Academics

 

Rachel G. Ragland > Biographical Sketch

Rachel Ragland, a native of Washington, DC, earned degrees in social psychology and secondary education from the University of Pennsylvania. She taught high school social studies in Connecticut and co-authored a popular high school psychology textbook before earning her doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York.  She began her career at Lake Forest College in 1996 teaching and supervising student teachers in the Education Department. She has served as Director of Project Explore, as summer science program for middle school students, and as Assistant Academic Director of McRAH: Model Collaboration: Rethinking American History, a federal grant program in partnership with Waukegan, IL schools to improve the teaching of American history.  Her research on history teaching has continued, and her recent publications include: “Changing Secondary Teachers’ Views of Teaching American History and “Increasing Teacher Efficacy in High-Need Schools: Lessons from Teaching American History” w/ Michael Ebner. She is currently a national co-editor for the H-TAH Discussion Network, a part of H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online.