My research framework is characterized as interdisciplinary because I integrate teacher education, psychology, multicultural education and technology. A primary concern in education today is the relationship among teacher attitudes, instruction and student learning. A recent publication by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education stressed the importance of teacher dispositions and their impact on learning. Dispositions refer to the inclination to act in a particular way. Despite efforts to understand teacher's dispositions, little work has investigated teacher empathy and its connection to classroom learning and social justice. Empathy is defined as a complex moral emotion involving the ability to put oneself in the place of another. Teachers need to be able to empathize with their students, particularly students from diverse backgrounds who experience situations of social conflict, in which they are marginalized because of race, gender, class or ability. When teachers are empathic, they are more likely to help students resolve social conflict situations so that students feel safe and protected, and therefore, can focus on learning. In much of my work, I have used qualitative and quantitative methodologies to examine teacher attitudes, perceptions and dispositions associated with empathy towards students.
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College of Education
Curriculum & Instruction
http://education.illinois.edu/edpsy/frp/stettega
Faculty Research Profiles: Sharon Tettegah
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Associate Professor, EdPsych
Curriculum & Instruction
383 Education Building
1310 S. 6th St. MC 708
Champaign, IL 61820USA
Associate Professor, C&I
Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning
Educational Psychology
Educational Psychology
Section Links
- Research Biography
- Degrees
- Key Professional Appointments
- Activities & Honors
- Grants
- Selected Publications
- Selected Links
Research Biography
Degrees
- Certification, Palm Education Training Coordinator, PalmOne, 2003
- Online Teaching and Learning Certification, Division of Extended and Continuing Education, California State University, Hayward, 2001
- Ph.D., Educational Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2000
- Certificate, Certified Haberman STAR Teacher Interviewer, 1999
- Graduate Study, Bilingual Education, University of California, Los Angeles, 1991
- M.A., Curriculum & Instruction, University of California, Davis, 1991
- Multiple Subjects Credential, Division of Education, University of California, Davis, 1989
- B.A., Philosophy, University of California, Davis, 1988
Key Professional Appointments
- Program Director, EHR/DRL, National Science Foundation, 2010--
- Faculty-part time, Bio-Intelligence, also formerly HCII, Beckman Institute, 2005--
- Associate Professor,Faculty, Curriculum and Instruction Math, Science & Technology Division, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001--
- Coordinator, Global Campus, University of Illinois, Global Campus, 2007-2008
- Learning Support Faculty, CalStateTEACH, California State University, 1999-2001
- Assistant Professor, Teacher Education, California State University, Hayward, 1998-2001
Activities & Honors
- Program Director, Division of Research on Learning, National Science Foundation, 2010- present
- Member, Continuing Education Committee, American Psychological Association, 2010- present
- Member, Division 15-Educational Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2010-2013
- Finalist Outstanding Alumni Award, University of California, at Davis, 2009-2010
- Leader afterschool program, Champaign Unit 4 School District, 2009-2010
- Solar System Ambassador, Jet Propulsion Lab, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2008- present
- Reviewer, Journal, Interacting with Computers, 2006- present
- Faculty Fellow, Bureau of Educational Research, 2005-2006
- Invited Attendee Wingspread Meeting on Teacher Quality, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2005
- Group member, Language, Curriculum, and Community in Teacher Preparation, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2005
- Member, Editorial Board, Urban Education, Urban Education, 2003- present
- Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003-2009
- Educational Technology Program Evaluator, International Society for Technology in Education, 2003-2006
- Member, Character Education Committee, Champaign Community Unit School District 4, 2003-2006
- Invited Panelist, Presidential Session, American Educational Research Association, 2003
Grants
- Co-Principal Investigator, Using Technology and Vignette Technique in Educational Research: From Qualitative Text to Statistical Modeling, Bureau of Educational Research, 2005
- Principal Investigator, Increasing African-American Involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Critical Research Intiatives, 2005
- Co-Principal Investigator, Visualization of Vignette and Statistical Models: An Integrated Approach, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, 2005
- Principal Investigator, From Narratives, Multimedia, and Empathy to Statistical Modeling, Campus Research Board, 2005
- Principal Investigator, Assessing Pre-service teachers' empathy of classroom victims, Campus Research Board, 2004
- Co-Principal Investigator, PT3 mini grant receipient: Career Services Gateway for Pre-Service Teachers, PT3 TALENT: Technology Across Learning Environments for New Teachers, 2002
- Principal Investigator, Multicultural Teaching Knowledge Repository for Educators (MuTKRE) , National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Selected Publications
- Huang, D., & Tettegah, S. (2010). A conceptual framework to understand the relationship between cognitive load and empathy development in serious games. In R. V. Eck (Ed.), Gaming & cognition: Theories and practice from the learning sciences, Hershey, PA: IGI Global
Tettegah, S. (2009). An introduction: Exploring virtual spaces. In S. Tettegah & C. Calongne (Eds.), Identity, learning and virtual worlds (pp. 1-8). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publications.
- Tettegah, S. & Calongne, C. (Eds.). (2009). Identity, learning and support in virtual worlds. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
- Tettegah, S., McFadden, C., Norman Wiziecki, E., Zhong, H., Landrum-Brown, J., Shih, M., Taylor, K., & Cash, T. (2009). Access grid technology: An exploration in educator's dialogue. In B. Cope, & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), Ubiquitous learning. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
- Tettegah, S., Whang, E., & Taylor, K. (2008). Narratives, Virtual Environments and Identity Semiotics: An exploration of Pre-service Teacher's Cognitions. Journal E-learning(5) 1 online at http://www.wwwords.co.uk/elea/content/pdfs/5/issue5_1.asp