Rachel Turner

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Assistant Professor


Rachel Turner

Contact Information

Office Location: Price, WIB 239
Phone: 435-613-5020
Email: rachel.turner@usu.edu
Additional Information:

Educational Background

PhD, Curriculum & Instruction, (Technology & Teacher Education), Texas A&M University, 2020
There and back again: A social studies tale of integration
ETE Teaching Scholar Certificate , USU Empowering Teaching Excellence , 2023
LGBT+ Ally and Trans Ally , Utah State University , 2023
Certificate , Southeast Utah Health Department , 2023
Advanced Research Methods Certificate , Texas A&M University College of Education & Human Development , 2020
Texas Teacher License , Texas State Board of Education , 2017

Biography

Rachel K. Turner is an Assistant Professor in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction at Texas A&M University.

Teaching Interests

Elementary social studies methods, elementary education, classroom management, qualitative methods

Research Interests

Social studies teaching and learning, social studies marginalization, qualitative methods, narrative inquiry

Awards

TEAL Teacher of the Year , 2024

USU School of Teacher Education & Leadership

Intersectional Teaching Fellow , 2021

USU Center for Intersectional Gender Studies & Research

Research Scholar , 2021

USU Empowering Teaching Excellence


    Publications | Book Chapters

  • Turner, R., Creating Connection at a Distance: Belonging Practices for Online Courses: Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in Higher Education..
  • Turner, R., (2026). Meaningful Social Studies: Designing Integrated Learning with Purpose: Social Studies at the Core: Designing Integrated Learning with Purpose”. National Council for the Social Studies
  • Turner, R., (2023). Classroom Management as Community Building: Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Teach Classroom Management to Pre-Service Teachers: Habits of Mind: Designing Courses for Student Success. .
  • Turner, R., The “Winds” of Change: A Source Investigation on Immigration.: Hollywood or History: An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Acknowledge Trauma in Social Studies.. Information Age Publishing

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Fact Sheets

  • Turner, R., (2020). A multi-dimensional model: implications for preparing pre-service teachers for culturally responsive teaching. . Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Curriculum

  • Turner, R., What questions can we ask about American symbols? : Inquiry and Teaching with Primary Sources to Prepare Students for College, Career, and Civic Life. . National Council for the Social Studies

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Journal Articles

Academic Journal

  • Knowles, R., Turner, R., (2025). We don’t read those books: A quantitative study comparing elementary teachers’ book preferences with their aims of civic engagement. Citizenship Teaching & Learning, 20:1, 103-129. doi: 10.1386/ctl_00173_1
  • Turner, R., (2024). Combining social-emotional learning competencies and contemporary concerns picturebooks to foster early literacy practices: An interdisciplinary approach. . International Literacy Association, 78:3, 19-25.
  • Turner, R., Knowles, R., Cochran, J., (2024). Profile of an Elementary Teacher—How Instructional Strategies Differ across Elementary Classrooms. The Social Studies, 115:4
  • Turner, R.K, Deliman, A., Robertson, M.K, (2023). Curriculum Integration Using Picturebooks: Combining Language Arts and Social Studies Standards to Address Controversial Issues. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 36:1, 27-32.
  • Turner, R., (2022). Analyzing curriculum models from the 21st century: A focus on integration. Curriculum History, 2022:1
  • Turner, R.K, (2021). Teaching with integration: A model to meet curricular goals. Social Studies Texan, 37:1, 43-45.
  • Turner, R., (2020). Reflecting the forgotten: Teacher stories prior to the 2018 South Korea Research Trip. Educational Studies
  • Turner, R., (2020). Wartime teachers: Stories from the front. Educational Considerations

Professional Journal

  • Turner, R., Teaching Social Studies with Integration: A Model to Meet Curriculum Goals. . Iowa Journal of the Social Studies

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Other

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Teaching

ELED 2620 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Fall 2025
ELED 2620 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Fall 2025
ELED 5010 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2025
ELED 2480 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Spring 2025
ELED 2480 - ELED 2480: Early Childhood Education Grades K-3, Spring 2025
TEAL 6800, 7800 - Advanced Review of Research in Social Studies, Fall 2024
TEAL, TEAL 6800, 7800 - Advanced Review of Research in Social Studies, Fall 2024
ELED 2480 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Fall 2024
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2024
USU 1010 - University Connections, Fall 2024
ELED 2480 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Spring 2024
ELED 1010 - Orientation to Elementary Education, Spring 2024
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Spring 2024
ELED, ELED, ELED 4050, 4050, 4051 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Spring 2024
, Fall 2023
ELED 2480 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Fall 2023
ELED 5105 - Motivation and Classroom Management, Fall 2023
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2023
USU 1010 - University Connections, Fall 2023
, Spring 2023
ELED 2480 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Spring 2023
ELED 2480 - Early Childhood Education Kindergarten Through Grade 3, Spring 2023
ELED 1010 - Introduction to Elementary Education , Spring 2023
ELED 1010 - Orientation to Elementary Education, Spring 2023
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Spring 2023
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom , Spring 2023
TEAL 7300 - Historical, Social, and Cultural Foundations of Education, Fall 2022
ELED 5105 - Motivation and Classroom Management, Fall 2022
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2022
TEAL 7150 - Curriculum Theory, Summer 2022
, Spring 2022
ELED 1010 - Introduction to Elementary Education , Spring 2022
ELED 1010 - Orientation to Elementary Education, Spring 2022
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Spring 2022
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School , Spring 2022
ELED 5105 - Motivation and Classroom Management, Fall 2021
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2021
ELED 5105, 5106 - Motivation and Classroom Management, Spring 2021
ELED 1010 - Orientation to Elementary Education, Spring 2021
ELED 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Spring 2021
ELED 5106, 5105 - Motivation and Classroom Management, Fall 2020
ELED 4050, 4051 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2020
ELED 4051, 4050 - Teaching Social Studies in Elementary School, Fall 2020

Graduate Students Mentored

joseph cochran, , Teacher Education & Leadership 2024