Rachelle Miller
Assistant Professor
Department of Teaching & Learning
Educational Background
Ph. D. Educational Psychology w/ specialization in Gifted Education
M.Ed. Gifted Education
B.A. Elementary Education
How long have you been at UCA & the College of Education?
3 years
What is your favorite class to teach? Why?
My favorite classes to teach are GATE 6358 and ASTL 6382. I enjoy GATE 6358 because meeting the needs of gifted students was my original passion when I was a classroom teacher and in graduate school. I also enjoy ASTL 6382 because I love guiding my students as they complete a small quantitative study using the statistical tests that they learned throughout the semester.
Do you have any favorite assignments to give?
My favorite assignments are the quantitative study that my students complete in the Educational Statistics class and I also enjoy when my students interview a gifted student in my Affective Strategies for the Gifted and Talented.
Describe a memorable teaching experience you’ve had at UCA & the College of Education.
A memorable teaching experience I’ve had at UCA was in my Learning and Development class. I try to integrate creativity and the arts when I’m teaching various topics in order to engage my students and to help them retain the content. In addition, one of the requirements of our Learning and Development course is that our students have to complete 10 tutoring hours. I had a student use some of the arts integrated strategies I used in class during her tutoring sessions and was highly praised by the supervising teacher. The supervising teacher complimented her on the strategies she used and the teacher told her that she would love to be her mentor for Internship II.
What excites you most about teaching?
I love when my students understand and appreciate the relevance of the content that I’m teaching. One of my goals each semester is to help my students connect to the course content and see the usefulness of it in their future careers.
What’s the most important thing you hope students learn from you?
I hope that my students learn that teaching is an art that is constantly evolving. As educators, we should always aim to figure out how we can best meet the individual needs of all our students and I hope that I effectively model this in all of my courses.
Why did you pursue your field?
Teaching has always been so rewarding for me, even before I was a classroom teacher. Even as a student in grade school, I enjoyed helping others with their school work when they needed assistance.
What academic question(s) are you currently exploring?
How can arts integration influence the academic achievement of our students?
Please list any recent publications you’ve produced or contributed to.
Miller, R., Cotabish, A., Dailey, D. (2016). Picking up STEAM: Integrating the arts in STEM-focused gifted programming. In L. G. Putney and N. P. Gallavan (Eds.), ATE yearbook XXIV: Establishing a sense of place for all learners in 21st century classrooms and schools (pp. XX-XX). Landham, MD: Roman and Littlefield.
What do you most like about working at the College of Education?
I love being part of the most supportive and collegial group of faculty members.
What are your interests & hobbies?
I love spending time with my family. We love going camping and boating – wish I could do it year around 🙂