Biography
Dr. Powell is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Florida Southern College. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy, transformational learning environments, action research, and foundations of education. Prior to her work at FSC, she served as an elementary school teacher, a reading coach, a literacy coordinator with the Florida Department of Education’s Differentiated Accountability team, and as a coordinator with the Florida Reading and Excellence Center. Dr. Powell shares her research on literacy and teacher education at international, national, and regional conferences, including those supported by the International Literacy Association, the American Educational Research Association, the Literacy Research Association, and the National Association of Professional Development Schools. She engages in collaborative work with local and national organizations, including the Polk County Reading Council, the Randy Roberts Foundation, the Florida Literacy Association, and the National Association of Professional Development Schools. Dr. Powell earned degrees in Elementary Education, K-12 Reading Education, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in literacy studies from the University of South Florida. Dr. Powell is passionate about preparing future educators so they can positively impact the children they will teach.
Interests
Dr. Powell enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and traveling.
Education
Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Curriculum and Instruction, University of South Florida, Tampa, 2018
Master of Education (M.Ed.), in Reading Instruction, K-12, University of South Florida, Tampa, 2007
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education (B.A.), Magna Cum Laude, University of South Florida, Lakeland, 1995
Publications and Exhibitions
Through my work in the learning communities in the School of Education, I regularly conduct and present collaborative research with students and Dr. Lori Rakes at the National Association of Professional Development Schools conference. Those presentations are listed below. * Denotes student names.
Powell, R.L., & Rakes, L. (2020). A developing partnership: Our growth and goals. In E. Garin & R.W. Burns (Eds.), Clinically Based Teacher Education in Action: Cases from Professional Development Schools (Research in Professional Development Schools), pp.122-127, Information Age Publishing.
Powell, R.L., Rakes, L., Rideout, S. *Stone, A., *Victoria Routt, & *Naglieri, A. (Feb., 2020). Making space for coaching with cooperating teachers. Presented at the annual conference of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Atlantic City, N.J.
Powell, R. L., LaFrance, D., Rakes, L., *Nelson, B., *Moats, T., *Salb, C. (Feb., 2019). Growing the Partnership to Support Reciprocal Professional Development. Presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Atlanta, GA.
LaFrance, D., Powell, R., Rakes, L., *Nelson, B., *Moats, T., *Salb, C. (Feb., 2019) Guiding Preservice Teachers Toward Critical Reflection. Presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Atlanta, GA.
Powell, R.L., Rakes, L., *Guida, D., *Kast, A., & *Pfanz, R. (March, 2018). Peer observation: Shifting the focus to student learning. Presented at the Annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Jacksonville, FL.
Rakes, L., Powell, R.L., *Guida, D., *Kast, A., & *Pfanz, R. (March, 2018) Preservice teacher inquiry: Building a foundation for teacher research. Presented at the Annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools. Jacksonville, FL.
Berson, I.R., Berson, M.J., Dennis, D.V., & Powell, R., (2017). Leveraging literacy: Research on teaching visual and informational texts in the social studies. In M.M. Manfra & C.M. Bolick (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Social Studies Research, pp. 414-439. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Wiley+Handbook+of+Social+Studies+Research-p-9781118787076
Powell, R.L. & Rakes, L., *Fisher, C., & *Watson, L. (March, 2017) Co-teacher and coach: Mentor teacher as agent of change. Annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Washington, D.C.
Rakes, L. & Powell, R.L., *Fisher, C., & *Watson, L. (Feb., 2017). Learning to teach through “in the moment” coaching. Annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Washington, D.C.
Anderson, A.W. & Powell, R. L. (2016). The world is flat, Stanley: Globalization, ethnocentricity, and absurdity. In J. Miskec & A.Wannamaker (Eds.), The Early Reader in Children’s Literature and Culture, (pp. 173-184). New York: Routledge. https://www.amazon.com/Early-Reader-Childrens-Literature-Culture/dp/1138547638
Powell, R.L., Rakes, L., Brady, S., Skaggs, S., *Daniels, J., & *Depart, C. (March, 2016). Coming Together to Build a Transformative Partnership. Annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Development Schools, Washington, D.C.