Penelope "Penny" A. Dyer is currently a clinical assistant professor in the role of Professional Experience Strategist, Secondary Program for the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. She instructs and supervises the development of teacher candidates and interns in the high school setting. She supports the secondary program site leads and designs curriculum for the secondary classes. She designs and delivers professional development and individual coaching for mentor teachers.
Professor Dyer instructs ASU students in various secondary education classes, which include SED 478 (Student Teaching grades 6-12), RDG 323 (Literacy Process/Content Areas), (SED 497 (Clinical Experience II), SED 496 (Clinical Experience III), SED 322 (Classroom Leadership in Secondary Schools), and SED 464 (Middle School Curriculum/Organization). Professor Dyer researches the latest instructional practices based on peer-reviewed research and translates that research into instructional practices that enhance learning in secondary content-area classrooms.
She is a certified EQ practitioner, licensed to work with Emotional Literacy instruction and coaching through the Six Seconds program. Professor Dyer conducts SEI Assessment Debriefs and teaches in-service courses in emotional literacy to support SEED program ASU students who are in their first year of teaching. She authored the curriculum that is used in the ECAP mentor pilot program, sponsored by community-based Experience Matters, the ASU Global Pathways Institute, and the Arizona Department of Education. This community-based cohort was awarded a three-year grant from AmeriCorps. The ECAP Mentor Pilot Program grant was funded through Experience Matters in September 2015. She is the director of professional development and curriculum development/implementation for the grant. Professor Dyer is currently assisting in the statewide expansion of this program, which is a goal set by the ECAP division of AZ Department of Education.
Education
Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics, Science and Technology (Reading/Literacy), University of California-Berkeley
M.A. English (Linguistics, Reading and Writing Instruction), California State University-Chico
B.A. English/History, California State University-Chico
Research Interests
Guiding Research Questions:
How can we best support teacher candidates in their literacy instructional practices in the content areas?
How can we best support first year teachers in adjusting to life outside of the university and in public high schools?
How can we work with the community to assist high school students in creating their college and career pathways?
Current Research Projects:
Dyer is a member of a community-based cohort (ASU Pathways Institute, AZ State Department of Education-ECAP, and Experience Matters) that was awarded a three-year grant from AmeriCorps. The ECAP Mentor Pilot Program grant was funded through Experience Matters in September 2015. Dyer is director of professional development and curriculum development/implementation for the grant. Data from mentor and student surveys indicated that the program was successful and it was expanded to two high schools starting in the fall of 2016, Central High School and Paradise Valley High School. There are currently two Site Coordinators for the grant program, one at each campus. Dyer assists the coordinators in keeping the program running smoothly and delivers professional development sessions at both sites as needed. She is working in coordination with Experience Matters, a community-based organization for retired people, and with the ASU Global Pathways Institute to create a successful program and expand it statewide within the next two years.
Additionally, Dyer is integrating Cognitive Coaching theory and practice in her Teacher Candidate program at Central High School. She uses the cognitive questioning during performance assessment coaching sessions with her Teacher Candidates. Dyer also instructs the Mentor Teachers onsite in Cognitive Coaching techniques. She is a certified EQ Practitioner licensed to work with Emotional Literacy instruction and coaching through the Six Seconds program. With this certification, Dyer conducts SEI Emotional Literacy assessment debriefs for iTeachAZ SEED candidates and teaches courses in emotional literacy for first year teacher SEED candidates.
Publications
DeBiase, J., Butler, W., Khan, R., Dyer, P. A. & Linder, A. (2016). Clinically Rich Teacher Education Program and the Positive Impact on Teacher Retention at Arizona State University Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Manuscript. Submitted to Advances in Teacher Education Series: Information Age Publishing. (In review for publishing)
