Chair, Department of Education & Associate Professor of TESOL Education
(717) 796-1800 x7091
Research
- Ph.D., New Mexico State University, 2015
Curriculum & Instruction
Dissertation Title:
Lived Experiences in the Ideology of White Female Preservice Teachers Concerning Emergent Bilingual Students during Student Teaching
- M. Ed., Pennsylvania State University, 2009
Curriculum & Instruction, emphasis in Children’s Literature
- B.S., Messiah College, 1999
Elementary Education, minors in TESOL and Environmental Science
I graduated from Messiah College with a degree in Elementary Education with minors in TESOL and Environmental Science. My first teaching position, and still one of my favorites, was as an ESL teacher at Biglerville Elementary School in Adams County, Pa. Most of my students were the children of migrant workers who had traveled the area to harvest apples. When I walked into my classroom for the first time, I knew that I would be forever captivated in becoming a better teacher for their benefit. Since then, I have taught as an elementary classroom teacher, district-wide ESL teacher, adult ESL teacher, professional development consultant, and lecturer of education. I am passionate about preparing teachers to equitably teach emergent bilingual students.
Hobbies:
Traveling, Photography, Gardening
Keller, T.M. (2024). Belonging or Fitting-in; Multilingual Learners and Acculturation. PTE Voices Penn TESOL, 3,13, Spring 2024.
Keller, T.M. (2024). Preparing Happy Teachers: a Review of the Literature. Proceedings of the International Conference on Happiness and Well-being [ICHW2024], 7-33. ISBN-978-86-87043-98-5
Keller, T. M. (2021). Story Shaping Ideology: Majoritarian Stories of English Learners. In Teaching Practices and Language Ideologies for Multilingual Classrooms (pp. 1-26). IGI Global.
Keller, T. Camardese, A, & Abbas, R. (2017). “We don't talk about that here": Teachers, Religion, Public Elementary Schools and the Embodiment of Silence, a Binational United States and Israel Study. Journal of Childhood and Religion 7, pp1-41.
DuBois, A. & Keller, T. (2016). Curriculum Weaving: Developing Creative Curricular Opportunities for Pre-Service Teachers and Elementary Students through Project-Based Learning. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching 5 (2), pp 37-42. DOI:10.5430/jct.v5n2p3
Keller, T. (2016). “The World is So Much Bigger:” Preservice Teachers’ Experiences of Religion in Israel and the Influences on Student Teaching. In Efficacy and Implementation of Study Abroad Programs for P-12 Teachers. Heejung An (Ed.). (pp.275-294). DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1057-4.ch016
Keller, T. & Kappus, B. (2016). Inspect your Ideology. ASCD Express,11,12.
Keller, T. & Franzak, J. (2015). When Names and Schools Collide: Critically Analyzing Depictions of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children Negotiating Their Names in Picture Books. Children’s Literature in Education. 47: 177. DOI: 10.1007/s10583-015-9260-4
Keller, T. (2015) What’s in a Name? Picture Books as Opportunities for Critical Literacy in Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms for ALL Children. The Journal of Reading New Mexico, Winter Edition.
Presentations
International
Socratic Seminars as a Tool in Teacher Education Classrooms: Preparing Teachers to Engage their Future Multilingual Learners in Classroom Discussion, Futures of Education Conference, Florence, Italy (June 8-10, 2017)
Active Learning in College Classrooms: Conversations with Education Department Faculty, Evangelical University, Ndola, Zambia (February 22, 2017)
Religion and Education Roundtable Discussion Bridges to Israel Conference, Western Galilee College, Acre, Israel (May 15-23, 2013)
National
“The Stories Teachers Believe Matter: Preservice Teachers and Their Ideology of Emergent Bilingual Students.” Washington, DC. April 9, 2016 AERA (American Educational Research Association) Paper Presentation
“(Un)covering bias and pushing boundaries in children’s literature” Workshop at the National Conference for NAME (National Association for Multicultural Education) Tucson, AZ (November 5-9, 2014) Co-Presented with Mrs. Yvonne El Ashmawi, Mrs. Angela Redondo and Mr. Anthony Martinez
“Smoke Detectors: Listening to the Voices of Pre-Service Teachers in Identifying Burnout and Vicarious Trauma” at The National Teaching & Supervision Conference, Slippery Rock, Pa (April 29-20, 2013) Co-Presented with Dr. Alison DuBois
State
“Incarnational Encounters: Stories that Change Us” Messiah College Education Department Fall Research Forum (December 6, 2018)
“Harnessing the Power of Narrative in Language Learning Classrooms” at Penn TESOL Conference, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa,(November 17, 2018) Presented with Messiah College Students
“Connecting College Students to Migrant Education Students” at Bridges P4CT Conference, Cape May, NJ, (April 25-27, 2018) Presented with Messiah Students
“Immigration Through Children’s Literature” at Pa-NAME, Drexel University, Pa, (March 17, 2018) Presented with Messiah Students
“Immigration Through Children’s Literature” Humanities Symposium, Messiah College (February 12, 2018) Presented with Messiah College Students
“To Read or Not to Read: Preservice Teachers and Decision Making Regarding Picture Books Depicting Diverse Families” Workshop at Pa-NAME, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa (April 10-11, 2014) Presented with Westminster College Students
“Off to the Races! Involving Pre-Service Teachers in Research” Round Table Discussion at the State Conference for PAC-TE (Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators) Harrisburg, Pa (October 21-24, 2014) Co-Presented with Dr. Amy Camardese, Dr. Charlene Endrizzi, Dr. Alison Dubois, and Mrs. Diana Reed
“Teaching in the Shadows: ESL Tutoring in Rural Pennsylvania” Workshop at NAME (National Association for Multicultural Education), Philadelphia, Pa (April 11-12, 2014) Presented with Westminster College Students
“Exploring Global Children’s Literature: Jumping Over the Potholes Along the Yellow Brick Road” Workshop at Midwestern Early Childhood Institute, Grove City, Pa (February 1, 2013) Presented with Westminster College Students
“Socratic Seminars: A Powerful (and Fun) Metacognitive Discussion Technique” Workshop at Three Rivers TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference, Pittsburgh, Pa (October 27, 2012) Presented with Westminster College Students