Rhoda C. Sommers

Dean, School of Education and Human Development; Associate Professor of Education

Education:

• Ph.D.: Curriculum and Instruction, 1999 Andrews University, Berrien Springs
• MI M.A.: Curriculum and Instruction, 1993 Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, IN
• B.A.: Elementary Education, 1984 Cedarville College, Cedarville, OH

Experience

2008-present: Dean, School of Education, Malone University, Canton, OH

2007-2008: Associate Professor of Education, Malone College, Canton, OH

2007: Visiting Professor, Chinese Teacher Training Center, Beijing, PRC

2003-2007: Chair, Education Department and Associate Professor of Education, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon, OH

2004: Adjunct Professor of Education, Philadelphia Biblical University

1999-2003: Assistant Professor of Education, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon, OH

1996-1999: Teaching/Administrative Graduate Assistant, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI

1993-1996: Middle School Coordinator, Lititz Area Mennonite School, Lititz, PA

1994: In-service Provider, International School Project, Kiev, Ukraine

1991-1993: Classroom Teacher, Lititz Area Mennonite School, Lititz, PA

1989-1991: Classroom Teacher, Linville Hill Mennonite School, Paradise, PA

1987: ESL Teacher, OMS International, Hong Kong

1984-1988: Classroom Teacher, Shekinah Christian School, Plain City, OH

Recent Scholarly Work

Sommers-Johnson, R. (2008). The master teacher: Lessons from the gospel of Mark. Teaching with Compassion, Competence, Commitment, 2(1), 31-46.

Sommers-Johnson, R. (2007). [Review of the book Accountable teacher evaluation: Toward highly qualified and competent teachers]. Teaching with Compassion, Competence, Commitment, 1(2), 81-83.

Sommers, R.C. (2006, October). Metaphors in teaching and learning. Presentation at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Exploration of Teaching and Learning, Palm Springs, CA.

Laslo, M., & Sommers, R.C. (2006, April).You're hired! The Apprentice in the classroom. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Ohio Middle School Association, Columbus, OH.

Sommers, R. C. (2006, February). An attitude check with children's literature. Presentation at the meeting of the Ohio Association for Private Colleges of Teacher Education/Ohio Association of Teacher Educators, Columbus, OH.

Sommers, R.C., Coad, A., & Gawell, B. (2005, April). Representing-to-learn: Reaching middle schoolers. Presentation at the Ohio Confederation of Teacher Education Organizations, Columbus, OH.

Ragan, S., Oxenford, S., Sommers, R.C., & Boyd, K. (2004, August). Diversity interrupted: The movement of a small, rural, working and middle class liberal arts and professional studies university toward diversity. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, Boston, MA.

Sommers, R. (2003). "Real" middle school teachers. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 530-538. Available: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-4/sommers.pdf

Sommers, R.C., Oxenford, S., & Martinez, E. (2003, November). Preparing for diversity: Multicultural experiences in San Diego. Presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association for Multicultural Education, Seattle, WA.

Sommers, R.C., Elmore, L., Hoskinson, H., & Kneale, E. (2001, April). Meeting the diverse needs of middle schoolers. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Ohio Middle School Association Conference, Toledo, OH.

Oxenford, S., Sommers, R.C., Bear, L., Johnson, T., & Gemmel, S. (2001, April). San Diego: A life changing field experience. Presentation at the Ohio Confederation of Teacher Education Organizations Conference, Columbus, OH.

Sommers, R. C. (2000). Learning to set the stage. (ERIC Documentation Reproduction Service No. ED468427)

Orrison, R. T., & Sommers, R. C. (1999). Preparing for the beginning: The first days of school experience. Journal of Adventist Education, 62(1), 25-29.

Sommers, R. C. (1997, December). The quilting bee: A research metaphor [16 paragraphs]. The Qualitative Report [On-line serial], 3(4). Available: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-4/sommers.html

Teaching Assignments

• Psychology of Human Learning
• Instructional Design
• Content Reading Strategies
• Education & Issues in Middle Grades
• Foundations of Education

As much as I love serving at Malone as a dean and designing learning experiences for my students, I do have a life outside of my profession. I live in North Canton with two cats. I enjoy working in our flower beds, reading, crocheting, and knitting. Recently I began creating art with stained glass which I enjoy very much.