Tara Theresa Craig Coastal Carolina University PO Box 261954 Conway, SC 29528 1. EDUCATION Ph.D. University of Texas, Mathematics Education, May 2015; GPA 4.00 M.A. University of Texas, Mathematics, August 2010; GPA 4.00 B.A. University of Texas, Mathematics, Option: UTeach, May 2008; GPA 3.29 2. PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS HELD 2015-Present Visiting Assistant Professor College of Science, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 2013-2015 Research & Professional Development Coordinator Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Texas, Austin, TX 2008-2011 Mathematics Teacher Manor New Technology High School, Manor, TX 3. TEACHING EXPERIENCE a. High School Teaching Experience 2008-2011 Math Instructor, Manor New Technology High School Designed and implemented authentic, engaging project-based curriculum for the following courses: Algebra 1, Integrated Algebra 1 and Geometry, Integrated Algebra 1 and Introduction to Physics and Chemistry (IPC), Integrated Algebra 2 and Physics, and Integrated Statistics and Research Methods. As a teacher Dr. Craig was awarded Rookie Teacher of the Year, was chosen by the administration as a teacher leader in the district, and was offered opportunities to train and assist in teacher development within her district and across the State of Texas. b. College Instructor Experience 2013 Pre-Calculus Course, University of Texas-Extensions (KAUST) Designed this course for gifted, Saudi Arabian STEM undergraduate students to build students conceptual understanding of the content instead of focusing on rote memorization of algorithms. In order to do this, students were required to work in groups to solve authentic engineering and science problems that Tara T. Craig 1 Curriculum Vitae
required the needed pre-calculus skills to solve. 2013 Project-Based Instruction (PBI) Course, University of Texas Taught the UTeach capstone course, PBI, to pre-service STEM teachers at the University of Texas. Due to Dr. Craig s unique, practical experiences with PBI, she brought new content to the course curriculum, which is still being used today. Dr. Craig engaged the pre-service teachers in authentic, inquiry-based activities, modeled best teaching practices and strategies, and provided opportunities for the pre-service teachers to lead activities with real students in their field. c. College Teaching Assistant 2011-2013 Project-Based Instruction (EDC 365E), University of Texas Average Course Instructor Score (CIS) 4.6/5 2008 Applied Statistics (M358K), University of Texas 2007 Functions & Modeling (M316K), University of Texas d. K-12 Teacher Trainings/Workshops 2012 & 2013 Texas State University Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) Training Trained 5-10 PREM teachers each summer, first introducing PBL, then helping them design project-based Chemistry curriculum to engage their diverse student populations in materials research. Texas State University (PREM) Center is an outreach program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), with a mission of increasing participation in materials research by underrepresented student populations by integrating discovery research into their outreach activities. 2009-2011 Think Forward Project-Based Learning Institute Trainer Served as an instructor for the assessment portion of the Think Forward, Project Based Learning Institute. In addition to leading the training course, she provided ongoing professional development and mentoring support to the teachers that had gone through the training. 2009-2011 Manor ISD Leaders in Education and Development (LEAD) Program Professional Development Instructor Developed and led trainings for Manor ISD elementary and secondary teachers on incorporating best practices into their classrooms. Her sessions included topics such as: Cooperative Tara T. Craig 2 Curriculum Vitae
Learning, Differentiating Instruction, Inquiry-Based Instruction, Project-Based Instruction, and Questioning Strategies. e. College Professor Trainings/Workshops 2014 OnRamps Teacher Institute Organized a 2-week summer training at the University of Texas for 75 high school teachers that certified them to teach the Computer Science, English, Pre-Calculus, or Statistics OnRamps college courses in 2014-2015. OnRamps courses are taught using innovative pedagogies (PBL, Inquiry-Based Learning, Flipped, or Critical Inquiry), following a blended-learning model, and are taught at the high level of rigor expected at UT, therefore the training focuses on building skills for each of these essential components of the courses. In addition to organizing the entire training (developing the schedule, aligning sessions with learning goals, training trainers, organizing logistics), Dr. Craig also led many of the trainings such as: Assessing and Teaching Collaboration, Incorporating 21 st Century skills into your classes, Intro to Project-Based Learning, and Assessing with Rubrics. 2014 OnRamps Spring Workshop Organized a 1-day workshop for implementing 2013-2014 OnRamps ELA, Pre-Calculus, and Computer Science teachers. Dr. Craig designed the entire master schedule for this event, as well as led a session on rubrics and a session on incorporating technology in your classroom. 2013 NSF Computing Education for the 21 st Century (CE21) Workshop Invited to run a workshop for Computer Science professors from across the country. Dr. Craig s workshop showed strategies and assessment tools for teaching college students to collaborate well on activities and projects. 2012 & 2013 Project Engage Summer Teacher Institute Designed and taught the Project Engage Summer Training Institute in 2012 and 2013 where 20 high school computer science teachers across Texas learned how to teach the college-level computer science course Thriving in Our Digital World (TODW). The training focuses on major requirements and strategies for implementing the project-based, dual credit, technology rich course. 2011-2013 Project-Based Instruction (PBI) Retreat Workshop Leader Invited to design and teach biannual workshops for current and future instructors of PBI at the 35 Nationwide Uteach replication Tara T. Craig 3 Curriculum Vitae
sites. During the trainings, Dr. Craig shares her practical and theoretical expertise of PBI to prepare instructors in replicating the course at their respective institution. PBI is a course required for the nationally recognized UTeach Natural Science pre-service teacher certification program. 4. RESEARCH EXPERIENCE 2013-Present Dissertation: Effects of Project-Based Learning on High School STEM Achievement 2013-Present Research Coordinator, University of Texas Created teacher observation protocols, student and teacher surveys, and various other instruments for collecting teacher and student outcome data. Conducted research on the effects of OnRamps dual-credit course completion on students high school and college success outcomes. 2013 Graduate Research Assistant, UTOP Designed and revised criteria on the UTeach Observation Protocol (UTOP), an observation instrument for assessing quality of mathematics and science classroom instruction. 2013 Stanford Research Institute Conducted a thorough literature review of elementary and secondary mathematics topics for Stanford Research Institute (SRI). The literature was used to support revisions to the new National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Mathematics standards. 2012-2013 Graduate Research Assistant, Project Engage! Developed and the subsequent teacher training of a project-based curriculum for a novel, dual enrollment, blended learning, Computer Science course through funding from NSF Computing Education for the 21 st Century (Award# CNS-1138506). The course is designed to engage all students, especially underrepresented populations, in computing through a projectbased, topics-oriented curriculum. It is aligned with both the CS Principles and Texas College and Career Readiness Standards. Research was conducted on student and teacher engagement in the course curriculum as well as the effects of the residential training on teacher skill development. Tara T. Craig 4 Curriculum Vitae
5. CONFERENCE ACTIVITY a. Panels 2011 Craig, T., UTeach Graduate Panel. Panel presentation to the Annual UTeach Institute Conference participants, Austin, TX. http://vimeo.com/28374699 b. Campus and Departmental Talks 2014 Craig, T., Project-Based Instruction: What does it look like in practice? Invited Presentation and Q&A in the undergraduate course, Project-Based Instruction (PBI) at the University of Texas, Austin, TX. c. Presentations/Publications 2014 Craig, T., & Parry, M., Extending UTeach inquiry-based learning practices through dual-credit STEM courses in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin: The OnRamps Model. Presented at the first annual UTeach Alumni Conference. Austin, TX. July 2014. 2014 Craig, T., Parry, M., & Negley, M., Project-Based Learning in Practice. Presented at the Annual UTeach Conference. Austin, TX. May 2014. 2014 Schell, J., Parry, M., Craig, T., Daniels, M., & Lin, C., Discovery Learning in a Blended Environment: The OnRamps Approach. Presented at the 7 th Annual Texas STEM Conference. Dallas, TX. February 2014. 2014 Russell, G., Veletsianos, G., Lin, C., Craig, T., and Beth, B., Local Practices and Experiences with Technology Tools Implemented to Support Problem-Based Learning. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, April 2014. 2013 Russell, G., Beth, B., Craig, T., Lin, C., & Veletsianos, G., Thriving in Our Digital World- A CS Principles Course. Presentation with electronic supplementary materials at the sixth annual Computer Science Teachers Association Conference (CSTA), July 2013. 2013 Craig, T., Project-Based Learning: from Theory to Practice. Presented at the annual UTeach Conference. Austin, TX. May, 2013. 2013 Veletsianos, G., Craig, T., Beth, B., Russell, G., and Lin, C., A First Iteration of a Pedagogical Model for Teaching Computer Science Through Problems. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, Cali. April 2013. 2013 Craig, T., & Delgado, C., Aligning Science Learning Progressions and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Poster presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Conference. Rio Grande, Tara T. Craig 5 Curriculum Vitae
Puerto Rico. April, 2013. 2013 Lin, C., Veletsianos, G., Beth, B., Russell, G., Craig, T., & Turner, K., Thriving in Our Digital World. Poster presented at the NSF Computing Education for the 21 st Century (CE21) Community Meeting, Portland, OR. January 2013. 2012 Craig, T., Development of 21st Century Skills: a Case Study of a PBL Chemistry Classroom. Poster presented at Carnegie Mellon s Learn Lab, Annual Learning Science Workshop. Pittsburgh, PA. July, 2012. 2012 Craig, T., McKelvey, A., Kendrick, K., & Merced, P., Project-Based Learning: From Pre-Service to Practice. Presented at the annual UTeach Institute Annual Conference. Austin, TX. May, 2012. 2010 Craig, T., Hawkins, S., & Crouch, H., Critical Attributes of Project-Based Learning. Presented at NMSI- UTeach Institute Annual Conference. Austin, TX. May, 2010. 2010 Craig, T., & Trinidad, J., TX Airlines: A Top Flight Experience in PBL. Presented at Louisiana Networking of 21 st Century Education Conference. Bunkie, LA. January, 2010. 2009 Craig, T., Hawkins, S., Hart, S., & Crouch, H., Critical Attributes of Project- Based Learning. Presented at NMSI- UTeach Institute Annual Conference. Austin, TX. May, 2009. 2009 Craig, T., & Trinidad, J., PBL Strategies in Math and Science Classrooms Teach Today, Transform Tomorrow T-STEM Best Practices Conference. South Padre Island, TX. January, 2009. 6. PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP Computer Science Teacher Association (CSTA) National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Tara T. Craig 6 Curriculum Vitae