ICOTEACH.COM - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Member of the ADVISORY BOARD
• Coordinator of Communications / Louisiana Tech University

Job Titles:

• Assistant Professor
• Member of the Elected Officers Team
• Co - Director - Center for Educator Preparation
• Secretary / Colorado State University

Dr. Ann Sebald is an assistant professor and the co-director of the School of Education's Center for Educator Preparation. Dr. Sebald has nearly twenty-five years' experience in education. Her teaching background includes working as an educator for deaf students in a co-taught general education 3rd and 4th grade classroom. After leaving the classroom, she earned her doctorate while working with the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities at the University of Northern Colorado. Before coming to CSU, Dr. Sebald ran a Special Education Generalist bachelor's degree program at the Center for Urban Education in Denver. Her research areas of interest include the development of self-advocacy and self-determination among students with exceptionalities; as well as researching the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model through the continuum of teacher preparation: reviewing the effectiveness of apprenticeship and mentoring for the preparation of teacher candidates through co-teaching, and school district induction and mentoring programs that support educators new to the field.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Elected Officers Team
• Associate Professor at Appalachian State University
• Associate Professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at Appalachian State University
• President - Elect / Appalachian State University

Dr. Christina Tschida is an Associate Professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at Appalachian State University. She has been actively involved in co-teaching since 2012. Dr. Tschida was a founding member of the Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice Topic Action Group (TAG) of the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) in 2014 and served as the chair and co-chair until 2019. She will serve as the first president-elect for the National Association for Co-Teaching. At Appalachian State University, Dr. Tschida works with teacher candidates in a variety of courses including an internship course where she utilizes co-teaching to enhance the field experiences for her students. Prior to starting at ASU, Dr. Tschida lead the co-teaching implementation and research for the elementary program at East Carolina University. She developed online co-teaching foundational training and coordinated the training of co-teaching interns and clinical educators each year. She has published on co-teaching in student teaching as well as presented on co-teaching locally and nationally at several conferences. Dr. Tschida was a keynote speaker for a state conference on co-teaching in Georgia and an invited speaker at the National Conference on Co-Teaching. In the fall of 2019, Dr. Tschida was guest editor for a special issue of Theory & Practice in Rural Education, which focused on co-teaching research and implementation in rural settings. Her research interests include improving teacher education through critical and justice-oriented pedagogies in social studies education, high quality online instruction, and clinical practice reform through co-teaching models and virtual coaching. Her research has been published in such journals as Social Studies Research and Practice, Social Studies and the Young Learner, The Rural Educator, the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, and the Journal of Children's Literature. Dr. Tschida serves on the editorial board for Social Studies and the Young Learner. She is co-editor for Making Controversial Issues Relevant for Elementary Social Studies: A Critical Reader, a book focused on engaging pre-service teachers in critical pedagogy and anti-racist, socially just instructional frameworks. She and the co-editors of this book also founded the Elementary Social Studies Education Summit (ESSES), which meets annually and provides elementary teachers and teacher educators with opportunities to share research and teaching strategies with one another.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Elected Officers Team
• Executive Director, the Center for Co - Teaching and Educational Engagement and a Professor in the Department of Teacher Development at St. Cloud State University
• President / Saint Cloud State University

A strong advocate for Co-Teaching, Teresa founded the National Conference on Co-Teaching in 2016, and will serve as the first president for the newly formed National Association for Co-Teaching. Upon arriving at SCSU, Dr. Heck served as the Director of the Office of Clinical Experiences, placing over 500 teacher candidates each year and assuming the responsibility for the placement of an additional 1,000 field experience placements per semester. While director of the OCE, Dr. Heck developed a pilot model of co-teaching in student teaching. The qualitative data collected on the project showed overwhelming support from cooperating teachers. The initial findings provided the impetus to further investigate the implications of a co-teaching model of student teaching, eventually leading to a U.S. Department of Education, $5 million, Teacher Quality Enhancement Partnership Grant to study the impact of co-teaching on teacher candidates and the P-12 students they serve. Dr. Heck served as the Coordinator of Co-Teaching for the grant from 2003-2010. The research published through this seminal work has become the foundation for Co-Teaching as a model for student teaching. Dr. Heck has consulted with school professionals, university faculty, and multiple state departments of education to develop and implement co-teaching. Dr. Heck has published and presented on using a co-teaching model for student teaching, co-teaching between two licensed teachers, and professional development for teacher candidates. Teresa, with colleagues, has provided Co-Teaching train the trainer workshops for teacher education faculty and their school partners, from across the country, who are interested in implementing co-teaching in student teaching. In addition, Teresa has developed a Train the Trainer program for schools who are interested in enhancing existing co-teaching programs, or implementing co-teaching between two licensed teachers. Dr. Heck, along with colleagues, has developed training videos and other resources, and caters to the needs of individual schools, districts or universities. Dr. Heck has experience as a K-12 educator and draws on that knowledge to bring the perspective of secondary teachers and students. At the university level, she has experience co-teaching, in collaborative ventures, and excels at bridging the gap between the university and P-12 community. Known for her engaging and relevant presentations, she has expertise in the pedagogy of co-teaching.

Job Titles:

• Member of the EXECUTIVE BOARD

Job Titles:

• Member of the Elected Officers Team
• Treasurer / California State University

Job Titles:

• Member of the EXECUTIVE BOARD

Job Titles:

• Member of the EXECUTIVE BOARD

Job Titles:

• Member of the ADVISORY BOARD
• Coordinator of Equity and Inclusion / Plymouth State University