Southeast Missouri State University

Dr. Courtney Kisat

Assistant Professor of History, Secondary Social Studies Education Program Coordinator

ckisat@semo.edu
573-651-2701
Office: Carnahan 305

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Curriculum Vitae

My teaching philosophy is based on the belief that excellent teachers are responsive, considerate of students’ needs, possess deep content knowledge, adopt flexible pedagogical techniques, and see themselves as lifelong learners.

What area do you teach?

History and social studies education

Education/Degree(s)

Ph.D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, May 2013. Dissertation: “To Give or Not to Give: Interactions Between Rural Relief Clients and Social Workers During the Emergency Relief Period of the Great Depression, 1933 to 1935.”
Elizabeth Eames Dissertation Scholarship Award from SIUC-Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies – February, 2012
Illinois Teacher Certification in Secondary Education, Social Studies Endorsement McKendree College, Lebanon, IL, May, 2006.
M.A., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, May 2002. Thesis: “Building on a Strong Foundation: the Origins and Evolution of Women's Studies Programs in the United States,” http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/ow/51331676.
B.A., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, May 1999.

Your philosophy of teaching:

My teaching philosophy is based on the belief that excellent teachers are responsive, considerate of students’ needs, possess deep content knowledge, adopt flexible pedagogical techniques, and see themselves as lifelong learners. It is my goal to be an excellent teacher in order to introduce concepts, themes, and ideas of history and social studies education to my students along with skills in critical thinking, reading strategies, and effective writing.

This philosophy shapes my approach to directing the social studies education program and teaching the related methods courses. Values and skills such as culturally responsive teaching and flexible pedagogical techniques are especially pertinent to pre-service social studies education students, as they are the teachers of tomorrow. I want my students to know that no single teacher can possess all knowledge, but all can develop skills for a successful teaching career based on an inquiry model of teaching and learning. The ability to adapt to changing circumstances is a key to success in a teaching career.

Best practices in educational technology are also a core component of my teaching, as are the belief that effective reading, writing, and collaboration skills are crucial to academic success. Students should display knowledge in a variety of formats, including written, digital, and oral, and they are provided many opportunities to do that in my classes.

I believe that education is a fundamental right, and that attention must be given to marginalized and underprivileged populations, including students in poverty. It is of utmost importance that student teachers show empathy for students of different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and that they take these skills into their first years of teaching and strengthen them throughout their teaching career. Teachers graduating from the Social Studies Education program should know how to practice culturally relevant teaching to meet the diverse needs of their future learners.

Finally, I am a strong believer in the power of collaboration. I feel my best work throughout my twenty-year career as a historian and teacher have developed because of a strong collaboration, be with archivists, fellow teachers and historians, librarians, educational technology specialists, grant writing teams, and others. This collaboration has resulted in positive and well-received learning experiences in my classes.

Why did you decide to teach?

I became a teacher in 2001 and have not left the classroom since! I have taught at the high school and college levels and I love working with students both in history and in social studies education. Teaching is more than a career for me; it is my passion and life's work.

Credentials/career path

My plan is to continue teaching for Southeast Missouri State University, and to learn and grow each and every day. I also maintain an active research agenda in my fields of rural American history, poverty studies, social studies education, and women's studies. Below is a list of publications and presentations in my fields.
Here are a portion of my Publications, Presentations, and Workshops.

Publications
“‘Completely Sold on Birth Control:’ Rural Extension Work of the Kentucky Birth Control League, 1933-1942,” Kentucky Register 116(3-4), Fall 2018.
“Build a Social Studies Methods Course on the OER Model,” The Leader 5 (2), Fall 2017.
“‘The Language of Pictures:’ Images of Poverty in New Deal America,” in Wylie Lenz, ed. The Representation of Poverty in Popular Culture: Essays. McFarland Press, forthcoming 2018.
Book review; Jill S. Greenlee, The Political Consequences of Motherhood. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2014.Women’s History: The Journal of the Women’s History Network, vol. 2, issue 4: 36.

Conference Presentations
“‘Suffering Under a Great Injustice’”: Teaching Japanese-American Internment through Photographs,” Missouri Council for Social Studies, Jefferson City, MO, February 2018.
“Poor Relief Practices of Early Rural Missouri,” Missouri Conference on History by State Historical Society of Missouri, Springfield, MO, March 2017.
“What Do You Stand For? Developing Professional Identity among Pre-Service Teachers,” National Council for Social Studies annual conference, Washington, D.C., Dec. 3, 2016.
“Student Engagement through Problem-Based Learning,” Missouri Council for Social Studies annual conference, February 27, 2016.

Teacher Workshops
Project Director, Mapping Missouri: Geography Education Workshop. Southeast Missouri State University, July 14, 2017.
Project Director, Primary Sources and Local History: A Workshop for Social Studies Teachers. Southeast Missouri State University, July 14-15, 2016.

Professional Highlight

Presenting at the National Council of Social Studies conference in Washington, D.C. in December, 2016. It was even better because I traveled with a group of students!

Award/Honor/Recognition

Provost's Award for Teaching Excellence: Excellence in the Use of Open Educational Resources (OER), Spring 2018

Organization with which you are involved

Social Studies Educators Association

Most Recent/Notable Published Work

“‘Completely Sold on Birth Control:’ Rural Extension Work of the Kentucky Birth Control League, 1933-1942,” Kentucky Register 116(3-4), Fall 2018.

Best advice for students

Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! Meet new people, try new things, join a club, and explore all the fun and inspirational places in and around Cape.