Dr. Amy Broemmel, Ph.D.

Biography

Education has always been important in my family. My great-grandfather was a college graduate around the turn of the century; my grandmother received a master’s degree in art education in the 30’s; and both of my parents are educators. I can’t recall a time in my life when I didn’t think I would become a teacher.

I received my B.S. in education from Eastern Illinois University (EIU) and chose to go straight through for my master’s degree. I spent nearly all my extra time working in a third grade classroom while I finished my M.S. at Southern Illinois University (SIU). That experience helped immensely when I was hired to teach 2 nd grade in a fast-growing community in northern Illinois. I worked closely with the five other 2 nd grade teachers to support our district reading curriculum with literature-based instruction. Literature, in addition to process writing, reading aloud, and integrated theme study were the key literacy components of my classroom. I had numerous opportunities to work with student teachers during the time I spent teaching in 2 nd grade, and those interactions spurred me to pursue my doctoral degree, so that I could play a more direct role in teacher education. I returned to SIU, and graduated with my Ph.D. with an emphasis in literacy in 2000.

I spent two years at EIU teaching literacy courses and supervising undergraduates in their first field experiences. I then spent a year at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, teaching both graduate and undergraduate literacy courses, working with both students in their first field experiences and student teachers, and building a partnership with a local elementary school.

I arrived at UT in the fall of 2002, and have found my niche coordinating the Fountain City/ Halls Professional Development School site. During the regular school year, I supervise and mentor the interns assigned to those two schools, teach 12 hours of graduate coursework to them on-site, and provide support for the mentoring teachers at each site. I teach graduate literacy courses during the summer session.

I have had the privilege of serving as a 2003-2005 regional co-team leader for the Children’s Choices, a joint project of the International Reading Association and Children’s Book Council. This project supports my love of children’s literature and effectively gets it into the hands of both kids and teachers!

I love infusing children’s literature into the curriculum and have recently worked with a colleague in science education to analyze and evaluate selected science-related picture books. I am also in the beginning stages of developing a study, in collaboration with a public school teacher and former intern, in order to investigate the impact of early process writing on students’ future writing attitudes and achievement.

However, much of my research interest lies in teacher education. My past research investigated the relationship between student teachers’ levels of preparation and practicing teachers’ perceived importance of selected areas related to reading instruction. I am currently pursuing a related topic, researching how coursework and experiences influence preservice teachers’ beliefs about reading instruction. I am also involved in a study examining changes in preservice teachers’ perceptions of their own abilities over the course of their internship year.

Contact Information

Dr. Amy Broemmel
Assistant Professor
Reading Education

A221 Jane and David Bailey Education Complex
1126 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3442

Phone: 865-974-4225
broemmel@utk.edu

Contact CEHHS

335 Claxton Complex 1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718