College of Education News

Dr. Tammi Davis featured in Mind’s Eye

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Congratulations to Dr. Tammi Davis for her recent feature in Mind’s Eye magazine. Davis is associate professor in the School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences at Missouri State University.

As an educator with over 20 years of experience — including 10 years as a teacher educator — Davis has prioritized her research to study the experiences of new teachers.

Congratulations Dr. Davis!

The full story is now available online.

Excerpt:

During the course of her research, Dr. Tammi Davis has found there is a lack of guidance and support for teachers in the early years of their careers.

“The first few years are a crucial time in the development of novice teachers,” said Davis, associate professor in the School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences at Missouri State University. “They need mentorship and support to help guide them so they’re not navigating it all alone.” 

Evidence shows formal mentorship provides teachers with the support they need for their professional development. But there is little research on the implementation and effectiveness of formal mentorship programs, and it is not standardized across the U.S. 

“Many states that require teachers to have mentors don’t have high quality mentorship programs,” Davis said. “Some states don’t require mentors at all.”  

Read the full story

Graduating senior returns to hometown for teaching position

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Graduating Missouri State University senior and Marshfield native Michaela Bledsoe was excited to return home this semester for her student teaching duties. 

“I built such a great connection with this community and I wanted to continue that for my adult life,” said Bledsoe, an elementary education major.  

She always considered rural education the obvious career path for her. 

“The community offers so many ways to connect to students,” she said. “Whether it’s at sporting events, church or even just from their backyard, kids really enjoy seeing the same people in their small town.” 

Ozarks Teacher Corps supports rural education 

For the past two years as a student at Missouri State, Bledsoe has been a part of the Ozarks Teacher Corps (OTC).  

OTC is a scholarship run by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks that provides financial aid to future educators and helps put them in rural classrooms. OTC connects education students through professional development events, building a network of rural education leaders. 

She first heard about OTC from her academic advisor at Missouri State. As of 2019, OTC has a teacher-placement rate of 92%.  

Bledsoe found connecting with her peers through OTC an enriching experience. 

“It’s not just about my classroom; it’s about education as a whole,” she said.  

“We all have the desire to improve and teach the next generation of students. Being with people who are excited about kids and students is just so energizing.” 

A teaching job secured 

While Bledsoe’s time as a student teacher is ending with her graduation from MSU this May, her relationship with Marshfield R-I School District is not.  

It offered her a fifth grade teaching position starting this fall. 

“I’m so thankful I get to go back home for my first year of teaching, and hopefully for many more,” she said. 

Learn more about Elementary Education Programs

Dr. Amber Howard discusses Competency-Based Learning

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Educator Dr. Amber Howard was recently featured in the Springfield Business Journal. She co-wrote an article titled, “Why competency-based education is good for the business world.” 

Howard is an assistant professor  in the department of childhood education and family studies. 

The article explains about Competency-Based Learning (CBL) and makes an argument for CBL’s usefulness for the business world.  

Excerpt: 

CBL has been called many things, including standards-based learning, mastery learning and personalized learning. The benefits to the education system of this practice are seemingly endless. CBL aims to replace traditional assessment and accountability measures such as yearly standardized testing and quarterly benchmark assessments with real-world application of learning in meaningful ways. 

This real-world application increases students’ ability to retain and transfer their learning to other contexts, expands college and career readiness, increases both student and teacher satisfaction with the learning process and has the potential to transform our education system. 

Learn more CBL

Cheery Charlie and child life

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Avi Adler was lying unconscious underneath a truck when his family found him in June 2020.  

A delivery truck driver had reversed without looking, striking Avi on the 20th mile of his bike ride. After the accident, the 18-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where he awoke with broken bones and a concussion.  

A child life specialist helped Avi while he was hospitalized, making him and his family feel calmer and at ease. 

Missouri State University student Tamar Adler was inspired by how much the specialist helped her brother through his traumatic injury. 

“The accident changed Avi, and it also changed me,” Tamar said. “It made me realize I wanted a career that benefits other people.”     

Since the accident, Avi has fully recovered. Tamar changed her career trajectory from fashion to child life.   

Bringing joy with Cheery Charlie 

Tamar Adler and Charlie smiling.Tamar had to think outside the box to find ways to volunteer in this field since it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I started making craft bags and donated them to the child life departments at local St. Louis hospitals as a way to volunteer from home,” Tamar said. “The bags help kids be creative and experience normalcy while in the hospital.” 

She named her volunteer project Cheery Charlie and turned it into an official Missouri nonprofit corporation.  

“I chose the name because I had just gotten a puppy named Charlie, and Charlie makes me cheery,” she said.  

Since the inception of Cheery Charlie in January 2021, Tamar has donated over 6,000 craft bags to children in St. Louis hospitals.   

Tamar won the St. Louis Jewish Light 2022 Unsung Hero Award for her time, service and commitment to the St. Louis Jewish community through Cheery Charlie. 

Learn more about Cheery Charlie

Furthering her passion through education 

Tamar enrolled in Missouri State’s online child life graduate program two years after her brother’s accident.  

She plans to graduate in May 2027. As a future child life specialist, Tamar will help children and their families deal with the challenges of trauma, loss, long-term illness or injury and more.  

She said the knowledge she has gained about child life through her program has been invaluable for her future and nonprofit.  

“Being able to study child life at MSU while working on Cheery Charlie has been so powerful to me,” Tamar said. 

“My time at MSU has only allowed me to love child life even more.”

Despite the program being online, Tamar feels a great connection to her fellow child life students and her advisor, Dr. Lindsey Murphy.  

“Tamar is a natural,” said Murphy, assistant professor of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State.  

“She exudes joy and many characteristics and skills needed to be a great child life specialist. I have no doubt she will continue to touch many patients, families and staff throughout her career.” 

Explore child life studies 

USOA Mrs. Washington takes on teaching

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Emily Skeers was competing for Miss Lewis County 2008 when she fell sick with a debilitating illness.  

She was eventually diagnosed with a rare form of Crohn’s disease that changed the course of her future.  

“I wanted to be an opera singer. Everyone’s experience with Crohn’s is different, but my experience made this dream impossible,” the Missouri State University graduate student said. “I was 28 years old and couldn’t sing, perform or teach.”  

Skeers’ life was put on pause for eight months after the diagnosis, and it took three years to reach remission.  

Check out Skeers’ podcast 

Intertwining passions 

Since Skeers couldn’t make a career out of singing, she decided to pursue a different passion: teaching.  

Though she lives in Washington, Skeers is currently working on a master’s degree in early childhood and family development online through Missouri State. She plans to graduate in spring 2024. 

“Much of my work at Missouri State is tied to my interest in music,” Skeers said. “For my thesis, I am studying the importance of singing lullabies to babies.”  

Skeers plans to teach a class on the role of music in childhood development in spring 2023. She will teach in her hometown Olympia, WA. 

“Emily takes such a thoughtful approach to her work in her courses and thesis research,” said Dr. Elizabeth King, associate professor of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State.  

“I have learned a lot from her about tying meaningful personal experiences to the research process. Working with Emily has been one of the most rewarding and exciting experiences I’ve had at Missouri State.” 

Pageants with a purpose 

Skeers was crowned United States of America’s Mrs. Washington 2023 in September. 

She wants to use her role as USOA Mrs. Washington 2023 to raise awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. She has already raised nearly $3,000 in donations for the foundation.  

The foundation researches treatment for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and improves the quality of life for those diagnosed with these diseases. Skeers created a support group within the foundation for people to share resources and support one another.  

Skeers will compete for the title of United States of America’s Mrs. in spring 2023 as the “Queen with Crohn’s.”  

She said, “I want to bring attention to Crohn’s disease, garner support for those diagnosed and show people the beauty of resilience.” 

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