|
|
Theresa A. Thorkildsen, PhD Professor Departments of Education and Psychology |
High School Students Needed
for Motivation Study
High School Students and a
Parent Needed for Facebook Study
Parents Needed for Facebook
Study
University Students
Needed for Facebook Study
Research
Interests
With development,
most children move beyond the assumption that behavior is exclusively due to
individual conduct and character to an understanding that institutional
practices also play a role in facilitating or undermining functioning. I have studied students’ understanding of
fairness, epistemology, and motivation as each pertains to critical issues
within school settings. Despite my
initial expectation that these were fairly independent topics, children and
adolescents see a convergence I had not anticipated. My research suggests that students coordinate
these forms of social knowledge in their understanding of how schools ought to
function. Students’ knowledge of schools
as institutions along with their relational ties and personal motives are
combined in a force I refer to as civil
engagement that drives their classroom performance.
Honors
Fellow, American Educational Research Association
Fellow, American Psychological Association (Division 15)
Distinguished Service Award, Division
15 of the American Psychological Association
Teaching Recognition Award,
American Mensa Education & Research Foundation’s Award for
Excellence
David Ross Fellowship,
Academic
Work Record
2005-present: Professor, Education and Psychology,
1996-2005: Associate Professor, Education and Psychology,
1999: Visiting Associate Professor, Educational Psychology,
1992-1996: Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology,
1991-1992: Visiting Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology,
1989-1991: Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Service
Editorial
Board Memberships: Journal of Educational Psychology (1996-present), PsycCRITIQUES—APA Review
of Books (2004-present)
Professional
Organizations: American
Educational Research Association (Divisions E and C, Moral Development and Education-SIG,
Motivation in Education-SIG) American
Psychological Association (Divisions 7, 9 and 15), Association for Psychological Science, John G.
Nicholls Trust , Social Psychology Network, Society
for Research in Child Development, Society for Research on Adolescence, Society for the
Psychological Study of Social Issues
Teaching Interests
At UIC, I
teach courses in most programs. For doctoral
students, I teach courses about social psychology, developmental psychology,
and research methods and measurement.
Masters and doctoral students usually enroll in my courses on research
design, human development, and motivation.
Undergraduates sometimes enroll in my course on the characteristics of
early adolescence and three introductory courses are directly geared to
first-year students who hope to teach.
In the
spring of 2012, I am teaching Social Psychology of Education for graduate students
who want to learn about social functioning in schools and Characteristics
of Early Adolescence for students interested in adolescent development or in earning
a Middle School Endorsement.
In the fall
of 2011, I taught Research Design in Education, a graduate level
course devoted to reading and writing research.
I also supervised our Proseminar in Educational Psychology, a course that introduces
new doctoral students to the process of earning a PhD and becoming a productive
member of our profession.
In the
summer of 2011, I taught Characteristics of Early Adolescence-Summer2011 for students interested
in adolescent development or in earning a Middle School Endorsement.
I have also
taught a graduate seminar on Achievement Motivation. as
well as The Educative Process ,and Learning, Cognition,
and Student Assessment for
undergraduate students who are preparing to become teachers, and Advanced
Developmental Psychology and Educational Processes, and Advanced Educational
Psychology for Masters students
seeking to be certified as teachers.
In the more
distant past, I have also taught a number of courses that are not likely to be
offered in the near future. Data and Interpretation in Educational Inquiry is a doctoral level
course for integrating knowledge of research design and measurement and
distinguishes psychometric, developmental, and interpretive research. Social Development of
Urban Children explores
the challenges to healthy identity development faced by urban children of
color. The Educative Process and Child Development in Education are courses I designed
for first year undergraduates who are interested in becoming teachers, but
these courses are adapted by the doctoral students who teach them. While on sabbatical at the
Syllabus
for Characteristics of Early Adolescence-2012
Syllabus for
Social Psychology of Education-2012
Syllabus for Research Design in Education-2011
Syllabus for Proseminar in Educational Psychology-2011
Characteristics
of Early Adolescence-Summer2011
Syllabus for Social Psychology of Education-2011
Syllabus for
Achievement Motivation
Syllabus for Learning, Cognition, and Student Assessment
Syllabus for The Educative Process
Syllabus for Advanced Developmental Psychology and
Educational Processes
Syllabus for Advanced Educational Psychology
Syllabus for Achievement Motivation
Outline for Child Development in Education
Syllabus for Data and Interpretation in Educational Inquiry
Syllabus for Social Development of Urban Children: African
American Perspectives
Syllabus for Methods of Developmental Research
Syllabus for Seminar on Moral Development
Syllabus for Social Development in Urban Contexts