Baurain, TLTE, receives Presidential Graduate Fellowship

19 Jul 2011    

University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken has announced the eight recipients of 2011-12 Presidential Graduate Fellowships. These prestigious fellowships honor NU graduate students on the basis of high scholastic performance, personal accomplishment and innovative research.

This year, fellowships are presented in Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education. Congratulations to Bradley Baurain of Chicago,a Ph.D. candidate in teaching, learning and teacher education. With 20 years of teaching experience already under his belt – half of it in China and Vietnam – Bauran’s career goal is to become a university-level teacher educator and researcher. One of his prime research interests is the impact of spiritual and religious beliefs on teachers’ classroom philosophies and actions, an area in which little formal data has been gathered. Baurain has written and presented on this subject, and it is the focus of his Ph.D. dissertation. Baurain’s research could help lead to a more holistic understanding of how and why teachers think and act, which is key to developing better practices in student achievement and teacher development.