Bill Waychunas

Biography

Dr. Waychunas comes to Bradley University after working with teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators for many years. He brings about a decade's worth of K-12 teaching experience, mostly in secondary history/social studies, but also with significant time spent working at the elementary level and teaching some math courses as well. Additionally, Dr. Waychunas taught across the country (including time in Las Vegas and on Chicago's South Side) and in Title One schools serving low-income youth.

During his doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, Dr. Waychunas spent time working with and supervising student teachers in the field, teaching courses in History/Social Studies methods, and engaging with teacher education faculty across the country through his work with TeachingWorks.

He believes passionately that high-quality teacher preparation is a cornerstone to achieving educational equity and justice.

Hobbies include: International and Domestic Travel (24 different countries and counting!), baseball (Avid Cubs fan but also love minor league baseball!), cooking, gardening, and college basketball (obviously Bradley Basketball but also the Marquette Golden Eagles!) "

Teaching

In his instruction, Dr. Waychunas strives to bridge the theory-practice divide that can make teacher preparation coursework seem too theoretical. To do this, he has committed to using practice-based teacher education methods that helps to reveal some of the invisible aspects of teaching to teacher candidates while also centering practical work that allows students to get their hands dirty with actual teaching during their coursework. This includes extensive use of real teaching artifacts (such as classroom video clips or student work) and teaching simulations, sometimes called microteaches or rehearsals, where students role-play classroom scenarios in coursework before using methods or practices in the field.

Courses Taught

• ETE 115 - History of American Education
• ETE - Methods for Secondary History/Social Studies Teaching
• ETE - Methods for Elementary History/Social Studies Teaching

Scholarship

Having a high-quality teacher in every classroom is the driving force behind Dr. Waychunas' work and scholarship. In particular, he has spent the most recent parts of his career examining how different elements of a teacher's developmental journeys, including time spent in their own K-12 schooling and experiences in teacher preparation coursework, clinical placements, and early-career school contexts, come together to shape teacher practice. Additionally, he has also dedicated time to studying his own teaching methods and the use of practice-based teacher education pedagogies in preparation coursework as a means to ensure that beginning teachers leave programs with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the classroom.

Selected Publications

Waychunas, W. (in progress). “It wasn’t perfect, but I think it was the best”: Insights from secondary history preservice teachers' experiences with rehearsals or teaching simulations. 

Waychunas, W. (2023). (When) Does Teacher Preparation Work? A Longitudinal Study of Beginning History/Social Studies Teachers’ Instructional Development. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan]. DeepBlue and Proquest.

Waychunas, W. (2022). Context and the Continuum: Insights and Connections Between Preparation, School Organization, and Beginning Teachers' Instruction. In Handbook of Research on the Educator Continuum and Development of Teachers (pp. 338-358). IGI Global. 

Waychunas, W. (2022). Through the Eyes of Novice Teachers: Experiences with Professional Cultures Within and Outside of Neoliberal “No-Excuses” Charter Schools. Research in Educational Policy and Management, 4(2), 56-79.

Waychunas, W. (2020). Where Teachers Thrive: A Book Review. Research in Educational Policy and Management, 2(2), 130-132. 

Waychunas, W. (2018). Review of Twenty-First-Century Jim Crow Schools: The Impact of Charters on Public Education.

Selected Conference Presentations

Waychunas, W. and Ahn, J. (Feb. 2023). False Divides: A framework for thinking about the theory-practice divide and practice-based teacher education. Paper session at American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), Indianapolis, IN.

Whitaker, W., Jakubowski, C., Waychunas, W., & Markides, D.. (Nov. 2022). Re-purposing Neoliberal Education through Local Narratives. Panel discussion at American Educational Studies Association Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA.

Waychunas, William (Feb. 2022). What matters most? Preservice teachers’ perspectives on practice-based elements of teacher education coursework. Roundtable at the Association for Teacher Educators (ATE) annual conference, Chicago, IL.

Waychunas, William (Jan. 2022). Tensions and Opportunities in Teacher Professionalism, Novice Teacher Induction, and School Organization in Contexts of Teacher-School Choice. Paper Session at the International School Choice and Reform Conference (ISCRC), Dublin, Ireland.

Waychunas, William (April 2021). Changing Schools, Changing Teachers: Novice Teacher Experience and Development in Highly Organized Schools. Roundtable presentations at American Education Research Association (AERA), Hosted online.

Waychunas, William (Feb. 2020). Changing schools, changing teachers: How "no excuses" charter schools’ contexts shape novice teachers' beliefs and practices. Roundtable presentation at the Association for Teacher Educators (ATE) annual conference, Atlantic City, NJ.

Service

Has Served as a Reviewer for:

• Teacher Education Quarterly
• Research in Education Policy and Management
• AERA Annual Meeting Proposals (Division K)

Professional Development Facilitator:

• Raising Texas Teacher's Project (2021-2023)
• TeachingWorks Practice-Based Teacher Education Certificate Sequence (2023)
• Reimaging “method” in methods courses. Susan Atkins, and William Waychunas, (February 12th, 2022). Pre-Conference Workshop at Association for Teacher Educators (ATE) annual conference, Chicago, IL.

Licensures and Certifications

• Illinois: Professional Educator License (Secondary History/Social Science);
• Michigan: Professional Teaching Certificate (Social Studies 6-12)