Katie Bucher
Education
• B.A., University of Delaware
• M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania
• Ph.D., M.S., Indiana University
Teaching Interests
I teach courses in educational psychology, second language acquisition, and the social foundations of education. In my courses students engage with questions about the roles of teachers in working for a more just society and consider new possibilities for how we “do” school. As a former elementary school teacher, I am passionate about the importance of intellectually- and socially-engaged educators and am dedicated to supporting pre-service teachers in their professional development both in and out of the college classroom.
Research and Scholarship
My scholarship interests primary focus on environmental education generally, including school and community garden programs, nature play, and outdoor-based wellness programs for children, youth, and teachers. I am also involved in projects that consider the positive wellness impacts of nature-based educational programming for other (non-teacher) care-workers, including those in healthcare settings. As a second line of scholarship, I am interested in how intentional reflection on one’s teaching can improve instructional practice and have published articles on the scholarship of teaching and learning, in particular on the integration of the creative arts and experiential learning in the social sciences.
- Educational Psychology: Adolescent Learning & Development
- Educational Psychology: Child Learning & Development
- Inclusive Education for Multilingual Learners
- Introduction to Early Childhood Education
- Language and Learning in Diverse Contexts
- The Arts in Education
Bucher, K. and McIntire, R. (In-press). “Using Photovoice to Teach Ecological Systems Theory in the Social Sciences.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
McIntire, R. K., Massuda, J., Hughes, F., Kjelstrom, S., Montone, G., Banks, B., Bucher, K., Larson, S. (In-Press). “Studying the mental health effects of taking breaks at a hospital farm among hospital workers in Pennsylvania.” Acta Horticulturae.
Bucher, K. and McIntire, R. (2024). “Using the Community Park Audit Tool to Teach the Importance of Urban Green Spaces: A Case Study with Teacher Education and Public Health Students.” Journal of Sustainability Education.
McIntire, R., Scalzo, L., Doran, C., Bucher, K., Juon, H. (2021). “Acculturation and Hypertension Diagnoses Among Hispanics in California.” Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 9(3), pp. 946-953.
Bucher, K. (2017). “Opening Garden Gates: Teachers Making Meaning of School Gardens in Havana and Philadelphia.” Teaching and Teacher Education v. 63, pp. 12-21.
Recent Presentations:
“Studying the mental health effects of taking breaks at a hospital farm among hospital workers in Pennsylvania.” International People Plant Symposium, Reading, England, July 2024 (with R. McIntire, J. Massuda, F. Hughes, S. Kjelstrom, G. Montone, B. Banks, S. Larson).
"Park in a Truck: Empowering Youth to Improve their Neighborhood, One Park at a Time". American Educational Research Association annual conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 2024 (with R. McIntire).
"Using Photovoice to Teach Ecological Systems Theory in the Social Sciences". American Educational Research Association annual conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 2024 (with R. McIntire).
“Photovoice: An Innovative Method in both Research and Teaching”. Student Affairs Assessment Symposium, Lehigh University, March 2024 (with R. McIntire, M. Munley Stone, and L. Napper).
“Teaching Environmental Awareness Using the Community Park Audit Tool”. North American Association for Environmental Education Annual Conference, October, 2023 (with R. McIntire).
Education
Master of Arts in Teaching
Contact: katiebucher@muhlenberg.edu