflections on Dispositional Expectations of Teacher Candidates: Disrupting White Supremacy Characteristics

Elizabeth Stevens, Kristen Driskill, Adam Huck, Emily Robinson, Diana Abbott, Maryanne Barrett, Denise Johnson, Amy Polisseni, & Holly Rushforth

Roberts Wesleyan University Academic Scholarship Weekend, 2023, Rochester, NY.

 

A Call for Change: Disrupting White Supremacy Culture in Dispositional Expectations of Teacher Candidates

Elizabeth Stevens, Kristen Driskill, Adam Huck, Emily Robinson, Diana Abbott, Maryanne Barrett, Denise Johnson, Amy Polisseni, & Holly Rushforth

Roberts Wesleyan University Academic Scholarship Weekend, 2022, Rochester, NY.

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Clinical Educator Pilot Program. College-Wide Presentation of Work Resulting from Summer Scholarship Grant Program Award

2020

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Preparing Teachers to Mentor Pre-Service Teachers

Roberts Wesleyan University Academic Scholarship Weekend, 2020, Rochester, NY.

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The Role of the Clinical Educator in Teacher Preparation: A Study of Perceptions of Preparedness

Roberts Wesleyan University Academic Scholarship Weekend, 2019, Rochester, NY.

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Preventing Summer Slide with Wide Access to Literacy Instruction

Roberts Wesleyan University Academic Scholarship Weekend, 2018, Rochester, NY.

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Combating Summer Slide

Kristen Driskill & Denise Johnson

Roberts Wesleyan University Academic Scholarship Weekend, 2017, Rochester, NY. 

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