Professor Sarah Anderson
- Professor of Teacher Education (Professional Learning & Leadership)
Biography
Sarah has a PhD in Teacher Education with a cognate in Educational Leadership from the University of North Dakota, USA in addition to a master’s degree in special education and an undergraduate degree in teaching secondary level social sciences. Sarah is a Fulbright Scholar to Norway (2011-2012) whose project regarding American Studies provided teachers with professional development as well as opportunities for pupils to learn about the US while practicing English language skills. Her concurrent research involved appraising the effectiveness of Norwegian teachers using established evaluation frameworks. She continues to work with the Fulbright Commission serving on the national committee for English Language Teaching Assistantships for Western Europe. From 2012-2020 Sarah worked at Mayville State University in the role of associate professor and accreditation coordinator. As a teacher educator, she has instructed graduate and undergraduate pedagogical courses, taught courses in special education, advised capstone portfolios, and supervised clinical experiences. Her research interests include teacher appraisal for continual improvement, progress monitoring for response to intervention, high-impact practices, and effective instructional strategies. Her current research projects include case studies appraising teacher impact on P-12 student learning and exploring predictive validity of selectivity factors in teacher training. Sarah was active in her state working to influence legislation and administrative rules regarding teacher licensing. Before accepting a full-time position in higher education, Sarah was a high school special education teacher who worked with students with emotional disorders, learning disabilities and other health impairments and taught English.
Research interests
- teacher evaluation for continual improvement
- progress monitoring and response to intervention
- high-impact practices/effective instructional strategies
- accreditation and quality assurance mechanisms
- comparative education in teacher education
Grants
International Partnership Development Fund (IPDF) (£3,600) - Global Network for Teacher Education: Leveraging Collective Knowledge. Funded February 2024 with Professor Margery McMahon.
Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Flexible Funds (£29,385): Practitioner Enquiry: A Deep Understanding of School Improvement. Funded June 2023 with Co-I's Thomas Cowhitt, Lauren Boath, and Nicola Jones.
ESRC Festival of Social Science small grant with PI Yulia Nesterova (£1,000): Visions of Peace - Arts-based Workshop for Youth and Community Members. Funded July 2022.
Society for Educational Studies National Award 2022 (£175,000): Reliability and consistency in judging new teacher practices – why does it matter?
Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Small Grant (£1,678): Podcasting the Past - Teaching History in Scotland. Funded April 2022.
Fulbright Visiting Scholar Outreach Lecturing Fund - Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) of the Institute of International Education (IIE).
- Dr. Madhu Kushwaha ($1,700): Funded, November 2019.
- Dr. Enikő Bús ($2,500): Funded, November 2018.
- Dr. Chihn D. Nguyen-Vietnam ($2,500): Funded, November 2017.
- Dr. Taina M. Wewer-Finland ($2,465): Funded, February, 2017.
Supervision
Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Ruth-Terry Walden (2023)
- Abotalib, Ahmad Mansoor M
Educational Policy towards teacher preparation in Saudi Arab - Liu, Cheng Hui
Beyond the epistemological pluralism - A praxis approach in Peace Education
Masters Supervision - Past
- Considerations and practices for effective care and management of learners with type 1 diabetes in UK primary schools
- The impact of adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma on the student, the teacher, and classmates
- Teaching strategies and educational policy for learners with ADHD in the UK
- Diagnosis and inclusion of girls with ADHD/ADD
- Primary teachers experiences of implementing Whole school Nurture approaches across a mainstream setting to support children’s wellbeing
- Inclusive Assessment: A study of formal assessment in senior phase in Scottish music education
- Confident, Supported and Informed: Examining Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusive Education in the Scottish Mainstream Secondary Classroom
- Research and best practice of inclusive education to meet the needs of neurodiverse students in the IB Diploma Programm
Teaching
Current Teaching
- PGDE Curriculum, Pedagogies & Practice - Secondary Modern Studies (Course Lead)
Past Teaching
- PGDE Curriculum, Pedagogies & Practice - Primary Social Studies
- MEduc Year 2 - Education and Society (Course Lead)
- MEduc Year 2 - Curriciulum Enquiriers: Social Studies
- MEduc Year 3 - Curriciulum Enquiriers: Social Studies
- MEduc Year 3 - Elective: Heritage, Citizenship & Sustainability
- MEduc Year 4 - Education in Practice: Social Studies
- PGT MEd Inclusive Education - Learner and Curriculum (Course Lead)
- PGT Introduction to Educational and Social Research
- SPED 382: Intellectual Disabilities
- SPED 383: Intellectual Disabilities Practicum
- SPED 386: Learning Disabilities-Online and traditional
- SPED 387: Learning Disabilities Practicum
- SPED 388: Autism Spectrum Disorders-Online & traditional
- SPED 389: Foundations of Special Education-Online & traditional
- SPED 395: Transition
- SPED 396: Special Education Law
- SPED 400b: Special Education Student Teaching Supervision
- SPED 495: Service Learning in Special Education
- SPED 497: Special Education Internship
- EDUC 298: Pre-Professional Field Experience
- EDUC 398: Secondary Education Field Experience
- EDUC 400: Secondary Education Student Teaching Supervision
- EDUC 422: Learning Theory and Evaluation-Online and traditional
- EDUC 480: General Methods for Secondary Educators-Online and traditional
- EDUC 480L: General Methods Field Experience
- EDUC 495: Service Learning
- EDUC 497: Internship in Education
- EDUC 580: Instructional Strategies for the Classroom Teacher-Online
- EDUC 800: Continuing Education Special Topics
- UNIV 300: Global Seminar-Norway
- Teaching & Learning 553: Collaborative Relationships-traditional & online
- Special Education 506: Introduction to Emotional Disturbance
- Special Education 555: Advanced Methods: Emotional Disturbance
- Teaching & Learning 584: Independent Projects
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2018: Tenure (Mayville State University)
- 2014: Teacher of the Year Award (Mayville State University)
- 2011-2012: Fulbright Scholar Award (Fulbright Foundation)
- 2007: Emerging Leader Award (North Dakota Education Association)
Grant committees & research advisory boards
- 2017 - 2018: North Dakota State University, Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research
Editorial boards
- 2013: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research
- 2015: Journal of International Special Needs Education
- 2017: International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives
- 2018: Journal of Teacher Education
- 2020: The American Journal of Distance Education
- 2021: Educational Review
- 2023: Open Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Professional & learned societies
- 2014: Member, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)
- 2009: Member, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
- 2012: Alumni Member, Fulbright Community
- 2012: Member, USA State Alumni
- 2006 - 2018: Member, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
- 2022: Member, Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
- 2022: Member, British Educational Research Association (BERA)
- 2023: Fellow, Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
- 2023: Member, Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA)
- 2022: Member, Society for Educational Studies (SES)
Selected international presentations
- 2019: REL Central at Marzano Research (Virtual Webinar)
- 2015: American Studies Association of Norway (ASANOR) Annual Conference (Stavanger, Norway)
- 2015: DISES Showcase-Council for Exceptional Children National Convention & Expo (San Diego, California)
- 2013: Council for Exceptional Children National Convention & Expo (San Antonio, Texas)
- 2012: Fulbright Report to the US Ambassador to Norway & Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Oslo, Norway)
- 2011: Conference of the American Studies Association of Norway (ASANOR) and the British Politics Society, Norway (BPS) (Drammen, Norway)
Supplementary
- I also serve as a national accreditation reviewer for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Teaching Council of Ireland.
Additional information
BERA SIG Convenor for Teacher Education & Development - Scotland