Dr. Rebecca Blankenship's Bio
Dr. Rebecca J. Blankenship is an Associate Professor and Director of TESOL programs in the Elementary Education Department at Florida A&M University’s College of Education. Dr. Blankenship has over 16 years of public school teaching experience in both the states of Tennessee and Florida. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida in Second Language Acquisition and Instructional Technology (SLA/IT). Dr. Blankenship’s research interests include the development of virtual training environments for pre-service teachers, the digital agency and literacy development of pre-service teachers and university faculty, and the effects of politics and social media on the teaching profession. She has committed herself through her university teaching, supervision of interns, and faculty service to provide the most salient experiences for pre-service teacher educators, particularly those representing marginalized populations, to ensure they are well prepared to enter the teaching profession. Her research, publications, and service are focused on the ongoing evolution of the TPACK construct to explain teacher digital agency and instructional effectiveness. Her list of accomplishments and publications in addition to her university, state, national, and international service demonstrate her ongoing commitment to the preparation of this country’s future minority teaching corps.