College of Education

Education

• Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction: University of Illinois @Urbana-Champaign
• M.Ed., Educational Organizational Leadership: University of Illinois @Urbana-Champaign
• A.B. Teaching of English at the Secondary Level: University of Illinois @Urbana-Champaign

Biography

Dr. Wendy Burke is a Professor and Department Head for the Department of Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Dr. Burke has partnered with a variety of organizations, districts, and community groups in support of advancing meaningful, engaged student and teacher learning.  Such partnerships have included a 21st Century Learning Community granted-funded afterschool program known as EMU Bright Futures, the Institute for Responsive Mathematics, the Hope Street Education Group, and the Committee for Children. Dr. Burke was the Director of Student Teaching at EMU in 2014-2018. 

She serves on the Executive Board of Learning Forward Michigan, a statewide professional organization committed to standards-driven professional learning.  She is a co-founder of the Michigan Alliance for Social Emotional Learning, a statewide partnership among faculty, district leaders, educators, and community partners. Dr. Burke has also served as the program chair for AERA’s SIG School, University, and School Collaborative Research for two separate terms in 2012-2015 and more recently in 2017-2020.  During the 2017-2018 academic year, Dr. Burke was appointed as the John W. Porter Endowed Chair to lead the implementation of a Secondary Place-Based Education program at Eastern Michigan University.  She was a co-founder of the Adaptive Leadership Network that supported the leadership development for over 200 educators in local districts in 2012-2018.  

Currently, she is leading Secondary Redesign Workgroup and the steering committee for Place and Community Based teacher preparation which situates teacher learning and development in communities of practice within urban districts. She is also a co-leader of  a  collaborative regional partnership to create a transformative math teacher education program that aims to recruit, graduate, and retain a more diverse group of highly effective mathematics educators for middle and high schools. 

Interests and Expertise

Research Interests

• Professional learning
• Teacher development and preparation
• School, university, and community partnerships
• Leadership development
• School reform
• Systems change

Courses

• CURR 305/PRCT 305: Secondary Curriculum Methods and Secondary Practicum
• EDST 814: Teacher Development

Publications and Presentations

Selected Publications

• Burke, W., Marx, G.E. & Lowenstein, E. (2012). Leading, Leadership, and Learning: Exploring New Contexts for Leadership Development in Emerging School Environments. Planning & Changing.
• Burke, W., Marx, G. & Berry, J. (2011). Maintaining, Reframing, and Disrupting Traditional Expectations and Outcomes for Professional Development with Critical Friends Groups. The Teacher Educator. 46 (1) 32-52.
• Cowell, R., Osta, D., Olwell, R., & Burke, W. (2009). Preservice Teachers Prompt New Conversations about Field Experiences. In S. Abler (Ed.). Voices in Teacher Education. Published by The Michigan Association of Teacher Educators. New Lenox, IL: High Tide Press.
• Burke, W., Cowell, R., Olwell, R., & Osta, D. (2008). Preservice Teachers Leading the Way for Improving Field Experiences by Cultivating Their Voice and Agency. Author: The Association of Teacher Education Yearbook XVI, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
• Burke, C. J.F. & Burke, W. (2007). Problematizing the Role of Expert Within School-University Partnerships. The Teacher Educator43 (3), 264-288.

Selected Presentations

• Advancing Equity through SEL. Invited expert for panel with Paul Gorski, Equity Literacy Institute and Lori Piowlski, National Louis University. American Association of Council on Teacher Education, February 26, 2021.
• Congressional briefing on Teacher Preparation and SEL Invited expert for panel sponsored by the Collaborative on Academic, Social and Emotional Learning and Committee for Children. Washington, D.C. February 27, 2019.
• The Future of Teacher Preparation: A Conversation with Educators and Other Experts. The Center for American Progress. Sponsored by the Hope Street Group. Washington, D.C., April 11, 2017.
• Beyond PD: Teacher Professional Learning in High Performing Systems. Presented executive summary to school and district leaders at AdvancED Fall 2016 Conference on behalf of Learning Forward Michigan. October 20-21, 2016.
• Burke, W., Marx, G. E., Lowenstein, E. (2015). Learning Our Way Forward through an Adaptive Leadership Network. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Chicago, IL. April 8-12, 2015.
• Burke, W., Marx, G. E., Lowenstein, E. (2014). Leading for Learning Through an Adaptive Leadership Network. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Philadelphia, PA. April 1-5, 2014.
• Burke, W., Marx, G. & Lowenstein, E. (2013). Leading for Learning Through an Adaptive Leadership Network. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Philadelphia, PA. April 5-8, 2013.