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Valerie Shinas

Associate Provost for Education - PhD

617.349.8385
Valerie wearing a brown sweater in living room smiling for a photo

Professor Valerie Harlow Shinas is the chair of the Ph.D. in Educational Studies department and a faculty member in the Graduate School of Education. She joined Lesley University in 2012 after more than a decade working with middle school students and teachers. 

“As a teacher educator, I use my teaching experiences to make visible the connections between theory and practice for my students. Much of my work at Lesley University has centered on preparing teachers and teacher candidates to develop and deliver effective literacy and disciplinary literacy instruction. With expertise in the areas of technology-integrated literacy instruction and the TPACK theoretical framework, my research interests include integration of digital tools to support literacy and learning in K-12 classrooms.

"In addition, recent scholarly work has focused on teacher development and assessment of teacher practice. My transition to the PhD department has allowed me to use my experiences as a teacher educator and more than ten years as an educational researcher to support doctoral students on their academic journeys."

Education: BA, Anna Maria College; M.Ed., University of Massachusetts-Lowell; PhD, University of Delaware.

Selected Publications

  • Shinas, V.H., Ozden, S.Y., Ly, C. (2022) Cases on Practical Applications for Remote, Hybrid, and Hyflex Teaching. To be published by IGI Global.
  • Ozden, S.Y., Shinas, V.H., Ly, C. & Burçin Hamutoğlu, N. (2022). The Challenges and Opportunities of Online Learning for Preservice Teachers During COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the U.S. and Turkey. To be published in edited IGI Handbook, Managing and Designing Online Courses in Synchronous and Asynchronous Environments.
  • Shinas, V.H. & Wen, H. (2022). Preparing Teacher Candidates to Implement Digital Storytelling. Submitted to Computers and Education.
  • Shinas, V.H., Harper, I., Stooshnov, K., & Hovious, A. (2021). ST&RT With Alice: A Multimodal Literacy Experience for Science and Technology Learning. In Language and Technology in the Interdisciplinary Paradigm. Proceedings of the International Conference on Language and Technology in the Interdisciplinary Paradigm (LATIP 2021), 1-3 April, 2021, Novosibirsk & Irkutsk, Russia. Doi:https://papers.iafor.org/submission59121/.
  • Shinas, V., Wen, H., & Luo, L. (2021). Using constructivist pedagogies to support foreign language teaching in remote spaces. In Proceedings of Asian Conference on Education 2020 (ISSN: 2186-5892; pp. 493-501) Online, Tokyo, Japan: The International Academic Forum (IAFOR). Doi:https://papers.iafor.org/submission59121/.
  • Wen, H. & Shinas, V. (2021). Transforming international pre-service teachers' pedagogy in the era of multiliteracy: A case study. In Proceedings of Asian Conference on Education 2020 (ISSN: 2186-5892; pp. 467-481) Online, Tokyo, Japan: The International Academic Forum (IAFOR). Doi: https://papers.iafor.org/submission59107/.
  • Karchmer‐Klein, R., and Shinas, V. H. (2019) Adolescents' navigation of linguistic and nonlinguistic modes when reading a digital narrative. Journal of Research in Reading, 42, 469– 484. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12278
  • Miller, M. S., & Shinas, V. H. (2019). Inquiring about Inquiry: A Research Journey. Journal of Practitioner Research, 4(1), 7.
  • Steckel, B., Shinas, V. H., & Van Vaerenewyck, L. (2015). Artistic Technology Integration: Stories from primary/elementary classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 69 (1), 41-49.
  • Shinas, V. H., Karchmer-Klein, R., Mouza, C., Yilmaz-Ozden, S., & J. Glutting, J. (2015). Analyzing Preservice Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Development in the Context of a Multidimensional Teacher Preparation Program. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 31(2), 47-55.
  • Shinas, V. H., Yilmaz-Ozden, S., Mouza, M., Karchmer-Klein, R., & Glutting, J. J. (2013).  Examining domains of technological pedagogical content knowledge using factor analysis.  Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 45(4), 339-360.

Selected Presentations

  • Shinas, V.H. & Crain de Galarce, P. (2023). Examining Doctoral Students' Sociocultural Perspectives Toward Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice. AERA Annual Meeting 2023: Chicago, IL.
  • Shinas, V.H., Stooshnov, K.J., Hovious, A., Kucina, S., Wen, H. (2022) A Multimodal Mindset: Examining 21st Century Educational Problems Through a Critical Digital Literacies Lens. AERA Annual Meeting 2022. Virtual presentation.
  • Wen, H. & Shinas, V.H. (2022). Preparing Teachers with the Anti-racism Pedagogy during Pandemic. Paper presented at the 29th Annual ASIANetwork Conference Transcultural Asia: In the Classroom and the World. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, April 8 - 10, 2022.
  • Hovious, A., & Shinas, V.H. (2021). Immersive Literacy: Bridging the Digital Literacy Divide. Paper presented at AERA Virtual Conference.
  • Machado, A.M., Shinas, V.H. and Marques, M. (2021). Digital Literature in PLE Teaching – A Proposed Approach. Paper presented at III International Symposium on Portuguese Teaching as an additional language. "Portuguese pluricentric language: from policies to practices". University of Coimbra, Portugal. Online event - June 16, 17 and 18, 2021.
  • Ozden, S.Y., Shinas, V.H., & Ly, C. (2021). Remote Learning in First Grade: Technology-Mediated Learning in Turkey and the United States in a Pandemic. Paper presented at AERA Virtual Conference.
  • Shinas, V.H., Hovious, A., & Harper, I., & Stooshnov, K. (2021).  “ST&RT with Alice: A Multimodal Literacy Experience for Science and Technology Learning”. IX International Research and Practice Conference, “Intercultural Communication: Linguistic and Didactic Issues”. Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russia.
  • Wen, H. & Shinas, V.H. (2021). Recent Research in the Pedagogy of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom. Invited Talk at Moravian University, Bethlehem, PA.
  • Wen., H., Shinas, V.H., Chen, L. (2021).  Developing Teachers as Writers: Teacher Candidates’ Perception On Digital Multimodal Composition. Work in Progress Session presented at the Writing Research Across Borders conference. Virtual Conference.
  • Wen, H., Yang, H., Ozden, Ş.Y., & Shinas, V. (2021). Exploring the impact of coursework on literacy teacher candidates’ TPACK development for technology-integrated instructional planning. Paper presented at International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) Annual Meeting 2021, Online, Bochum, Germany.
  • Shinas, V.H. & Wen, H. (2020, December). Developing teacher candidates’ understanding of technology-integrated literacy instruction. Paper presented at the 70th Annual Literacy Research Virtual Association Conference. Online presentation.
  • Shinas, V.H. (2019). Challenging the Digital Divide: Digital Literacy for the 21st Century. Presented at Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA.
  • Shinas, V.H., Hovious, A., & Harper, I. (2019).  Immersive literacy with Inanimate Alice: Transforming teaching with transmedia. Invited panel session. Teaching Digital Literature International Conference, Coimbra, Portugal. 
  • Miller, M.S. & Shinas, S.V. (2017, April). Inquiry about inquiry: A research journey.  Paper presented at AERA Annual Meeting: San Antonio, TX.
  • Shinas, V.H. & Steckel, B. (2016, July). Artistic technology integration in the literacy classroom: What teachers need to know. International Reading Association 2016 Annual Conference: Boston, MA.
PhD in Educational Studies Programs
We offer three specializations:

Not currently accepting applications for Human Development and Learning PhD. Your educational goals can be met through the PhD in Individually Designed Educational Studies.

Graduate TESOL/ESL, Literacy, and Reading Specialist Programs
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Literacy

*Fully online programs.

Reading Specialist
29 Everett St, Cambridge, MA 02138
617.868.9600