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Dr. MaryAnn Davies

Hello! I very much look forward to the opportunity to interact with each of you. Such opportunities hold the potential for new discoveries, unexpected learnings, and resolutions to move ahead in our lives. I believe you will find that the Middle Grades Education Program challenges and supports you in better meeting the needs of the young adolescents you serve. What a great goal!

Let me tell you a bit about myself. My love and inspiration in life is my husband, Alan. We have had the good fortune to team teach educational psychology and supervise student teachers together. He constantly challenges me to expand my thinking and inspires my writing and teaching. We love hiking, movies, and traveling…to Wales (Alan is a Welshman), England, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, and Australia. Alan is my best friend and guide through life.

My first middle level teaching job was in a rural community in central Illinois. With virtually no training to work with this age group, my students became my teachers. Although some days I wanted to pull my hair out, I discovered that I loved teaching young adolescents. Over the next twelve years, I learned much about the unique developmental needs of this age group … and much about myself.

I am presently a professor in the WSE Middle Grades Education Program specializing in learning theories, assessment, social studies and middle level education. My research interests stem from working with young adolescents and include young adolescent stress, brain compatible teaching strategies (particularly integrated/thematic instruction, movement and music in learning), and effective teacher qualities. I have published numerous articles on these topics in a variety of journals including Action in Teacher Education, The Teacher Educator, The History Teacher, Contemporary Education, Childhood Education, New England League of Middle Schools Journal, Middle School Journal and Southern Social Studies Quarterly. In addition, I co-authored a monograph on middle level field experiences and eight chapters in six different books. I also present regularly at national, regional and state conferences on a variety of teacher education topics and issues.

Prior to arriving in North Carolina, I taught and served as an administrator at several universities including Northern Arizona University, Southern Utah University, Eastern Kentucky University and Western Michigan University. I received my undergraduate degree (in social studies education) from the University of Illinois and both my master’s and doctoral degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

For the last thirty-five years, I dedicated my life to advocating for appropriate middle level education. In the classroom with young adolescents and in higher education preparing teachers, the goal remains the same – to guide youth toward developing their potential in nurturing school environments.