I earned my Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from Texas Tech University (my dissertation was “Fostering Agency and Writing Self-Efficacy: The Making of a Writer”) and two master’s degrees, an MA in English from Eastern Kentucky University and an MS in Secondary Education (English) from the University of Bridgeport (CT).
I started teaching at Morehead State University in 2001 and have taught developmental writing as well as Writing I and II. In addition, I have taught professional writing, technical composition, and creative writing as well as the Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute (six hours of graduate credit). I developed, piloted, and continue to teach online versions of Writing I, Writing II, and the Morehead Writing Project Institute. Professional writing is currently offered as an online class and I taught technical composition as a hybrid class. I regularly use social media (Twitter, Google+, etc.) as well as a variety of publication platforms (Prezi to blogs and wikis to Popplet) in my teaching. My highly-interactive, project-driven classes arefocused on community, reflection, and self-efficacy.
My research is in the area of writing pedagogy, in particular self-efficacy and agency, and teaching with technology. I am particularly interested in the ways that technology impacts self-efficacy, agency, and community; and the ways that community impacts writing development. This year I served on the editorial review board for a book on 3D technology (forthcoming), wrote an article on writing self-efficacy for Business Communication Quarterly (forthcoming) and a book review for Teaching English in the Two-Year College (forthcoming), led a plenary session about college readiness at a regional conference, presented about transfer and self-efficacy at the 2012 Conference on College Composition and Communication, and Appalachian Culture at the 2012 Mid-South Educational Research Association. I was also accepted to present at the 2012 Computers and Writing as well as Kentucky Innovations but was unable to attend these conferences. I am scheduled to present at the 2013 Kentucky Council of Teachers of English Conference and the Commonwealth Commitment Summit.
You can learn more about me and/or get in touch with me by following the “About Me” and “Contact Me” links in the left sidebar.