UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Angelique Aitken, assistant professor of education, comes to Penn State’s College of Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she was an assistant research professor. Prior to that, she was an IES research fellow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
During her professional career, Aitken has served as associate general counsel for Washington D.C. Public Schools, behavior interventionist and a special education teacher.
Aitken said she thoroughly enjoys teaching, no matter what age her students may be, and wants those who will be future educators to feel the same way.
“In crafting and carrying out my lessons, discussions and assessments, I continually ask myself ‘What is the pedagogical purpose?’” Aitken said. “Pedagogical purposes include taking actions and planning activities to foster a classroom culture conducive to learning, having students engage in learning activities to help them not only understand the course content but also fill their ‘teacher toolboxes’ and creating experiences to foster student success skills to support their general college experience successes in our classroom and beyond.
“I want them to take away that teaching and learning are fun,” she added.
Aitken obtained her doctorate in learning, literacies and technologies, with an emphasis in special education, at Arizona State University. She also has a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a juris doctorate from the University of California Hastings, College of the Law.
Aitken’s research surrounds literacy interventions for developing readers and writers with high-incidence disabilities and the teachers who support them. To date, her research has centered on literacy instruction, literacy motivation and special education.
“Studying with Dr. Steve Graham in my masters and doctoral programs, I saw firsthand how self-regulation strategy development (SRSD) impacted students’ writing quality and writing self-efficacy,” she said. “This was reflected in the data and also anecdotally. Kids were thrilled to have the tools to express their ideas and beliefs.”
At Penn State, Aitken will continue to focus on reading research, particularly interventions that incorporate writing as a tool for learning.
“My primary research objective is to develop an effective and fun reading and writing instructional framework, with an anti-racist approach, for elementary students in inclusive social studies classrooms,” Aitken said. “POWER SRSD, a next step in the SRSD framework, will allow teachers and students to analyze social studies and historical texts using the POWER strategy where they consider power differentials, impact on multiple stakeholder groups, equity and how historical events are relevant to their lives today.
“To realize this project in a meaningful way, I will need to continue to expand upon my personal beliefs around equity into that of an anti-racist educator and researcher,” she continued. “With the shared vision of the college and like-minded individuals, Penn State is a place where these personal and professional goals are not only possible, but celebrated.”
Aitken also is excited about the college’s stated mission to foster meaningful change in education.
“Every person I’ve met at Penn State reflected an authenticity and commitment to anti-racism,” she said. “I applied to Penn State because of the college’s strategic vision, but I chose Penn State because I saw that this wasn’t a mere policy on a website but a college dedicated to meaningful change.”