Cole Reilly

Biography

Dr. Cole Reilly is an associate professor of education who truly loves to teach and learn. From Millersville University, he earned a pair of bachelor’s degrees (elementary education and special education) and later completed a dual-master’s program at MU as well (in educational leadership and curriculum & instruction). Eventually he went on to earn a dual-title PhD from Penn State University in the fields of both curriculum & instruction and women’s studies.

An award-winning educator, Dr. Reilly cut his teeth as a teacher in a plethora of contrasting venues early on in his career, beginning in the 1990s. The settings he has worked in have run the gamut, from impoverished, inner-city elementary and middle schools to some extremely wealthy, suburban and rural ones. His students have ranged from a class full of ELLs in the form of kindhearted kindergarteners at a year-round migrant school to the young adults [labeled as “troubled teens” and “juvenile delinquents”] he taught at a specialty high school for students with severe emotional and/or behavioral disorders. He has also appreciated opportunities to work with students who have a broad range of exceptionalities, from running a school-wide enrichment program for talented and gifted students to providing tiered levels of inclusive and/or itinerant support to students with cognitive and/or physical disabilities. Since coming to Towson University, Dr. Reilly often teaches social studies methods courses and seminars to senior elementary education majors in addition to supervising preservice teachers throughout their yearlong internships in Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships. He also routinely teaches a curriculum course in social justice, diversity, and multiculturalism for masters and doctoral students at TU.

As has been the case with much of his work, Dr. Reilly’s interests represent a braiding of seemingly contrasting realms of thought. His research and scholarly work often draws upon the practitioner world of teacher preparation and professional development, focusing upon reflective growth among teachers, self-study, inquiry, social studies methods, and teacher identity development, as well as service learning, curricular (re)design, pedagogical discourse(s), school climate, and pop-culture. He likes to conduct empirical research that focuses upon matters of social constructivist meaning making around notions of gender(ing), sexuality, race, and class, as well as other matters of identity, equity, perspective, and socially just praxis in K-12 classrooms. Dr. Reilly is equally passionate about employing innovative technologies with his teaching as he is in the ways he collects, analyzes, and interprets sets of data (e.g., via Studiocode).

 

Publications

Reilly, C. (slated for Fall 2015). An encouraging evolution among the Disney princesses?: A critical feminist analysis. In J. A. Sandlin & J. G. Maudlin (Eds.), Teaching with Disney (pp. ##-## -- Chapter 2). Arizona State University, AZ: Taylor & Francis.

McDermott, M. & Reilly, C. (2015). Acedia, aesthetics and education. Canadian Review of Art Education/Revue Canadienne D’ Éducation Artistique. 42(1), 96-111.

Reilly, C. (2013, October 10). Book Review [Review of the book Clinical Teacher Education: Reflection from an urban professional development network]. Teacher College Record. Retrieved from 

Reilly, C. (2013). Ira Shor: Shoring up pedagogy, politics, and possibilities for educational empowerment. In J. D. Kirylo (Ed.), A Critical Pedagogy of Resistance: 34 Pedagogues We Need to Know. (pp. 113-116). Rodderdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Reilly, C. & Murad, Z. (2012). Browning beyond debate: Mapping an excursion through power, privilege and praxis. In B. Sams, J. Job, & J. C. Jupp (Eds.), Excursions and Recursions through Power, Privilege, and Praxis. (pp. 9-25). New York, NY: Information Age Publishing.                  

Reilly, C., Russell, V. Chehayl, L. K., & McDermott , M. (Eds.). (2011). Surveying borders, boundaries, and contested spaces in curriculum and pedagogy. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Reilly, C. (2011). Introduction: Putting it together. In C. Reilly, V. Russell, L. K. Chehayl, & M. McDermott (Eds.), Surveying borders, boundaries, and contested spaces in curriculum and pedagogy. (pp.xxix-xxxix). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Reilly, C. (2011). Section B: Transcending the confines of inside(r) and outside)r(. In C. Reilly, V.Russell, L. K. Chehayl, & M. McDermott (Eds.), Surveying borders, boundaries, and contested spaces in curriculum and pedagogy. (pp.57-63). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Reilly, C. (2011). “To what extent am I part of the problem?” Strategizing identity politics while instructing a multicultural teacher education course. In C. Reilly, V. Russell, L. K. Chehayl, & M. McDermott (Eds.), Surveying borders, boundaries, and contested spaces in curriculum and pedagogy. (pp.123-139). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.                 

Smith, N. J., Wright, T., Reilly, C., & Esposito, J. (2008). A National Study of LGBT Educators' Perceptions of Their Workplace Climate. New York, NY: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED501252)         

Reilly, C. (March, 2008). Looking deeper into classroom simulations. National Holmes Scholars Newsletter, [Invited Author] p. 8-9.

Reilly, C. (2007). Making the invisible visible: Negotiating (in)visibility and transparency for  LGBT issues in education [Review of five different books: I could not speak my heart, Disputing the subject of sex, Sexual orientation and school policy, Fit to teach, and One teacher in 10]. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education, 4(3) 121-130.

Recent Grants & Honors

TU Diversity Taskforce Finalist, Towson University
Dept. Nominee, President’s Diversity Award
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

TU Office of Academic Innovation Finalist, Towson University
Dept. Nominee, Innovation in Teaching Award
2014, 2015

Frances Merrick Research Award, Towson University
“Listening in on Classroom Discussions and Read-Alouds: A Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Gender (De-/Re-) Construction in the Elementary Classroom”
$2000 Awarded
2013-2014

Supporting Early Career Teachers to Improve Student Engagement and Achievement
(with Dr. Ray Lorion + several colleagues from JHU & UVA ) 
(Federal) Institute of Education Sciences  
2013
Seeking to secure funding for a multi-year study related to behavior management

Towson University’s Service-Learning Grant (with Dr. Ellen Ballock)
Department of Civic Engagement
2012
Funding for three school buses to transport Title I students to TU & back for a fifth grade field trip
$975 Awarded

Towson University’s Service-Learning Grant (with Dr. Ellen Ballock)
Department of Civic Engagement
2011
Funding for three school buses to transport SSES students to TU & back for a fifth grade field trip
$1050 Awarded

The Curriculum & Pedagogy (C&P) Group
C&P’s 2010 Outstanding Dissertation Award
“Re-Reading Read-Alouds: Reading into Gendered Discourses & Pedagogy in Action”
$250 Awarded

Towson University’s New Faculty Incentive Award
Provost Office/College of Education /Department of Elementary Education
2009
$5190 Awarded