Tammy La Prad

Assistant Professor and Co-Chair, Educational Studies

Rm 202 Wallace Hall 309-457-2118

Biography

I did not always know I wanted to be a teacher. Yet, I was drawn to the educative process during many of my first post-undergraduate positions in the telecommunications industry.

Through a transformative volunteer opportunity in an elementary after-school program in my early twenties, I was compelled to seriously consider how I might be of use to my community.

Through graduate work in social foundations of education and elementary licensure at the University of Virginia, I started a journey of teaching both private and public K-12 students, undergraduate teacher education courses, and a love of working with students in their practicum experiences.

It really is the best of both worlds for me. I have the joy of teaching and working with students as they prepare to become teachers and spending time in K-12 schools and classrooms partnering with practicing teachers.

Furthering my own education and growth with a doctorate from Western Illinois University, I continued to seek ways to be of use for teacher education and rural communities. I believe teachers are visionary leaders.

Accepting a position at Monmouth was one of my best personal and professional decisions.

Interests

My research is situated within a rural context. I am involved in organizing and supporting place-based educational opportunities paired with civically engaging curriculum centered around strengthening and growing rural communities. In my dissertation, I examined how rural high school students understand the purpose of school and their perceptions of the teaching profession. My continued interest involves working with educators and educational leaders in rural communities seeking teacher visionaries who recognize and leverage the symbiotic relationship between schools and communities.

Education

Ed.D. – Western Illinois University College of Education, 2019

M.A. – University of Virginia Curry School of Education, 1996; Virginia Licensure, Elementary Education (current)

B.A. – Michigan State University College of Communication Arts and Sciences, 1989

Courses Taught

  • EDST 205 Foundations of Literacy
  • EDST 290 Academic Travel Course – STAR School Place Based Education
  • INTG 401 Citizenship: Building Communities
  • MCTE 305 Foundations in Teaching English Language Learners
  • MCTE 315 Elementary Science Methods
  • MCTE/EDST 316 Science Content for the Elementary Educator
  • MCTE 320 Elementary Social Studies Methods
  • MCTE/EDST 321 Geography Content for the Elementary Educator
  • MCTE 325 Introduction to Literacy Instruction
  • MCTE 405/405 Elementary Literacy Methods and Practicum
  • MCTE 410/411 Elementary Math Methods and Practicum
  • MCTE 460/465 Primary and Intermediate Elementary Whole Class Practicum

Selected Work

Current Research:

The Rural Illinois Teacher Shortage as an Existential Crisis: A Study of School and Teacher Purpose through the Perceptions of West Central Illinois High School Students.

Recent Presentations:

William James Panel: Leading Us Through Our Epistemological Fog. (2019, September). Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society, Nashville, IN.

William James Panel: William James and Resistance in Education. (2018, September). Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society, Nashville, IN.

The Rural Illinois Teacher Shortage as an Existential Crisis: A Study of School and Teacher Purpose through the Perceptions of West Central Illinois High School Students. (2019, November). Monmouth College Faculty Colloquium.

Teachers Allied with Rural Towns and Neighborhood Schools (TARTANS). (2019, February) Monmouth Associates, Monmouth College.

The Future of Public Education: Local and National Initiatives to Address Rural Teacher Shortages. (2018, October). Panelist for discussion sponsored by the Monmouth College Educational Studies Department and the Monmouth area branch of the American Association of University Women.

Future of Public Education. (2017, October). Panelist for discussion sponsored by the Monmouth College Educational Studies Department and the Monmouth area branch of the American Association of University Women.

Making Sense of Charlottesville: When Social Responsibility & Historical Memory Collide. (2017, September). Invited panelist. Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois.

The people I love the best

jump into work head first

without dallying in the shallows

and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.

– Marge Piercy