Teacher Education
Dyan Watson
Associate Professor
- Dyan WatsonNina Johnson
- Dyan Watson
Academic Spotlight
Dyan Watson co-edits influential new book, Teaching for Black Lives.
“Teaching for Black Lives is a Handbook for all educators, students, and families who truly care about Blackness and the intersections of learning, teaching, and race.” - Dyan Watson
UPDATE: Grammy award-winning artist Macklemore and 3-time NFL Pro Bowler Michael Bennett have teamed up to purchase and distribute copies of Teaching for Black Lives to every middle and high school social studies and language arts teacher in Seattle Public Schools.
Black Lives Matter Week of Action
February 2019
“When you systematically deny the dignity of one group, your dignity is also compromised,” she says. “So, I believe that once all folks start to respect and regard black people as human and as worthy of the respect and honor that other races sometimes see, then we all are going to benefit.” - Dyan Watson
Dr. Dyan Watson is the social studies coordinator for the secondary program in teacher education. Watson began her professional career as a GED instructor for young mothers in Portland and then taught social studies at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon. There she developed and taught the first African American history course, and helped create and implement a school-within-a-school program for freshmen and sophomores.
Watson primarily teaches methods classes for preservice social studies teachers and research methods classes for doctoral students. She is also an editor for Rethinking Schools.
Personal Statement
I believe in teaching that is grounded in an understanding of and respect for students’ cultural backgrounds and cultural resources. As such, my classroom is a place where both the students and the teacher learn and teach. Together, we push each other to critically assess learning and the world.
Areas of Expertise
Qualitative research methods, race and teaching, equity and social justice, teacher research.
Current Research
Dr. Watson’s primary research focus is exploring how teachers semantically encode race, and the intersections of race and teaching. Her latest project can be found at www.teachingforblacklives.org.
Publications
- Watson, D., Hagopian, J., & Au, W. (Eds) (2018). Teaching for Black lives. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
-
Ligget, T., Watson, D., & Griffin, L. (2017). Language use and racial redirect in the educational landscape of ‘just good teaching’, Teaching Education, DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2017.1306506.
- Charner-Laird, M., Kirkpatrick, C. L., Szczesiul, S., Watson, D., & Gordon, P. (2016). From Collegial Support to Critical Dialogue: Including New Teachers’ Voices in Collaborative Work. Professional Educator, 40(2), 1-17.
- Griffin, L., Watson, D., & Liggett, . T. (2016). “I didn’t see it as a cultural thing”: Supervisors of student teachers define and describe culturally responsive supervision. Democracy and Education.
- Christensen, L. and Watson, D. Eds. (2015). Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
- Watson, D. (2013). Bury the N-Word? Teaching students to think and write about controversial topics. Oregon Journal of the Social Sciences 1(2), 74-79.
- Christensen, L., Hansen, M., Peterson, R., Schlessman, E., and Watson, D. (Eds) (2012). Rethinking Elementary Education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
-
- Benjamin Franklin Gold winner in the Education category of the Independent Book Publishers Association
- Watson, D. (2012). Message from a black mom to her son. Rethinking Schools 26 (3), 16-18.
- Watson, D. (2011). What do you mean when you say urban? Rethinking Schools 26 (1), 48-50.
- Watson, D. (2011). “Urban, but not too urban”: Unpacking teachers’ desires to teach urban students. Journal of Teacher Education 62(1).
- Watson, D., Charner-Laird, M., Kirkpatrick, C. L., Szczesiul, S. A., & Gordon, P. (2006). Effective teaching/Effective urban teaching: Grappling with definitions, grappling with difference. Journal of Teacher Education 57(4), 395-409.
Academic Credentials
EdD Harvard University
MAT, BA Willamette University