College of Education Rankings

Professor Dr. Meredith Critchfield published Impact of a Faith-Based Social Justice Course on Pre-Service Teachers in The Journal of Research on Christian Education. She reported her findings on a qualitative case study on the impact of a required social studies course for pre-service teachers.

Assistant Professor Dr. Lisa Bernier gave a presentation titled “Cross-Cultural Partnerships: An Eternal Investment” at the Association of Christian Schools International Europe International Educational Leadership Conference in February 2019, in Budapest, Hungary. The presentation described her work with COE students teaching in Christian schools Indonesia and leading participants to strategize to develop their own cross-cultural partnerships.

Assistant Professor Kay Long presented “Practical Strategies to Engage All Students in Mathematical Discourse” at Arizona Association for Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference. In September 2019, in Tempe, AZ. She shared engagement strategies that educators can implement in their practice so that students can experience success in their mathematics studies.

Dr. Rebekah Dyer, Professor in the College of Education, recently collaborated with Joni & Friends, an organization that promotes disability ministry and provides outreach to families impacted by disability, to create a course about autism for churches. The course launched Monday in concert with Autism Awareness Month in April. She discusses the ways that churches are a support system for the family of a person with a disability and how churches can create a safe and supportive environment.

Lynette Stant graduated from GCU with a MA in Teaching in 2006. Since then, Stant has gone on to teach Native American children. As a Native American herself, being able to be part of their educational journey meant a lot for her personally. In 2019, Stant was named Teacher of the Year in Arizona, becoming the first Native American to receive that honor.

Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, Dean of the College of Education, published her second book following the story of Thunder, GCU’s loveable mascot. “Thunder’s Herd” follows Thunder as he discovers the community and spirit of GCU. Being a teacher and educator, LaPrade was a writing major at GCU and calls writing her first love.

Professor Jim Mostofo, EdD, whose article titled “Improving instruction in the mathematic methods classroom through action research,” was published in the scholarly journal “Education Action Research.”

Assistant Professor and National Board Certified Teacher Jena Akard, who gave a presentation titled “Teaching Diversity from the Inside Out” at the First Things First Early Childhood Summit.