Tina Valtierra
Associate Professor, Chair
Education
Higher Education Teaching & Curriculum Design
Associate Professor, Education Department, Colorado College (2021-present)
Exemplary Teaching in the Liberal Arts, Ray O. Werner Endowed Professor, Colorado College (2021-2024)
Assistant Professor, Education Department, Colorado College (2015-2021)
Adjunct Faculty, University of Colorado, Denver in partnership with Teacher Institute at La Academia, Colorado Alternative Teacher Licensure Program (2010-2013)
Adjunct Faculty, Adams State University, Rural Education Access Program, Teacher Licensure Program (2006-2009)
Affiliate Faculty of Graduate Teacher Education, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix (2005-2009)
K-12 Teaching
P-5th Grade Instructional Coach, Barnum Elementary, Denver Public Schools, Colorado (2002-2005)
School of Education 1st-8th Grade Reading Lab Clinician, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado (2000-2001)
2nd-4th Grade Classroom & Intervention Teacher, Altura Elementary School, Aurora Public Schools, Colorado (1998-2002)
Kindergarten Teacher, Dora Moore School, Denver Public Schools, Colorado (1996-1997)
Research and Teaching Interests
Teacher Thrival, Teacher Reflection, Teacher Dispositions, Teacher Identity, Inclusive Pedagogies, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, Urban Education, Critical Pedagogy, Qualitative Research Methods, Curriculum Theories, Community Based Participatory Action Research
Publications
Books
Valtierra, K.M. (2024). Preparing Early Career Teachers to Thrive: Sustaining Purpose, Navigating Tensions, and Cultivating Self-Care. Teachers College Press.
Whitaker, M. & Valtierra, K.M. (2019). Schooling Multicultural Teachers: A Guide for Program Assessment and Professional Development. United Kingdom: Emerald Points.
Valtierra, K.M. (2016). Teach & Thrive: Wisdom from an Urban Teacher's Career Narrative in Book Series Issues in the Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice of Urban Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Book Review on Taylor & Francis
Articles & Book Chapters
Valtierra, K.M. (2022). Teach and thrive learning circles: Priming early career teachers to flourish. The Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE) Journal, 16, 109-135.
Valtierra, K.M. & Siegel, L.N. (2022). Qualitative coding as a pedagogy for fostering dispositions and reflexivity. The Qualitative Report, 27(1), 257-267.
Siegel, L.N. & Valtierra, K.M. (2022). Disrupting their frame of reference: Teacher candidates in alternative education setting. Teaching Education, 33(4), 387-403.
Valtierra, K.M. & Whitaker, M.C. (2021). Beliefs or classroom context: What matters most to novice urban teachers’ enactment of culturally responsive pedagogy? The Urban Review, 53(3), 857-880.
Valtierra, K.M. & Siegel, L.N. (2019). Qualitative coding as self-reflection: Empowering teacher candidates with the tools of the researcher. Reflective Practice, 21(3), 415-428.
Valtierra, K.M. & Siegal, L.N. (2019). Dispositions for inclusive literacy: Fostering an equitable and empowering education for academically diverse learners. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 8(3), 111-121.
Whitaker, M.C. & Valtierra, K.M. (2018). Enhancing preservice teachers’ motivation to teach diverse learners. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 171-182.
Whitaker, M.C. & Valtierra, K.M. (2018). The development of the dispositions for culturally responsive pedagogy scale. Journal for Multicultural Education, 12(1), 10-24.
Siegel, L.N. & Valtierra, K.M. (2018). Self-coding: A tool for crossing the border from reflective educator to early researcher. In Garbett, D. & A. Owens (Eds.). Pushing Boundaries and Crossing Borders: Self-study as Means for Knowing Pedagogy (pp. 149-156). Herstmonceaux, UK: S-STEP.
Valtierra, K.M. & Michalec, P. (2017). Deep curriculum: Guiding the inner lives of early career teachers. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 19, 19-33.
Siegel, L.N. & Valtierra, K.M. (2017). Expanding dispositions for literacy: General educators as literacy gatekeepers. The Clearing House, 90(3), 93-97.
Valtierra, K.M. (2016). Beyond survival to thrival: Connecting urban teacher narrative to the moral imperative. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 18, 55-69.
Articles & Book Chapters (under review/in progress/under contract)
Valtierra, K.M. & Whitaker, M.C. (2023, in press). Building Faculty Capacity for Antiracist Teaching: Instructional Coaching and the Inclusive Pedagogies Observation Protocol at Colorado College. In Rainville, Title, & Desrochers (Eds.). Faculty Learning Communities Working Towards a More Equitable, Just, and Anti-Racist Future in Higher Education. Information Age Publishing.
Valtierra, K.M. (2023). Relationships over conformity: How ten urban teachers navigated their first three years. (in progress)
Conference Presentations
Valtierra, K.M. (2023). Navigating Structural Disillusionment through Relational Persistence: How Ten Early Career Teachers Remained Committed to Urban Teaching. American Education Research Association (AERA). Chicago, Illinois.
Valtierra, K.M. (2023). The Inclusive Pedagogies Observation Protocol: A Tool for Faculty to Develop Equitable Teaching Practices. American Education Research Association (AERA). Chicago, Illinois.
Valtierra, K.M. (2022). The Novice Urban Teacher Lifecycle: Implications for Retaining First Through Third Year Teachers. International Conference on Urban Education (ICUE). Cancun, Mexico.
Valtierra, K.M. & Coomer, M. N. (2022). The Inclusive Pedagogies Observation Protocol: A Tool for Fostering Anti-Oppressive Classrooms in Higher Education. International Conference on Urban Education (ICUE). Cancun, Mexico.
Valtierra, K.M. (2022). Equipping them to thrive: The role of teacher identity formation in urban teacher preparation. American Education Research Association (AERA). San Diego, California.
Valtierra, K.M. (2022). From disillusionment to empowerment: The evolution of culturally sustaining teachers during their first three years. Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), New Orleans, Louisiana.
Valtierra, K.M. (2022). Teach and thrive learning circles: Mitigating burnout and early career attrition with preservice and novice urban teachers. Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), New Orleans, Louisiana.
Valtierra, K.M. & Siegel, L.S. (2021). Qualitative self-coding for teacher candidate growth and self-reflection. The Qualitative Report Annual Conference, (TQRAC), Virtual Conference.
Leadership
Chair, Colorado College Education Department
Mentoring Alliance Program Early Career Faculty Convenor, Crown Center for Teaching, Colorado College (2022-present)
Inaugural Lead Instructional Coach, Crown Center for Teaching, Colorado College (2021-present)
Associate Chair, Education Department, Colorado College (2019-2022)
Agency Director, Teacher Institute at La Academia, Denver, Colorado (2011-2013)
Principal in Residence, Barnum Elementary, Denver Public Schools, Colorado (2004-2005)
Service to the Profession
ADEI Advisory Board, Highline Academy Charter Schools, Denver, Colorado (2022-present)
Conference Presentation Chair & Discussant, Lives of Teachers Sig, 2022 American Education Research Association (AERA) (2022)
Founding Member, DEI Facilitator, Parents for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (P4DEI), Highline Academy Charter Schools, Denver, Colorado (2019-2022)
Collaborative School Committee, Dora Moore K-8, Denver Public Schools, Colorado (2018-2020)
Colorado Principal Search Committees, Community Representative, Manual High School, Denver Public Schools (2018-2020)
Leadership Team, DEI Facilitator, Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Multicultural Education (2017-present)
Peer Reviewer, Journal of Teacher Education, Teaching & Teacher Education, Journal of Curriculum Studies, The Teacher Educator, Intercultural Education, Multicultural Perspectives, Action in Teacher Education, The Urban Review, Innovation in Language Learning & Teaching (2017-present)
Director & Executive Committee, Highline Academy Charter Schools, Denver, Colorado (2009-2015)
Awards
Colorado College, Collaborative for Community Engagement (CCE) Exemplary Achievement in Community-Engaged Teaching Award (2023)
Hunkins Distinguished Article Award in Curriculum, American Association for Teaching & Curriculum (AATC) for Valtierra, K.M. & Michalec, P. (2017). Deep Curriculum: Guiding the Inner Lives of Early Career Teachers. (2018)
Hunkins Distinguished Article Award in Teaching, American Association for Teaching & Curriculum (AATC) for Valtierra, K.M. (2016). Beyond Survival to Thrival: Connecting Urban Teacher Narrative to the Moral Imperative. (2017)
Aurora Public Schools, Aurora, Colorado Unique Teacher: Excellence in Teaching (2001)
Grants
Colorado Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Recipient for Educator Preparation Reform Projects for Teachers and Leaders of Students with Disabilities ($7,000) Principal Investigator (2023-2024)
Spencer Foundation, Large Grant ($302,500) Finalist for From Preservice to Novice Teaching: Cognitive and Contextual Influences on Early Career Teachers’ Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices (2021)
National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Scholarship Grant Program ($1,190,000) Co-Principal Investigator (2015-2021)
Colorado Department of Education & Colorado Center for Rural Education, Rural Education Recruitment & Retention Grant ($42,000) Co-Principal Investigator (2017-2018)
Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Student Collaborative Research Experience (SCoRE) Grant ($13,000) SEGway Research Grant ($5,700), Social Science Executive Committee Research Grants ($6,200), Deans Curriculum Grants ($12,000), Mellon Humanities for All Times Curriculum Grant ($6,000) Internal Grants Recipient (2015-2020)
Regular Classes
CC106: Critical Inquiry Seminar: Teaching Across Communities
ED101: Introduction to K-12 Classroom Culture
ED131: Youth Organizing and Social Change
ED235: From Multicultural Education to Critical Pedagogy: Civil Rights in US Public Education
ED477: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Disciplinary Literacy Method
ED478/578: Advanced Methods: Inclusive Pedagogies in Literacy, Curriculum & Instruction
ED554: Master's Research
Education
Ph.D., University of Denver, Curriculum Studies & Teaching; Urban Education Leadership
M.A., University of Northern Colorado, Elementary Reading
B.A. (honors), Metropolitan State College of Denver, Sociology
Licenses / Certifications
K-12 Colorado Principal Certification, University of Denver
K-6 Colorado Reading Teacher Certification, University of Northern Colorado
K-6 Colorado Teaching Certification, Metropolitan State University of Denver
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