By: Cassidy Delamarter, USF College of Education
A history lesson can change how a student sees the world. A policy can change how a teacher approaches that lesson. This tension between what educators want their students to learn and the realities shaping classroom instruction sits at the center of research that is underway by Assistant Professors Clarence Walker and Yiting Chu in the 最新天美传媒鈥檚 College of Education, thanks to support from the David C. Anchin Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
Through the 2026-2027 Scholar in Residence Program, the Anchin Center is providing Walker and Chu a semester-long course release to focus on their research. The competitive program, initially started in 2018 under the leadership of Emeritus Professor Connie Hines, is designed to advance research with meaningful impact in schools and communities. The goal is to inspire high-impact research findings and open doors for external funding for the researchers.
Each scholar will also share their work with the broader community through the Anchin Center鈥檚 Faculty Speaker Series and lead a professional learning workshop or webinar for practicing teachers and school leaders. These opportunities connect faculty research to the realities of K-12 classrooms, reflecting the Center鈥檚 commitment to translating theory into practice.
鈥淭his program reflects the Center鈥檚 broader commitment to strengthening research-practice partnerships and creating pathways for faculty scholarship to generate tangible impact for educators, schools and communities,鈥 said Rachel Hatten, director of the Anchin Center.
Walker will dedicate the Fall semester to expanding his research on social studies teacher preparation, with a particular focus on the use of visual art to make overlooked histories visible. One of his areas of focus is on strengthening the teaching and learning of Black histories through visual art and community-engaged research.
Clarence Walker
鈥淭he Scholar-in-Residence Program will enable me to conduct research that strengthens teachers鈥 instructional practices and pedagogical knowledge, ultimately enhancing secondary social studies classrooms and, by extension, society,鈥 Walker said.
For Walker, the importance of his work is deeply connected to the power teachers have to shape how students understand history and their place within it. His inspiration came from the story of Claudette Colvin, the 15-year-old Black student whose refusal to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus in 1955 came after she and her classmates had just learned about Black history and constitutional rights in school.
鈥淐olvin鈥檚 act of civil disobedience demonstrates the power of education and why I believe the field of education is the most important discipline any college or university can have on its campus,鈥 Walker said.
His research seeks to build on that understanding of education's broader societal impact by supporting teachers with stronger instructional practices and pedagogical knowledge.
Chu, who will begin his residency in Spring 2027, will examine how teachers and school leaders in Florida public schools experience and navigate recent education policies and laws.
Because Florida is one of the first states to pass laws like House Bill 7, known as the Individual Freedom Act, research-based support for teachers to navigate the new laws is scarce. Chu plans to work with the Anchin Center and district partners to translate his findings into practical resources and guidance for educators, while collaboratively developing a professional learning framework focused on political literacy, policy interpretation, pedagogical decision-making and ethical professional judgment.
Yiting Chu
鈥淲hile existing research has documented the confusion and uncertainty caused by the laws, there are limited research-informed, practitioner-centered strategies and resources to support educators navigating unclear policy environments while sustaining meaningful learning opportunities for all students,鈥 Chu said.
Chu says the work is particularly timely as Florida continues to attract national attention for the scope of education-related legislation governing what and how educators teach.
Learn more about the David C. Anchin Center and explore professional learning opportunities
Explore more research that鈥檚 underway at the USF College of Education