James Muchmore
Ph.D. Specialty Area: Reading
and Literacy
in the Dept of Educational
Studies
Present Position: I am an Assistant Professor of Education at Western Michigan University
Dissertation Topic: I was interested in teachers’ beliefs and practices. I was also interested in life history, ethnographic, and narrative methods of inquiry in understanding teacher thinking.
Prior to coming to the SOE: I was a sixth grade language arts and social studies teacher in Southwest Ohio. I also coached high school track and cross country.
What I Learned in the Program: I gained a lot of confidence through my years at U-M. Working with professors on a variety of research projects, writing papers, and presenting at conferences were all valuable experiences which helped me to establish a personal identity as a scholar. To me, these kinds of experiences were just as valuable as my coursework—with the entire atmosphere at U-M being extremely conducive to my intellectual growth. I also appreciated having mentors who treated me more as a colleague than a student, which enabled me to make a relatively smooth transition to my current job as a university professor.
