ABOUT
I describe myself as a “story catcher,” a term borrowed from Brené Brown, a qualitative researcher and author. I compose authentic stories others reveal about their lived experiences through qualitative research methods with an emphasis on narrative, case study, ethnology, and portraiture — a methodology which examines “what is good” within an experience.
My career spans over 20 years in K-12 education, corporate eLearning, and higher education as an educator, media specialist, instructional designer, professional developer, induction coach, online learning coordinator, business partner, conference presenter, writer, and qualitative/action researcher. I have designed and taught courses in adult learning, instructional coaching, mentoring, differentiated instruction, culturally responsive instructional strategies, qualitative and action research, program evaluation, educational leadership, information literacy and 21st Century learning skills. I earned my PhD in Instructional Design focusing on online professional development and earned my doctor minor in Applied Statistics & Research Methods after earning my masters in Educational Media; and my bachelor's in English Education with a minor in writing.
In summary, I have written over 30 publications and have presented at over 50 conferences in the area of online learning, culturally responsive best practices, advocacy, and emerging qualitative research methods. In 2003, my qualitative dissertation was nominated for the Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of Northern Colorado. In 2009, I was awarded the University of Colorado Denver School Of Education and Human Development’s Outstanding Service Award followed by the School’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2010. In 2009, I also was accepted to be part of the President’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Collaborative; a faculty research group modeled on and sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.
In my spare time, I love to write and travel with my family. Check out one of my blogs:
Summers Muse: blog.laurasummers.com
Summers' Online: summersonline.blogspot.com