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Douglas M. Brooks Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Teacher Education
College of Education Health and Society
Miami University
B.A Blackburn College in History and Political Science (1969)
Grayslake Middle School Grayslake, Illinois (1969-71)
M.A. Roosevelt University in Elementary Education (1971)
North Elementary School Waukegan Illinois 6th Grade (1971-72)
Ph.D. Northwestern University Educational Psychology (1974)
University of Northern Iowa (1974-1975) Assistant Professor
University of Texas @ Arlington (1975-1985) Associate Professor
Miami University (1985-2015) Full Professor and Chair Department of
Teacher Education (1985-1991)
Below is a summary of significant professional activities organized by
naturally evolving career phases.
Phase One: (1969-1975) Classroom Teaching and Professional Training
Mr. Douglas Brooks was a 1969 graduate of Blackburn College. He
was a History and Political Science major. Mr. Brooks taught social studies,
speech and drama, language arts and remedial reading at the middle school
level in suburban Grayslake, Illinois between 1969 and 1971. He earned his
M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Roosevelt University in Chicago,
Illinois in 1971 and taught one year of self-contained sixth grade in urban
Waukegan, Illinois. In 1972, Mr. Brooks enrolled at Northwestern
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University in Evanston, Illinois. He received his Ph.D. in August 1974. At
26, Dr. Brooks remains the youngest graduate of the Northwestern Ph.D.
program in Educational Psychology. His dissertation focused on the study
of teacher and student nonverbal behavior exchange. His doctoral
committee included Dr. Edward Hall, an internationally recognized
anthropologist who published such well-known and influential books as The
Silent Language and The Hidden Dimension. In a one-year appointment, Dr.
Brooks taught adolescent psychology, child growth and development, and
abnormal psychology in his first and only year at the University of Northern
Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa (1974-1975).
Phase Two: (1975-1985) Texas and the First Days of School
Dr. Brooks joined the education faculty at the University of Texas @
Arlington in the fall of 1975. It was here that Dr. Brooks began his
extensive publication record with a focus on teacher and student nonverbal
behavior exchange. His first APA publication was in the Journal of
Educational Psychology (1978). In 1983, he received a small grant to
videotape and compare expert and novice teacher behavior on the first,
second, tenth and twenty-eighth days of instruction. In May 1985, the
results of this research were published Educational Leadership, a journal of
the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). This
seminal work on studying the first days of school was referenced in Dr.
David Berliner’s 1986 AERA Presidential Address and was subsequently
published in AERA’s Educational Researcher. Berliner’s 1986 “Putting
Research To Work” column in Instructor magazine noted Brooks’ AERA
presentation on “Effective and Ineffective Session Openings”. It was in
Texas that Dr. Brooks started his consulting career. He was a regular
presenter at school districts throughout the state on the topics of beginning
the school year, effective classroom management strategies, teacher
effectiveness and designing induction programs. In 1977, Dr. Brooks
established a school-based methods course instruction model with the
Everman School District. Teachers from the district contributed to college
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methods course design and instruction and supervised student teachers
placed in the district. This model mimicked Dr. John Goodlad’s model for
establishing “partner schools” that would serve an exemplars of teacher
training and school improvement.
In 1976 and 1977, Dr. Brooks was recognized as an outstanding
teacher in the UTA College of Arts and Science. In 1978, Dr. Brooks
received UTA’s prestigious AMOCO Outstanding Teacher of the Year
Award. In 1979, Dr. Brooks was promoted to Associate Professor. In 1981
Dr. Brooks was one of three nominees for the eminent State of Texas Minnie
Piper Stevens Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Brooks contributed to an
Association of Teacher Educator’s monograph Mirrors of Excellence:
Reflections for Teacher Education from Training Programs in Ten
Corporations and Agencies. This monograph focused on how successful
companies inducted new employees. Dr. Brooks was responsible for
studying the Mary Kay Cosmetics firm in Dallas, Texas. While in Texas,
Dr. Brooks continued his publication record in the Journal of Classroom
Interaction, Theory Into Practice, Humanistic Educator, Teacher Education
Forum, Elementary School Journal, the Journal of Contemporary
Educational Psychology, the Journal of Perceptual and Motor Skills,
Education Research Quarterly, the Journal of Research in Mathematics
Education, the Journal of Contemporary Education and Anthropology and
Education Quarterly. He was a regular presenter, discussant and session
chair at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research
Association. He published and presented in the areas of science education
mathematics education and English education with graduate students. While
at UTA, Dr. Brooks was a founder and President of the Southwest
Educational Research Association a new, five-state, regional affiliate of the
AERA. While in Texas, Dr. Brooks was invited to join a highly regarded
group of researchers that met for three days before the annual meetings of
AERA. This “invitation only” gathering was considered the best of the best,
studying teacher effectiveness. In 1983, Dr. Brooks and Anita Woolfolk
published a comprehensive review of the research on teacher and student
nonverbal behavior exchange in AERA’s Vol. 10 annual Review of Research
in Education. During this period of professional service, Dr. Brooks
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consulted with over 50 school districts and educational agencies in the
Southwest.
Phase Three: (1985-1991) Teacher Education and Technology
Integration
In spring of 1985, Dr. Brooks was selected to serve as Chair of the
Department of Teacher Education within the School of Education and Allied
Professions at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In 1986, Dr. Brooks
authored a successful grant that placed Miami University as one of two Ohio
universities in Ohio’s Classroom of the Future project. Dr. Brooks with the
help of Dr. Bruce Perry established the first department level Local Area
Network (LAN) at Miami University (EDTNet). This LAN, connected
department secretaries and faculty through intranet-supported connectivity
using Apple’s new Macintosh computer. With the support of IT Services,
GTE and Apple Computer Inc., the Department of Teacher Education
provided first time internet access (TLCNet) to the local area Talawanda
City School District. The network supported the first Internet supervised
student teachers in Ohio. Dr. Brooks co-authored an Ohio Academic
Challenge Grant that funded a senior scholar in Mathematics Education for
six years. During this same time period, the Department of Teacher
Education added the Condit Endowed Professor in Science Education and
the Heckert Endowed Professor in Language Arts. Dr. Brooks developed
the “Merit Cell” system to support the development and evaluation of
department faculty members. This system remains in place to this day. Dr.
Brooks authored the successful Ohio Reading Recovery Grant that
established Miami University as a training center for this innovative
technique for recovering high-risk nonreaders. He continued to publish in
the area of teacher pupil nonverbal behavior exchange in the Elementary
School Journal. Dr. Brooks was an invited lecturer at the University of
Tubingen in Germany on the topic of nonverbal behavior exchange. In
1986, Dr. Brooks was invited by Kappa Delta Pi to be the Editor of a special
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edition of their Journal “ Teaching: The First Year” focusing on induction
year programs. This special edition received an Educational Press Award.
Dr. Brooks was selected by the Association of Teacher Educators
(ATE) to edit a monograph entitled Teacher Induction: A New Beginning,
published in 1987. This ATE monograph was a product of the National
Commission on the Induction Process. It was the first document of its kind
committed to documenting independent efforts to establish “induction
programs for beginning teachers.” It was at this time that Dr. Harry Wong
read Dr. Brooks’ (1985) article entitled “The First Days of School” in
ASCD’s Educational Leadership. Dr. Wong is a nationally recognized and
much sought after speaker to public school audiences. He credits Dr.
Brooks’ research and his ASCD workshop on building induction programs
with being the catalyst for his publication entitled The First Days of School
(2001). This book has sold 3.9 million copies since it first publication in
2001 and remains a staple of public school induction programs nationwide.
In late 1990, Dr. Brooks served on the Editorial Board and was invited to be
the lead author for a chapter entitled “Technology in Teacher Education” in
the First Handbook of Research of Teacher Education (1992) published by
Macmillan and ATE. Early stages of this research appeared in the
July/August 1989 Journal of Teacher Education. In 1991 and with ODE
grant support, Dr. Brooks produced a six cassette tape series entitled A
Community of Learners. This cassette series featured school district
examples of technology integration, interviews with school leaders and
highlighted emerging and promising technologies as they applied to teaching
and learning. Dr. Brooks was elected President of the Ohio Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development and President of the National
McGuffey Society during this period of service. Dr. Brooks successfully
integrated the School of Education’s Department of Educational Media into
the Department of Teacher Education during this period of service.
Phase Four: (1991-2005) Partners In Learning and Technology
Integration
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In 1991, Dr. Brooks formed an interdisciplinary partnership group
called Partners In Learning. At the time, this group included Apple
Computer Inc., Miami University IT Services, Time Warner Cable and GTE;
the area phone service provider. The vision of this partnership group was to
explore the effective applications of emerging technologies consistent with
the goals of the newly created Ohio SchoolNet Office. In 1991, Dr. Brooks
helped the Talawanda City Schools successfully apply for two, building
specific Ohio Venture Capital grants. These two grants provided two
Talawanda school buildings with over $125,000 each in funding to establish
a school-wide, teacher workstation-based network using Apple computers.
Ohio SchoolNet was established as a separate unit from the Ohio Department
of Education. It was organized and staffed to support the integration of
Internet access into Ohio Schools. This group has since become Ohio
eTech.
In 1992, Dr. Brooks was invited by Scholastic Inc. to produce a sixaudiocassette tape series entitled A Nation of Learners. This popular
cassette series featured interviews with leading technology visionaries,
educators and researchers. Dr. Brooks was an Affiliate member of the
Department of Educational Leadership and supervised four doctoral theses.
In 1994, Dr. Brooks, in partnership with Talawanda City Schools and TriVillage School District in Darke County, applied for and became one of 12
Ohio SchoolNet Prototypes. These Ohio SchoolNet Prototypes were created
to lead and support the installation of Internet access in every classroom in
Ohio. The vision of the Partners In Learning/SchoolNet Prototype grant
application was an electronic village that connected teachers, parents,
professional development resources and state curriculum resources together
in one electronic community that would provide on demand access to any
individual or database. The Partners In Learning/SchoolNet prototype was
the first fully operational prototype in Ohio. Over 300 teachers in eight
school buildings across two distanced school districts had individual
workstation Internet access, First Class Client communication capacity and
full Microsoft Office capacity. Dr. Brooks also helped author Talawanda’s
successful High Schools That Work grant application. Dr. Brooks and his
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team received a “Special Commendation” from the Ohio Governor’s Office
for this project’s leadership and success.
Dr. Brooks’ monograph entitled Teacher Leaders, Trust and
Technology: A Case Study of Talawanda Middle School, was part of an ODE
project with the Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE). Dr.
Brooks served two years on the Butler County Children’s Services agency.
His legacy to this group was cell phones for every social worker and an
improved response system for urgent calls to the agency. In partnership
with the Darke County Educational Service Center, Dr. Brooks authored
grants that supported technology supported curriculum design (Schools on
The Move), interactive video access between schools and content providers
(Interactive Video Distance Learning IVDL), technology integration
(Raising the Bar), and the development of Continuous Improvement Plans in
low achieving districts. In 1992 and again in 1995, Dr. Brooks received the
Ohio Governor’s Pathfinder Award for Educational Technology presented at
the Ohio Conference on Teaching and Learning. Dr. Brooks was
instrumental in developing the Ohio legislation entitled SchoolNet Plus. This
legislation put 4-5 Internet connected computers in every K-4 classroom in
Ohio. Organized in a workstation configuration, all Ohio primary age
students were introduced to their first computer, the Internet and computer
based software programs in reading, mathematics, science and social studies.
The Darke County Educational Service Center received the
prestigious Ohio BEST Award and became the first countywide example of
total connectivity between all teachers, school buildings, administrators and
educational service center resources. This countywide connectivity model
supported by First Class Client was later transferred to Shelby and Preble
County Educational Service Centers. The fall, 1996 issue of the Ohio ASCD
Journal featured an article by Dr. Kevin Maney and Dr. Brooks presenting
“ A Blueprint for Technology Adoption in Ohio Schools.” In 1997, Dr.
Brooks partnered with Apple Inc. to create one of six university-based
internet-supported website resources for classroom teachers. The Miami
Partners In Learning Interchange was the first operational site in this project
and hosted online lessons, units of practice, Praxis III content, professional
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development resources and job application resources. At the time, this was a
pet project of the late Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple Inc. In 1998, Dr.
Brooks was invited to give the “Commencement Address” at Blackburn
College. In 2002, Dr. Brooks authored and Miami received a $570,000
Preparing Tomorrows Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) federal grant to
explore the application of First Class Client software to support student
teacher supervision. This grant was one of 43 awards nationally. He has
authored two successful Miami Student Technology Fee grants totaling over
$30,000. Each of these two grants has placed “backpacks” of emerging
technologies in the hands of student teachers traveling to Europe, Belize and
Chicago. These technologies are currently available to AYA methods block
students. In 1999, Dr. Brooks was recognized by the Talawanda School
Board for his contributions to the advancement of district technology.
In 2000, Dr. Brooks partnered with the Piqua City Schools and
Primax Inc. to develop CD-ROMS that held the K-12 district curriculum.
These CDs were distributed by participating school districts to parents as a
device to support learning in the home and parental awareness of grade level
and content area curriculum expectations. In 2001 Dr. Brooks and his
Miami Partners in Learning Interchange team were invited to Cupertino,
California by Apple Inc. to demonstrate the development of their Miami
Partners In Learning Interchange website to Canadian Ministers of
Education. In 2001, Ohio House of Representatives recognized Primax,
Piqua and Miami University for their creative and innovative contribution to
Governor Taft’s Commission for Student Success goals. In 2002, Dr. Brooks
work with National Trails Schools was featured in an Ohio Department of
Education publication entitled “Continuous Improvement: What’s
Working”. In 2003 Primax and Partners In Learning received the Pyramid
Award from the Ohio Chapter of the National School Public Relations
Association. In 2003, Dr. Brooks partnered with the University of Dayton
and Patterson Kennedy Elementary Schools to install a First Class Client
intranet called PKNet. Patterson Kennedy applied for and received a $4,000
Laura Bush Literacy Award inside this partnership and in 2005 received a
$214,000 Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) award based
on the vision of PKNet. Dr. Brooks’ chapter entitled “A Systems Integration
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Approach to Researching the Role of Technology in Professional
Development “ written for the Handbook of Research on Systems
Integration (2003) was presented at the Ohio SchooNet Technology
Conference.
In 2003, Dr. Brooks’ professional development website
http://performancepyramid.miamioh.edu was recognized by the Ohio
School Board Association as an “Outstanding Contribution to Professional
Development in Ohio”. This website features Dr. Brooks’ model for
continuous school improvement (The Performance Pyramid) and is regularly
refreshed by Miami students who are enrolled in his EDT 422 Senior
Capstone class. At the time of this recognition, Dr. Brooks’ website had
been accessible for over ten years. During this period of service Dr. Brooks
was an annual presenter at the Ohio Conference on Teaching and Learning,
The Southwest Ohio Instructional Technology Conference and the Ohio
SchoolNet Conference. These presentations focused on school based
technology projects, state funded technology projects and results from
consulting activities. Dr. Brooks was the keynote speaker at the 1993
SOITA Conference.
Phase Five (2005-2015) Grants and Grant Writing
Between 1991 and 2001 Dr. Brooks authored or co-authored over $8
million in state and federal grants. The primary funding group was the Ohio
SchoolNet Office. The primary focus of the grants was technology
integration in Ohio public schools. The primary recipient of the funding was
the Talawanda City Schools and the schools in Darke County. In 2004, Dr.
Brooks developed a method to teach his successful grant writing system. He
called the system GRANTSUCCESS and presented his system at the Ohio
eTech Conference. In 2005, Dr. Brooks was invited to work simultaneously
with 26 Columbus Public Schools on their individual applications for federal
Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) funding. All the schools
used the GRANTSUCCESS system. All 26 schools received funding in
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excess of $100,000 per school totaling over $3.5 million. His (2004) THE
Journal article entitled “How To Write Grants: The Best Kept Secret in The
School Business” was the first of its kind in this widely distributed journal
of practice. Between 2008 and 2010 Dr. Brooks was an invited contributing
author on the Hotchalk.com professional development website. He authored
over 15 separate columns on classroom management and another 15 on grant
writing.
In 2006, Dr. Brooks chaired the School of Education and Allied
Profession’s Administrator Evaluation Committee. This committee
restructured the survey used to evaluate Department Chairs and Dean’s
Office personnel. The system was put online with the support of IT Services.
When Dr. Brooks became Chair of the All University Administrator
Evaluation Committee, this system was moved to the university level and
applied to the evaluation of Deans and Provosts. Both levels of this
administrative evaluation process remain in place as well as the carefully
developed processes for analyzing results and creating reports. Dr. Brooks
was asked to describe the evolution of this process to Miami President Dr.
David Hodge prior to the selection of former Provost Gempshaw.
Between 2005 and 2012, Dr. Brooks consulted with technology
vendors to support successful applications for technology funding. Ohio
charter schools, schools in Indiana and public and LaSalle High School in
Ohio all received funding as a consequence of using the GRANTSUCCESS
system for creating grant applications. In total, GRANTSUCCESS has
produced over $12 million in school funding for technology integration with
an application success rate of slightly lower than 80 percent. Dr. Brooks
continues to present his GRANTSUCCESS workshops at Ohio professional
conferences such as the Ohio Institute for School Improvement and Ohio
eTech meetings. In 2007, Dr. Brooks was invited to create an online grantwriting course for the Ohio Department of Education Professional
Development Program. This successful course was the most popular course
in the program until the program was discontinued. In 2008, The Journal of
Ethnographic and Qualitative Research published an article by Mark
Weston and Dr. Brooks entitled “Critical Constructs as Indicators of a
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Shifting Paradigm in Education: A Case Study of Four Technology Rich
Schools.” Dr. Weston was the lead strategic planner for the Dell
Corporation and had formally worked at the strategic planning level of
Apple Inc. This article introduced a model for quantifying the level of
technology integration in school buildings. Partners In Learning combined
with CIM Technologies to offer grant application sessions to Indiana and
Ohio schools applying for state and federal funding.
In 2011, Dr. Brooks was invited to be a founding member of the
Franklinton Preparatory Academy Board of Directors. He helped create the
vision, strategic plan and start up funding for this Columbus, Ohio charter
high school. Located on Chicago Avenue off West Broad Street in
Columbus, Ohio, this charter high school is in the renovated 1890’s Chicago
Elementary School and is supported by the Central Ohio Youth for Christ
organization. In 2012, Dr. Brooks led a project team representing 26 Ohio
charter schools. This project included the Miami University Discovery
Assessment and Evaluation Center. The goal of the project was to compare
AIMS scores with Ohio Proficiency Test Scores in hopes of developing a
more equitable way to assess students with ADHD, Asperger’s and Autism.
In 2012, Dr. Brooks created the Department of Teacher Education’s first
totally online graduate course EDT 461/561 Grant Writing Methods and
Skills. He continues to offer this course. Dr. Brooks currently serves on the
Editorial Board of the Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research
and reviews submissions for them.
During this period of service Dr. Brooks regularly served on the
Department of Teacher Education Promotion and Tenure Committee, EHS
Administrator Evaluation Committee, chaired the All University
Administrator Evaluation Committee and Full Professor Promotion
Committee. He continues to provide consultant services to Ohio schools and
educational service centers. In 2015, Miami Alumni recognized Dr. Brooks
as one of Miami Universities “Top 100 Professors”. Dr. Brooks has been
invited to travel to Beijing, China in August 2015 to train 400 entry year
teachers. This project has involved the analysis of eight Chinese teacher’s
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videos starting the spring term. The teachers are from all levels of
instruction. This presentation will emphasize the context-based methodology
that Dr. Brooks has employed for 40 years in his study on teacher
effectiveness. This methodology will be new to Chinese educators.
In summary, Dr. Brooks has published over 50 separate professional
journal articles, chapters and monographs. He has made over 400
professional presentations at state, regional, national and international
forums across a broad range of important and emerging topics. His research
on classroom teacher and student nonverbal behavior exchange provided
substance and direction to this important area. His research on the first days
of school was seminal and significant. His chapter on “Technology in
Teacher Education” in the First Handbook of Research on Teacher
Education was recognized as a summative and benchmark contribution to
the field. He has a full career of service characterized by innovative
organization and project leadership. His period of service as the Chair of the
Department of Teacher Education was characterized by systemic innovation
and technology integration. Dr. Brooks has written over $12 million in state
and federal grants largely supporting the integration of technology into
classrooms and schools. His leadership skills have placed him in dynamic
organizational roles. His partnership projects have spanned his entire career
and have been characterized by innovation and high impact. His project
management skills have resulted in state and national recognition including
prestigious university recognition for his teaching skills.
An introductory video is available at
http://miamioh.edu/ehs/academics/departments/edt/about/facultystaff/brooks/index.html
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