Aaron Marvel, PhD
Program Affiliations
Education
Biography
Dr. Aaron Marvel is an instructor of education in the Department of Education at Texas A&M University-Texarkana. He teaches courses that various topics including educational psychology, elementary social studies and ELA methods, secondary methods, and curriculum alignment. He also serves as a field supervisor for student teachers in the Northeast Texas region. His research interests include understanding cognitive styles as a type of student diversity as well as teacher education best practices.
Professional Experience
I have served as a classroom teacher from 7-12 grade, teaching both English Language Arts and Reading as well as Spanish. I’ve also supported classroom teachers as a 5th Grade ESL Specialist. I ended my K-12 experience serving in instructional support and administrative roles on two different elementary campuses in Texas and Tennessee. At Texas A&M University-Texarkana I’ve served as an ad interim Assistant Principal and now as an Instructor of Education.Education
I graduated with a Doctorate in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University-College Station in 2019. Previous to this I received two master's degrees from Texas A&M University-Texarkana, the first in Curriculum and Instruction and the second in Education Administration. I also received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Arkansas in Spanish and Writing in 2005.
Areas of Interest
The most current crisis in education is the shortage of teachers during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Here at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, we are similarly experiencing a decreased interest in pursuing a career in education as evident in incoming students. As a result, I’m interested in understanding the barriers that paraprofessionals are experiencing that are interested in pursuing teaching certification.
The study of Cognitive Styles, while not a new area of study, has largely been abandoned as a topic of study within learning sciences. My angle is to understand Cognitive Styles as potential approaches to observing and processing input as well as reflecting on learning. Such differences may have implications on the way we approach creating learning experiences for students.
Teaching
As my expertise lies in educational psychology, I have enjoyed sharing my knowledge of learning theory with students in ED 311. Unexpectedly, I’ve developed a new appreciation and interest in social studies pedagogy through ED 486 as well as determining creative ways that social studies can be integrated into ELAR instruction. The integration of rehearsals has also enhanced the teacher candidate experience in ED 486 by providing them not only simulated practice focused on a single teacher move, but also the opportunity to understand a subject specific learning strategy embedded within an Inquiry Based Model for unit design.
Courses
- ED 311 - Growth and Development for EC-12
- ED 590 - Curriculum Alignment for School Improvement
- ED 530 - Human Growth and Development for Educators
- ED 495 - Student Teacher Field Experience
- ED 486 - Content Knowledge EC-6
Scholarship and Creative Activity
Through US Prep, I have partnered with Dr. Kelly Cordray to develop and study the impact of targeted approaches to recruiting and retaining paraprofessionals in the Northeast Texas Region. Specifically, we seek to understand the barriers they are experiencing to teacher certification in order to know better how to provide the personalized learning experience that we have stated within the department of education’s vision. This project is a continuation of the continuous development that we have undertaken over the last several years and on which we presented at CSOTTE in the Fall of 2022.
Selected Scholarship and Creative Endeavors
Marvel, A. 2022. ““One University’s Curriculum Improvement Journey for Excellence in
Teacher Preparation”, CSOTTE Presentation.
Grants and Awards
- Awarded Provost Grant for The Writing Revolution Training
Teaching Philosophy
Over the last year, my own professional practice as an educator has been stretched and molded through our partnership with US Prep and TeachingWorks. First, I have developed a more nuanced understanding of the value in performance based tasks and assessments as well as the strategies needed to implement them to increase engagement and thinking around important and relevant practitioner matters. Second, the integration of authentic curriculum material as well as the creation of guides to help teacher candidates read, analyze, evaluate, and adapt curriculum has become a primary teacher educator approach within my courses.
