Within the Division of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) is an inspirational educator who consistently influences excellence in students working to become future teachers. Through this practice, Dr. Jennifer Conner-Zachocki enables her students to develop into educators who will have a lasting and positive effect on countless others.
Conner-Zachocki is an associate professor of language education at IUPUC. She teaches language-related courses for pre-service teachers, including those that emphasize at their curricular core issues of critical literacy, sociolinguistics, and digital literacies.
Conner Zachocki's research considers the impact of digital writing and social networking tools on the understandings and identities of pre-service and in-service teachers and their students. A second segment of her research considers the potential of action research in support of pre-service teachers’ understandings of literacy as a complex social practice, and of literacy instruction as apprenticing students into the discourses and social practices of literate communities.
In a 2015 peer-reviewed article, Conner-Zachocki and coauthor Mary Beth Hines shared the results of a five-year study investigating the experiences of 400 Reading First teachers across the state of Indiana. The article entitled “Using Practitioner Inquiry Within and Against Large-Scale Educational Reform” was published in a journal titled, Journal of Teacher Development.
In 2015, Conner-Zachocki had two articles in a special themed edition of Theory into Practice (TIP), a professional tier 1 journal for practitioners. Conner-Zachocki was the lead editor of this edition of TIP, supported by Nicholas Husbye and James P. Gee. In April 2016, Conner-Zachocki presented two papers at a national conference. The first was entitled: Reading Social Issues Picture Books to Elementary School Children: An Examination of Pre-service Teachers’ Beliefs. The second was entitled: Navigating the Student Teaching Placement: An Investigation of the Situated Identity Performances of Student Teachers. Both were presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Washington, D.C.
In April 2016, the Indiana University Board of Trustees approved and granted the promotion of Dr. Jennifer Conner-Zachocki to associate professor with tenure. The Board of Trustees evaluation process included a review of Conner-Zachocki’s academic achievements over the course of her career. Promotion with tenure is a high honor based on an achieved results driven approach towards excellence.
In a question and answer session, Conner-Zachocki discusses education, her research, and the motivation she holds towards inspiring others to become teachers.
What was your inspiration for becoming an educator? Like a lot of people in the area of education, I was inspired to go into education because of some excellent teachers I have had in the past who had a significant and positive impact on my life.
What is your favorite class to teach? One course that I teach is designed to help pre-service teachers support their future K-6 students with literacy skills (E340). This course requires my students to think about literacy practices in new ways. It is exciting for me to see my students move beyond common misconceptions about what readers and writers do when producing and consuming texts.
What advice would you give an aspiring major? There is no other job as rewarding as teaching. Through teaching, educators may directly contribute to individual and group empowerment. The most effective teachers are those who are willing to foster, through democratic education, the critical tenets of a free society, which include social justice, equality, inclusion, and community. This philosophy makes teaching one of the most impactful professions there is.
How did you become interested in your research topic? My research considers ways in which teachers can help their students become more critical consumers of texts – supporting them with the skills and practices needed to identify ways in which texts often prioritize the perspectives of some while silencing others. I was drawn to this area of research, in part, because I feel strongly that one of the most important roles of public school educators is to promote social justice.
What can you share about your outside areas of interest? I enjoy reading, going to the movies, and running. I also love to hang out with my husband and my son.
What do you like most about IUPUC? IUPUC feels like a family. Not only do I know just about every faculty and staff member on campus, but I also get to know many of the students (even those I don’t have in my courses). Even after they have graduated, I stay in touch with a lot of my old students. These types of relationships can only be formed on a small campus like IUPUC. I’m grateful to be a part of such a community.
Conner-Zachocki received a Bachelor’s of Science in Spanish from Indiana University; she received a Master of Arts in Teaching (Spanish) from Indiana University and earned her Doctoral Degree from Indiana University in Language Education.