Biography

Mary Gillis joined Missouri S&T’s education and certification department in 2020 as an assistant teaching professor after a career in secondary public education. In addition to teaching education courses at S&T, she serves as the teacher education field placement coordinator and mentors K-12 student teachers. She established partnerships with several area high schools to introduce an introduction to teaching course via synchronous delivery. After its pilot year, the program has grown to include students from seven  area rural high schools.

Her most recent research and conference presentations focus on preparing teachers to serve rural k-12 districts. This includes studying the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are most valuable to rural districts, and approaches to address the nuanced needs that rural schools face in recruiting and retaining STEM educators.

Education

Ed.D. in Educational Practice with emphasis in Heritage Leadership for Sustainability, Social Justice, and Participatory Culture, University of Missouri St. Louis

Ed.S in Instructional Technology, University of Missouri

Graduate Certificate in Journalism Education, University of Missouri

B.A. in English, University of Central Missouri

“The teacher must always be on the attack, looking for new ideas, changing worn-out tactics,
and never, ever falling into patterns that lead to student ennui.”

Pat Conroy The Water is Wide