College Level Teaching
Current Courses
My core teaching priority is to create a positive, affirming learning space where students’ identities are recognized and celebrated. My research and experiences in the classroom thus far have taught me that when students feel like they belong, they feel safe to engage fully in the classroom. The universal design for learning framework (Gordon, Meyer & Rose, 2014) undergirds my curriculum. I provide multiple means of presenting the content, multiple ways for students to express what they know, and multiple forms of engagement. Notably, I have taught Human Growth and Development for Early and Elementary Education to almost 300 pre-service teachers.
Human Growth & Development for Early Childhood & Elementary Education
In this professional education course for education majors and/or licensed practitioners, students learn about developmental theories and issues relevant to their future early childhood and elementary education classrooms. Specifically, students study biological, cognitive, and social development, with application to life in the family, school, community, and broader social context!
Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
1) understand how children learn and develop,
2) recognize that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and
3) design and implement developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences
Teaching Publications and Resources:
- Mims, L. C. & Whitefield, B. (2020) Having Fun Isn't Hard: A Quick Fix Designed to Promote Independent Reading. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1775169
- Costa, C., & Mims, L. C. (2020). Using Notecard Check-Ins to Build Relationships and Establish a Climate of Care. College Teaching https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1797619
Advanced Adolescent Development
The major goal of this asynchronous advanced adolescent development course is to increase students' understanding of developmental theories and issues relevant to contemporary adolescent development and education. Specifically, we study biological, cognitive, and social development from the beginning of puberty through the transition into early adulthood. This applied developmental science course emphasizes current research, policy, and practices in adolescent development! (Dr. Mims was formerly Assistant Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans during the Obama Administration and loves research, policy, and practice!) Using an ecological approach that emphasizes that #ContextMatters, we explore the uniqueness of the adolescence stage, important trends, theoretical perspectives, key findings, and perspectives from adolescents on the challenges and triumphs of being an adolescent in contemporary society. Through this course, we reimagine adolescence as an age of opportunity.
By the end of the course, students should be able to complete the following Student Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the social construction of adolescence and identify the key features of the developmental period (What are the major biological, cognitive, social, and emotional changes in adolescence?)
2. Describe and explain how gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and other social identities influence adolescent development (How do multiple and intersecting identities influence development?)
3. Apply the scientific knowledge of adolescent development to the “multiple worlds” where adolescents learn and develop #ContextMatters (How do the interrelationships between students’ family, peer, and school worlds combine to affect students’ engagement with schools?)
4. Appraise how the current major research issues and findings related to adolescent development can be applied to make teaching and learning more impactful (How do we design research, policy, and programming?)
5. Effectively communicate science to various groups who can support adolescents, including policymakers and the public (How do we translate complex scientific language into accessible and understandable language for a variety of audiences?)
***As the course instructor, I retain the rights to all course content. Students may not reproduce, distribute, or publicly post course materials without permission. Students also may not record classes without explicit permission to do so. Selling or distributing course materials may violate the Ball State Code of Contact and/or The Information Technology Users' Privileges and Responsibilities Policy.
I look forward to working with you!
Invited Workshops & Presentations (Selected)
- The School to Prison Pipeline and Understanding Your Client's History (December 2019). Workshop Facilitator at the Advancing Real Change, Inc. and Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc. at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Mitigation Training for Defense Attorneys.
- Engaging First-Year Teacher Education Students (September 2019). Panelist at Ball State University to support student retention and success.
- The Importance of Black Teachers: Recruiting, Retaining, Supporting “Dreamkeepers” (April, 2019). Panelist at the Tom Tom Founders Festival Civic Innovation Conference.
- Twitter 101 for Academics (March, 2019). Professional Development Session Presenter at the Society for Research on Child Development Biennial Meeting.
- “None of us can succeed when some of us are held back:” Addressing Barriers, Bias and Belonging. (March 2019). Workshop Facilitator at the University of Virginia Women’s Leadership Development Program.
- Meeting Black Girls on the Moon (March 2019). Keynote Speaker at the Association of Black Social Workers at Virginia Commonwealth University 4th Annual Cultural Awareness Day.
- Mitigation Investigation and the School-to-Prison Pipeline (November 2018). Workshop Co-presenter at the Virginia Bar Association 26th Annual Capital Defense Workshop.
- Let Her Learn: A Forum to Stop School Pushout (November 2018). Moderator at the Virginia State Capitol.
- Social Media Engagement as a Researcher (September 2018). Presenter at the Virginia Commonwealth University Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development.
- Intersectional Qualitative Research Methods (July 2018). Workshop Facilitator at the University of Virginia Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
- Equity in Education: Setting a Policy Agenda (July 2018). Lecturer in Public Policy on Capitol Hill at George Washington University.
- Communicating Your Science (June 2018). Panelist at the Summer Virginia Education Science Training.
- People Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel: Building Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Learning Environments for ALL Students (April 2018). Workshop Facilitator at the Virginia Young Democrats Convention.
- Empowering Change & Leadership in Women and Youth (April 2018). Keynote Speaker at the National Coalition of 100 Black Women SHERO Event.
- ‘Cause We are Women, Phenomenally: Cultivating the NOW Generation of Leaders (March 2018). Workshop Facilitator at the University of Virginia Women’s Leadership Development Program.
- Black and Brown Girls, Why Now? The Importance of Investing in OUR Girls (February 2018). Invited keynote speaker at the Girls for a Change Community Lunch and Learn Event.
- Policy Implementation During the Obama Administration (March 2017). Lecturer in The Policy Process at American University.
- Ensuring Equity and Excellence in the Classroom: Strategies to Affirm Student Identities in the Classroom (February 2017). Keynote Speaker and Workshop Presenter at the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP Conference.
- Girls Can Do! (November 2016). Event Host at the Warner Theatre.
- Supporting African American Students through Family Engagement (October 2016). Keynote Speaker at the U.S. Department of Education.
- Understanding Socio-emotional Development for African American students (October 2016). Guest Lecturer at the DC School Counselors Association.
- Embracing Social Media to Get the Academic Results You Want (October 2016). Presenter at the U.S. Department of Education.
- African American Family Engagement (October 2016). Panelist at the Annual Parent Teacher Association Convention and Expo.
- How Can Public Schools Better Support Talented Students of Color?(September 2016). Panelist at the Center for American Progress.
- Advancing Equity for Girls and Women of Color (September 2016). Panelist at the Briefing on Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color by the White House Council on Women and Girls.
- White House Champion of Change for Extracurricular Enrichment for Marginalized Girls (September 2016). Discussant at the White House.
- Black Girls Rock the White House: Research, Policy and Practice for African American Women and Girls (August 2016). Panelist at the Black Girls Lead! Summit.
- Equity in Research, Policy, and Practice: Beyond the Buzzword (June 2016). Panelist at the National Association for the Young Child 2016 Learning at the Top of the Ticket National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development.
- Race, Equity and the Future of Public Education (June 2016). Panelist at the National School Boards Association Equity Symposium.
- Ensuring Educational Excellence for African Americans (May 2016). Keynote Speaker at the Black Brains Matter Educational Summit on the State of Black and Poor Children.
- Girls Rock Tech: The Importance of STEM for Black Women and Girls (April 2016). Panelist at BLACK GIRLS ROCK!
