Michelle Vaughan-McGovern, Ed.D.
Interim Co-Chair and Professor
College of Education
Curriculum and Instruction
Boca Raton Campus | ED 47 - 345
Michelle Vaughan-McGovern is an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She teaches courses in curriculum design, action research, and global education. Her scholarship explores teacher growth and change through action research, living educational theory methodology, and the integration of technology into practice. She serves as the graduate program coordinator and oversees top-ranked online graduate programs in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Additionally, she serves as the co-chair of the Teacher Inquiry strand of the Florida Educational Research Association annual conference as well as the Associate Editor of the Teacher Inquiry section of the Florida Journal for Educational Research. Her most recent scholarship explores the outcomes of the Comprehensive Educator Research Program, a collaboration with AD Henderson University School/FAU High where she serves as the Principal Investigator and Supervisor of K-12 Educator Research Practices.
Education
- Doctor of Education, Florida Atlantic University, 2009
- Major: Curriculum and Instruction
Area of Specialization: Literacy
Dissertation: The relationship between professional development and the changing reading practices of teachers in low-performing elementary schools. - Master of Education, University of Florida, 2004
- Major: Elementary Education
Area of Specialization: Children’s Literature - Bachelor of Education, University of Florida, 2002
- Major: Elementary Education
Area of Specialization: Children’s Literature -
Community Engagement - Research
Comprehensive Educators Research Program
Funded through the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program Grant, Michelle Vaughan-McGovern has partnered with A.D. Henderson and FAU High School to develop the Comprehensive Educators Research Program, a multi-tiered initiative that intentionally builds the research capacity of educators, leadership, and counselors throughout the school using action research within their own practice. Publications connected to this initiative include:
- Vaughan, M., Meredith, T., Timar, A., Mariani, M., & and Calabrese, E. (2023). Building the Comprehensive Educator Research Program: Action Research as a Vehicle for Empowerment, Growth, and Professionalization in K12 schools. Educational Action Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2023.2209602
- Pavek, C & Vaughan, M. (2023). Digital Reading Check-ins: Supporting independent digital reading. The Reading Teacher. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2179
- Vaughan, M., Cavallaro, C., Baker, J., Celesti, C., Clevenger, C., Darling, H., Kasten, R., Laing, M., Marbach, R., Timar, A., & Wilder, K. (2019). Positioning teachers as researchers: Lessons in empowerment, change, and growth. Florida Educational Research Association Journal, 57(2), 133-139.
See clip of “The path to change ‘Professional Development for Educators’ to ‘Developing Professional Educators’” podcast here:
Exceptional Educators Program
Michelle Vaughan-McGovern is the co-founder of the Exceptional Educators program and a professional development partner of the Gold Coast Down Syndrome organization since 2014. As a prior member of their executive and advisory board, she trains classroom teachers in curriculum inclusion practices at the start of each school year. Publications connected to this initiative include:
- Vaughan, M. & Henderson, A. (2016). Exceptional educators: A collaborative training partnership for the inclusion of students with Down Syndrome. Support for Learning, 31(1), 46-58. doi: 10.1111/1467-9604.12113
Teaching
Faculty Lounge Live: Photovoice as an Authentic Form of Assessment
Photovoice as an Authentic Form of Assessment - Faculty Lounge Live with Dr. Michelle Vaughan
Undergraduate Courses Taught
- EDF 2005: Introduction to the Teaching Profession
- LAE 4353: Language Arts and Literature: Birth through Grade 8
- EDG 3323: Effective Teaching Practices 1
Graduate Courses Taught
- EDF 6918: Action Research in Schools and Communities
- EDG 7251: Curriculum Implementation for School Improvement
- EDF 7758: Trends in Analyzing Instructional Practices
- EDG 6224: US Curricular Trends and Issues
- EDG 6931: Advanced Teacher Research
- EDF 6800: Foundations of Global Education
- EDG 6253: Design Components of Curriculum
Select Publications
- Voices of Reform, 6(2) – Co-edited special issue on teacher research at Florida Atlantic University.
- Vaughan, M. & Uribe, S. (2024). Reexamining our Feedback Model: Strategies for Enhancing Student Learning and Cultivating Feedback Literacy through Formative Assessments. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2024.2323468
- Vaughan, M., Meredith, T., Timar, A., Mariani, M., & and Calabrese, E. (2023). Building the Comprehensive Educator Research Program: Action Research as a Vehicle for Empowerment, Growth, and Professionalization in K12 schools. Educational Action Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2023.2209602
- Vaughan, M. (2023). Investing in Connection: Exploring the Online Graduate Student Experience. Journal of Practitioner Research, 8(1). https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jpr/vol8/iss1/3
- Pavek, C & Vaughan, M. (2023). Digital Reading Check-ins: Supporting independent digital reading. The Reading Teacher. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2179**
- Alford, N., Vaughan, M., & Saltzman, K. (2022). Online Course Lead-in: Reimagining the First Weeks of School. Journal of Educators Online, 19(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.9743/jeo.2022.19.2.1*
- Vaughan, M. & Mertler, C. (2020). Re-Orienting Our Thinking Away from “Professional Development for Educators” and Toward the “Development of Professional Educators.” Journal of School Leadership, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052684620969926
- Vaughan, M. & Delong, J. (2019). Cultures of Inquiry: A transformative method of creating Living-theories. Educational Journal of Living Theories, 12(2), 65-88.
- Vaughan. M., Boerum, C., & Whitehead, L. (2019). Action research in doctoral coursework: Perceptions of independent research experiences. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(1), 1-8. https://doi:10.20429/ ijsotl.2019.130106
- Uribe, S. & Vaughan, M. (2017). Facilitating student learning in distance education: A case study on the implementation of a multi-faceted feedback system. Distance Education, 38(3), 288-301. doi: 10.1080/01587919.2017.1369005
- Vaughan, M. & Beers, C. (2016). Using an exploratory professional development initiative to introduce iPads in the early childhood education classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(3), 321-331. doi: 10.1007/s10643-016-0772-3*
- Vaughan, M. & Burnaford, G. (2015). Action research in graduate teacher education: A review of the literature 2000-2015. Educational Action Research, 24(2), 280-299. doi:10.1080/09650792.2015.1062408
- Vaughan, M. (2014). Flipping the learning: An investigation into the use of the flipped classroom model in an introductory teaching course. Education Research and Perspectives, 41(1), 25-41.
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Honors and Awards
- Scholar of the Year at the Associate Professor level in College of Education, FAU (2023)
- Florida Journal of Educational Research (FJER) Reviewer of the Year (2019)
- Excellence in eLearning Distinguished Achievement Award (2019), awarded by the Center for eLearning at Florida Atlantic University.
- Innovation in Higher Education Award (2017), awarded by Florida Distance Learning Association
- Excellence in eLearning Faculty Award (2016), awarded by the Center for eLearning at Florida Atlantic University.
eLearning Excellence Award
Research Interests
Scholarship explores teacher growth and change through action research, living educational theory methodology, and the integration of technology into practice.
Research Interest Keywords
Teacher Research, Technology, Action Research, Values-based Research
Research Methods Keywords
Action Research, Qualitative Methods