Dr. Amber K. Howard

Biography

Dr. Amber K. Howard is an assistant professor of elementary education in the School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences at Missouri State University. Her research interests include equity-centered teacher education, equity-centered trauma-informed education, secondary trauma experienced by teachers and humanizing teaching practices. Specifically, her current research explores how K-12 teachers experience secondary or vicarious trauma due to the trauma their students share with them. She is a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer and regularly facilitates sessions for future teachers to support student and educator well-being. She teaches courses in the elementary education undergraduate and graduate programs at Missouri State. Access Dr. Howard's current CV.

Details

Education

• BSED Elementary Education, Missouri State University
• MSED Literacy, Missouri State University
• EDD Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Missouri

Teaching

• ELE 410: Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Classroom
• ELE 425: Methods of Teaching Communication Arts in the Elementary Classroom
• ELE 500: Current Issues and Applications in Elementary Education
• ELE 501: Home, School, and Community Relationships
• ELE 510: The Reflective Practitioner
• ELE 530: Teaching Multilingual Learners in the Elementary Classroom
• ELE 720: Advanced Theory and Practice in Student Assessment and Evaluation
• ELE 771: Proposal Development
• ELE 772: Seminar in Education
• EEM 796/ELE 723: Social Emotional Learning

Professional experience

Affiliations:

• Relation Centered Education Network - member (2023-present)
• American Reading Forum - member (2023-present)
• Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education - member (2023-present)
• Association of Teacher Educators - member (2022-present)
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development - member (2022-present)

Research and professional interests

• Justice, wellness and community as it relates to:
  - Social emotional learning
  - Equity-centered trauma informed education practices
  - Culturally responsive teaching practices
  - Asset based perspectives on education
  - Equity in assessment
  - Secondary trauma
  - Educator wellness
  - Competency-based learning and alternative forms of assessment
  - Equity-centered teaching

Awards and honors

• Excellence in Teaching Award, Missouri State University Foundation, 2025
• Excellence in Teaching Award, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, Missouri State University, 2023

Areas of Expertise

Media Appearances