Professor Donna Werderich
When Donna Werderich became a teacher in 1993, she consciously made that profession her identity.
Even her vanity license plate – POPQUIZ – and her personal email address with the same seven letters have manifested that since the beginning, and she’s still happy to answer “Yes!” when strangers ask if she’s an educator.
But her work with the NIU Department of Curriculum and Instruction faculty has given her more labels.
Kind. Caring. Available. Dedicated. Inspirational. Rigorous. Genuine. Champion. Mentor. Builder.
“Donna is the ‘heart and soul’ of the Middle Level Teaching and Learning program, which spans the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” says Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the College of Education.
“She led the development of the program from the ground up, and she continues to work with faculty in the program to ensure their courses and rich, relevant and engaging for future middle school teachers,” Elish-Piper adds. “Her passion for teaching, and her commitment to students, are evident in all she does.”
Middle school is not where Werderich’s career began – her first job after graduation from Concordia University, where she earned a B.A. in Elementary Education, was teaching kindergarten in suburban Norridge – but middle school is where she has made her mark in language arts classrooms and later in preparing Huskies to follow in her footsteps.
And now, more than two decades into her NIU career, Werderich has added two more titles in the same year: Presidential Teaching Professor and recipient of an NIU Excellence in Online Teaching Award.
Werderich came to NIU to make what she calls “a ripple effect” through preparing teachers who will go on to impact countless children.
In doing so, she strives to foster an inclusive academic environment with the goal of knowing her students as individuals, learners and colleagues. She hopes to serve as a role model, providing opportunities for engaged and meaningful learning inside and outside of her classroom.
Current and former students appreciate that.
Kristen L. Walsh, a doctoral candidate and adjunct professor, says Werderich “exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding classroom teacher.”
“She establishes a positive classroom environment and teaches the necessary skills to voice, listen to and deeply understand each other’s points of view,” Walsh says. “She consistently encourages her students to consider how their viewpoints and opinions link back to the evidence and theories presented in course readings.”
Jan Solano, who earned her B.S.Ed. in Middle Level Teaching and Learning in 2020, is “eternally grateful” for Werderich.
“My most valuable experience from my time at NIU was through Project CUP (Clinical Urban Plunge), during which Donna mentored and guided me,” Solano says.
“My eyes were opened to the uncomfortable but powerful truth of the home lives of families and children who suffer from the effects of trauma and how harmful experiences manifest in behaviors and interactions seen in the classroom,” she adds. “There was much to unload, and not only did Donna help introduce me to methods to dissect, organize and synthesize the hundreds of notes taken on the experience, but she also helped me to process the heavy emotions I was feeling.”
Elementary Education major Tina Grimmer felt honored to take Werderich’s LTLA 341: Teaching Language Arts in Elementary School course.
“She applied rigorous standards to student performance and utilized discussion boards, peer conferencing, breakout rooms during synchronous sessions and an Author’s House to encourage peer collaboration,” Grimmer says. “She demonstrates respect for her students in the same way she expects it to be returned. NIU needs more professors who take the time to get to know their students and push them to succeed, especially in the world of online education.”
It was that LTLA 341 course that earned Werderich the NIU Certificate of Excellence in Online Teaching and the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program award in 2022, setting the stage for this spring’s Excellence in Online Teaching Award.
Werderich continued to deliver the course in a hybrid format after the pandemic to demonstrate to her future teachers a format that promotes differentiation and flexibility with models for various modalities of teaching and learning that align with state standards on integrating technology into the instruction of writing.
Student evaluations applaud “ample opportunities to try new things,” discussion questions that “really got me thinking as I observed my mentor teacher the following day,” a “multimedia memoir project (that) was a fun and engaging way of assessing our learning” and a professor who “was extremely supportive and always responded to questions quickly.”
Cynthia Paralejas, a senior instructional designer at NIU’s Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, has supported Werderich in preparing courses for an online environment.
“Through the years, Donna continued to improve and enhance her hybrid courses by incorporating innovative best practices she learned from attending various CITL programs and conversations with colleagues, especially feedback from her students,” Paralejas says.
“Donna is mindful of the opportunities and challenges inherent in establishing learner-content, learner-instructor and learner-learner engagement,” Paralejas adds, “and establishes clear guidelines on appropriate netiquette and expectations of professionalism online and during face-to-face interactions to help foster a welcoming community of learners.”
Michael Manderino, an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, says Werderich “uses her pedagogical skills to drive her instruction. As a result, she builds courses and experiences that are driven by her objectives and practices rather than simply selecting technology tools to be added to her courses online.”
“Every NIU Huskie, from preservice elementary and middle level teachers, in-service teachers and doctoral candidates who have Dr. Werderich as a professor are privy to responsively designed, engaging and innovative online courses that prepare them to be successful teaching professionals,” Manderino says.
“It is abundantly evident that students feel valued and respected by Dr. Werderich because of her thoughtful and innovative course design,” he adds. “They are willing to take risks and be vulnerable in their writing unlike any course I taught or observed. The students also reported immense growth in knowledge and confidence in writing and their abilities to teach it.”
