Carol Adams, PhD

• Carol M. Adams CV

Dr. Carol Adams is an Associate Teaching Professor and Program Director of Graduate Teacher Education in the College of Education. Dr. Adams is a former K-12 classroom teacher, high school literacy specialist, and curriculum developer, having earned her M.Ed in Language and Literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington with a focus on secondary literacy across the content areas.

Her research agenda focuses on justice-oriented teacher education and anti-racist pedagogical approaches, including localized action-oriented project-based learning and ungrading assessment practices that center feedback and student self-reflection. Both in her research and her role as a teacher educator, Dr. Adams aims to support secondary educators and pre-service teachers to cultivate learning opportunities that center the lives and identities of students so they can bring creativity and critical problem solving to real world issues. Her methodological expertise includes design-based implementation research and practitioner action research.

Previously, Dr. Adams served as a Co-PI on the Knowledge in Action Project, a joint venture between the University of Washington College of Education and numerous districts and teachers to study project-based learning (PBL) in high school courses. As Co-PI, Dr. Adams will be the lead coordinator with an urban high school partner organization. Her work has been published in journals such as Teaching and Teacher Education and Citizenship Teaching & Learning.