Texas A&M University - Commerce- Margie Garcia-Steiner M.Ed.

Kevin and I in front of the Brooklyn Bridge

Margie Garcia M.Ed.
Interim Clinical Instructor, Faculty Advisor, and University Liaison
Department of Curriculum & Instruction

Texas A&M University-Commerce
PO Box 3011
Commerce, TX 75429-3011

Margie.Garcia@tamuc.edu
Phone: (903) 468-6066

About Me

I didn’t start out being a teacher, but actually worked in the business world for several years at Texas Instruments after graduating from college in 1983. I was making a good living, but I didn't enjoy going to work everyday. I knew something had to change.

Holding a Burmese python in NYC

After getting married, I was blessed with two sons, Brian and Kevin. They have been the joy of my life and I truly enjoyed my years as a stay-at-home mom. It was during this time that I began volunteering at the boys’ schools as a room mother and that ignited a spark in me and I fell in love with the idea of becoming a teacher. I returned back to school to get my teaching certificate after finding myself as a single mother. I wanted to instill the importance of education and hard work in my sons and I completed my certification courses at the University of North Texas in 1995.

Today, Brian and Kevin are 25 and 23 and recent college graduates. They are both Aggies and graduated from Texas A&M University last year—Brian in May and Kevin in December. Brian is a Mechanical Engineer and works at Raytheon in McKinney. Kevin majored in Computer Science and also works for Raytheon in Boston, Massachusetts. They continue to make me proud and we enjoy spending time together!

I am currently working on my doctorate and plan to graduate in May 2010. While I miss the classroom, I love teaching undergraduate courses at Texas A&M University-Commerce. I believe that I can have a positive impact on many more children by working with their future teachers. I also supervise student teachers in several different districts and I love the excitement these new teachers bring to the classroom! I love the variety that teaching brings and I cannot imagine doing anything else!

In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, scrapbooking, reading, watching sports, and going to Mavs games. I love the beach and would like to learn to scuba dive someday.

Education

Doctoral Candidate-ABD	Texas A&M University-Commerce
M.Ed-Elementary Education	Texas A&M University-Commerce	Aug 2005
Teacher Certification Program	University of North Texas	May 1995
B.S. in Human Relations and Business	Abilene Christian University-Dallas	May 1983

Teaching

BLED 401- Foundations of Bilingual/ESL
RDG 450- Building a Community of Readers
MLED 403-Organization, Motivation, and Management in Middle Level
ELED 452- Student Teaching in Field-Based Teacher Education Programs
ELED 200-Schools and Society
ELED 452-Student Teaching Field Based
RDG 350-Reading & Literacy I
RDG 360- Word Analysis Skills
RDG 370-Reading & Literacy II
RDG 380-Comprehension and Vocabulary

Research Interests

Reading and Literacy
Effective Instruction for Second-Language Learners
Authentic Literacy Assessment
Preservice Teachers
Reading-Comprehension Strategies
Best Practices

Publications

Garcia, M. & Whalen, K. L. (2009). The Strategy Debate: How Teacher Educators and Textbooks May Contribute to Confusing Terminology. In M. B. Sampson, F. Falk-Ross, M. Foote & S. Szabo (Eds.), College Reading Association Yearbook (Vol. 30). Commerce, TX: Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Research in Progress

Garcia, M. (Dissertation in progress). Comprehension Instruction for Elementary and English-Language Learners: A Content Analysis of Professional Literacy Texts

Professional Presentations

Garcia, M. (2008, November), Reading Comprehension Instruction for Elementary and English-Language Learners: A Content Analysis of Professional Literacy Texts. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Sarasota, Florida.
Garcia, M., & Whalen, K. (2007, November). The Strategy Debate: A Content Analysis of Two Undergraduate Reading Texts. Paper presented at the meeting of College Reading Association, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jasper, W. A., Garcia, M., & Cheatham, J. P. (2007, July). Helping ELLs Learn Mathematics Vocabulary in Context. Paper presented at the meeting of Mathematics for English-Language Learners, San Marcos, Texas.
Garcia, M., & Cheatham, J. P. (2007, January). Teaching Teachers: How to Conduct Effective Staff Development. Paper presented at the meeting of the Hawaii International Conference of Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Garcia, M. (2006, May). Get Real! Engaging Students with Authentic Literacy Activities. Paper presented at the Bill Martin Jr. Symposium, Commerce, Texas.
Garcia, M. (2006, November). Counting on Math with Children's Literature. Paper presented at the Rio Grande Valley Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Edinburg, Texas.
Garcia, M. (2006, November). Get Real! Engaging Students with Authentic Literacy Activities. Paper presented at the College Reading Association, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Garcia, M. (2006, November). Get Real! Engaging Students with Authentic Literacy Activities. Paper presented at the Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading, Denton, Texas.
Garcia, M. (2002, June). Higher Order Thinking Skills for the LEP Student. Paper presented at the Bilingual/ESL Summer Institute for Region 10, Plano, Texas.

Current Professional Service

Mane Event-Spring 2009
Reviewed Manuscript Proposals for the CRA Yearbook-Spring 2008 and 2009
Worked as a Co-Editorial Assistant for the College Reading Association (CRA)Yearbook August 2007-June 2008
Reviewed CRA proposals-February/March 2006, March 2007 & March 2008
Reviewed Oral Histories for CRA-2007

Texas Certifications

Elementary PK-6th grade
ESL PK-12th grade
Secondary English 6-12 grade

Teaching Experience

Ad Interim Clinical Instructor- Texas A&M University-Commerce (August 2007-present)
University Liaison for Allen ISD, Commerce ISD, Dallas ISD, Mesquite ISD, Plano ISD,and Rockwall ISD (August 2007-present)
Graduate Assistant-Texas A&M University-Commerce Department of Curriculum & Instruction (June 2006-August 2007)
Reading First Coach- Dallas Independent School District (October 2005-May 2006)
Elementary ESL Teacher- Dallas Independent School District (July 2004- May 2005)
Elementary ESL Teacher/ESL District Coordinator-Caddo Mills Independent School District (August 1999-June 2004)
Secondary English Teacher- Caddo Mills Independent School District (November 1998-May 1999)
Bilingual Kindergarten teacher-Dallas Independent School District (July 1995-June 1996)

Awards and Recognition

Selected as the 2008 Outstanding Doctoral Student for the Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Recipient of the 2008 Jerry and Marilyn Morris Distinguished Doctoral Student Scholarship

Professional Affiliations

Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) formerly College Reading Association (CRA)
National Reading Conference (NRC)
Southwest Educational Research Association (SERA)