EDUCATION
| Ph.D. | Curriculum and Instruction: Elementary Education; Cognate: Social Science | University of South Florida |
| M.S. | Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) | Nova Southeastern University |
| B.S. | Elementary Education (Grades 1-6) | University of South Florida |
Graduate Certificates
| Qualitative Research | University of South Florida |
AWARDS AND HONORS
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2023 | University of North Texas at Dallas Service Award |
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Elementary Social Studies
Preservice Teacher Education
Arts-Based Research
Place-Based Education
CURRENT RESEARCH AND GRANT PROJECTS
- Grant
- Project
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Arts-based research
Preservice teacher education
Underrepresented populations in clinically based teacher education settings
Subtopics include: issues of equity, cultural studies, global citizenship, student and teacher identity, reflective practice, teacher inquiry, and art integration
HIGHLIGHTED PUBLICATIONS
Publications:
- Wilson, A. & Banks, C.K. (2024). Amplifying untold stories: Utilizing student-created podcasts to disrupt spaces of silence in an elementary social studies methods course. In S. Stone (Ed.), Dismantling spaces of silence (pp.#-#). Information Age Publishing.
- Smith, M.G., Schlaack, N, Banks, C. K., Padua, J.F.M., Sansonas, S. (2022). Culturally responsive pedagogy in a Hawaiʻi PDS: Preparing teacher candidates to work with students from Micronesia [Special issue]. School-University Partnerships,15(2) 88-96.
- Banks, C.K. & Hendrith, S. (2021). Using current events to develop civic- mindedness in the social studies classroom. In Context, 4(1), 1-4.
- Hendrith, S., Banks, C.K., Holland, A. (2020). Preservice teacher perceptions of transition to an electronic portfolio as a substitution for practicum experience. In R.E. Ferdig, E. Baumgartner, R. Hartshorne, R. Kaplan-Rakowski, & C. Mouza (Eds), Teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from the field. (pp. 313-318). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/.
- Banks, C.K. (2019). The earthquake and the aftershock: An autoethnography. In G. Samuels & A. Samuels (Eds.), Democracy at a crossroads: Reconceptualizing socio- political issues in schools and society (pp. 159-172). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing
- Banks, C.K. (2017). Insights from India: Learning about culture through photos and journal writing. In R.A. Diem & M.J. Berson (Eds.), Mending walls: Historical, socio-political, economic, and geographical perspectives (pp. 177 – 187). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Conference Presentations:
- Gonzalez-Smith, M., Banks, C.K. (2024, March). Collaborative inquiry and culturally responsive pedagogy for Native Hawaiians and/or other Pacific Islanders: A Spencer Foundation grant project. Presentation at the Association of Teacher Educators Conference, Anaheim, California.
- Banks, C.K. (2023, March). Using cajita and contemplative pedagogy with multilingual teacher candidates: A cross cultural comparison of teacher candidate identity. Presentation at the Association of Teacher Educators Conference, Jacksonville, Florida.
- Banks, C. K. (2022, June). Lost stories: Deconstructing the data analysis process of visual arts and found poetry. Presentation at the Social Science Education Consortium Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
- Banks, C. K. (2019, November). Roma girls expressing identity, aspirations, and voice through participatory arts-based research. Presentation at the National Council for the Social Studies Conference, Austin, Texas.
- Banks, C.K. (2019, November). Democracy at a crossroads: Reconceptualizing socio-political issues in schools and society. Book session at the College and University Faculty Assembly, Austin, Texas.
- Banks, C. K. (2018, June). The earthquake and the aftershock: An autoethnography. Presentation at the Social Science Education Consortium Conference, Florence, Italy.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS / ACTIVITIES
- Association of Teacher Educators
- National Council for the Social Studies
- Social Science Education Consortium
- Kappa Delta Pi, International Honors Society
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Crista Banks is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Social Science. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and a M.S. in Teaching English as a Second Language. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Florida. She teaches undergraduate courses on elementary social science methods. Her research interests include cultural studies, global citizenship, preservice teacher identity, reflective practice, teacher inquiry, and art integration.
Dr. Banks’ goal as an educator is to empower and prepare students to become effective teachers in their own classrooms. Dr. Banks implements collaborative learning opportunities, student choice, and art integration in her courses. She also focuses on teaching with an inquiry stance to encourage exploration, spark curiosity, deepen investigations, and promote the application of new methods and techniques.