Tracy Rock

Tracy Rock

Professor
Department of Reading and Elementary Education
704-687-0866
COED 395

Tracy Rock is a Professor in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education in the College of Education at UNC Charlotte and program director of the B.A. in Elementary Education. Her teaching and research interests include Inquiry Models of Teacher Professional Development, Social Studies Education, and Service Learning.

Rock has published over 35 refereed journal articles and book chapters and is co-author on an Action Research for teachers textbook. She teaches courses in the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level programs in the College of Education. She is a Faculty Fellow for the Center for Teaching and Learning where she provides professional development workshops, webinars, private consultations, and peer observations for faculty across the campus. She supervises College Teaching Seminar and Teaching Internship courses for the doctoral students in the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program in the Cato College of Education.

Rock is the recipient of several teaching awards including the Teaching Fellows Teaching Excellence Award in 2007, the 2014 Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, and the 2015 Board of Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. She was also selected as the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Faculty Award from the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association.

Research Interests

Social Studies Education in Elementary Schools
Inquiry Models of Teacher Professional Development
Service Learning
Global Education

Education

Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching – The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1999
M.A in Liberal Studies. – The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1994
B.A. in Elementary Education – The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 1991

Teaching

Instructional Design and the Use of Technology with Elementary School Learners
Teaching Social Studies to Elementary School Learners
Integrating the Elementary School Curriculum
Assessment and Differentiated Instruction
Student Teaching/Seminar
Seminar in Professional and Leadership Development
Teaching and Learning K-6 Social Studies
Accessing/Modifying/Integrating Social Studies Instruction
Pro-Seminar in Elementary Education
Independent Study in Urban Education
College Teaching Seminar
Analysis of Inquiry Models of Teacher Professional Development

Community Involvement

Cornelius Elementary School Leadership Team, Chair, 2016-2017
Cornelius Elementary Professional Development School, University Liaison, 2012-2016.

Awards & Honors

  • Distinguished Faculty Award, Recipient, 2023, UNC Charlotte Alumni Association
  • Board of Governors’ Award for Teaching Excellence, NC General Administration, Recipient, 2015. $12,500 award. The highest award for superior teaching presented by the University system.
  • University Marshal, May 2015 Commencement. The position of University Marshal is an honor bestowed by the University on a distinguished senior professor. The University Marshal represent the faculty at ceremonial functions, and serves as a symbol of faculty excellence and leadership in teaching, professional achievement, and service to campus and community.
  • Honoree, Faculty Recognition and Appreciation Reception, Provost Lorden honored faculty who were nominated by 10 or more graduating seniors of the previous year as having had the most significant, positive contribution to their education. January 21, 2015.
  • Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, UNC Charlotte, Recipient, 2014. The highest award for teaching excellence presented by UNC Charlotte.
  • Faculty Fellow Selection, Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC Charlotte, 2013-2016
  • College of Education Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee, 2011, 2012, and 2013
  • UNC Charlotte NC Teaching Fellows Annual Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2007
  • Finalist for the UNC Charlotte Teaching Fellows Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2013-2014, 2002-2003, 2001-2002, and 2000-2001
  • Received a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Service as President to the North Carolina Professors of Social Studies Education, February, 2008
  • Received a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Service as a Board member to the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies Board, 2004
  • Teacher of the Year, Parkview Elementary School, High Point, NC, 1994-1995
  • Young Educator of the Year, Parkview Elementary School, High Point, NC 1993-1994

Selected Publications

+Rock, T., Handler, L., & Brooks, P. (2023). How do we center equity? Examining the stories teachers tell in elementary social studies classrooms. In Allen, A. & Kavanagh, M. (Eds), Moving Beyond a Single Story. International Social Studies Forum Series.

*+Rock, T., Heafner, T., Polly, D., Bacak, J., Holhouser, K., & Schmidt, L. (2023). Becoming Effective Teacher Educators through Sustained Mentoring and Scaffolded Teaching Internships. In How Teacher Educators Learn: Profiles in Teacher Educator Professional Development. Information Age Publishers.

Heafner, T, Handler, L., Rock, T. (2021). The Divide Within: Intersections of Realities, Facts, Theories, and Practices. International Social Studies Forum Book Series.

Heafner, T, Handler, L., Rock, T. (2021). The Divide Within: Intersections of Realities, Facts, Theories, and Practices. International Social Studies Forum Book Series.

*Handler, L. & Rock, T. (2021). The NC ACCESS Program: Remediating or Deepening Divisions in Public Education? In Heafner, T, Handler, L., Rock, T. (Eds.), The Divide Within: Intersections of Realities, Facts, Theories, and Practices. International Social Studies Forum Series.

+Brooks, P. & Rock, T. (2018). Using Social Studies Content to Lead Project-Based Learning: An Innovative Teacher’s Story. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 31 (2).

Putman, M. & Rock, T. (2017). Action Research: Using Strategic Inquiry to Improve Teaching and Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications.

+*Rock, T., Polly, D., & Handler, L. (2016). Preparing Elementary Teacher Candidates to Use Global Content: An Action Research Study. Social Studies Research and Practice, 11 (2), 31-44.​

*Polly, D. & Rock, T. (2016). Elementary education teacher candidates’ integration of technology in the design of interdisciplinary units. Tech Trends.

Rock, T. ( 2016). Voices from the Field: Lesson Study in the Professional Development School. In Mraz text – Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, 12th Edition, Pearson.

Polly, D., Binns, I. C., Putman, S. M., Rock, T. C., & Good, A. (2015). Developing technological pedagogical content knowledge in elementary education programs. In M. Neiss & H. Gillow-Wiles (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Teacher Education in the Digital Age. Hershey, PA: IGI
Global.

*Rock, T. & Heafner, T. (2014). The Professional Development School: Fertile Ground for Service-learning Initiatives. In Polly, D., Heafner, T. & Chapman, M (Eds.), Professional Development Schools and Transformative Partnerships. Hershey, PA: IGI Global

Popejoy, K., Good, A., Rock, T. & Vintinner, J. (2014). Integrated Methods Block: Transforming elementary teacher preparation through the integration of content methods and early clinical experiences. In Polly, D., Heafner, T. & Chapman, M (Eds.), Professional Development Schools and Transformative Partnerships. Hershey, PA: IGI

Popejoy, K., Good, A., Rock, T., Vintinner, J., Little, M.K., & Rodgers, E. (2013). Integrated Methods Block: Capitalizing upon existing PDS partnerships to strengthen elementary teacher preparation. PDS Partners.

Rock, T. & Stepanian, J. (2010). We are the future: We are agents of change. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 23 (2), 9-12.

*Good, A., Heafner, T., O’Connor, K., Passe, J., Rock, T., Byrd, S., & Waring, S. (2010). The deemphasis on social studies in elementary schools: Teacher candidate perspective. Current Issues in Education, 13(4), 1-22.

Rock, T. (2009). Exploring identity, commonality and difference. In E. Heilman, R. Fruja, & M. Missias (Eds.), Social studies and diversity teacher education: What we do and why we do it (pp.149-152). New York: Routledge Publishing.

*Heafner, T., Good, A., O’Connor, K., Rock, T., Passe, J., Groce, E., Byrd, S., & Oldendorf, S. (2007). Fact or fiction: Is social studies “history” in North Carolina? Social Studies Research and Practice Journal, 3(2), 502-509. Available: http://socstrp.org/issues/viewarticle.cfm?volID=2&IssueID=6&ArticleID=84.

*Byrd, S., Good, A., O’Connor, K., Heafner, T., Passe, J., Rock, T., & Oldendorf, S. (2007). Where are the social studies?. The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE): Commentaries, 13(3).

*Byrd, S., Good, A., O’Connor, K., Heafner, T., Passe, J., Rock, T., & Oldendorf, S. (2007). Where are the social studies?. The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) website. Available: http://www.nasbe.org/.

Heafner, T., O’Connor, K., Groce, E., Byrd, S., Good, A., Rock, T., Passe, J., & Oldendorf, S. (2007). A case for social studies advocacy: Becoming AGENTS for change. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 20(1), 26-29.

*Vogler, K. E., Lintner, T., Lipscomb, G. B., Herman, K., Heafner, T. L., & Rock, T. C. (2007). Getting off the back burner: Impact of testing elementary social studies as part of a state-mandated accountability program. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 31(2), 20-34.

* Heafner, T. L., Lipscomb, G. B., & Rock, T. C. (2007). To test or not to test?: The role of testing in elementary social studies. Social Studies Research and Practice, 1(2), 145-164.

*Rock, T., Heafner, T., O’Connor, K., Passe, J., Oldendorf, S., Good, A., Byrd, S. (2006). One state closer to a national crisis: A report on elementary social studies education in North Carolina schools. Theory and Research in Social Education, 34(4), 455-483.

Rock, T. & Levin, B. (2006). Speaking in first person: Notable women in history. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 19 (1), P1-P4.

*Rock, T. & Wilson, C. (2005) Improving teaching through lesson study. Teacher Education Quarterly,32(1), 77-92.

*Rock, T. & Passe, J. (2004). Technology Integration at the University Level: The Case of the Elementary Social Studies Methods Course. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (Social Studies), [Online Serial] 4(3) Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol4/iss3/.

*Rock, T. (2003). A lesson study model for preservice teacher education. Journal of Research in Education, 13(1), 31-38.

*Levin, B. & Rock, T. (2003) The effects of collaborative action research on preservice and inservice teacher partners in professional development schools. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(2), 135-149.

Rock, T. & Passe, J. (2002). Integration of Technology in Elementary Social Studies Teacher Education: Adapting a Curricular Model. In D. Willis et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2002 (pp. 2207-2208). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Levin, B., Hibbard, K. & Rock, T. (2002) Using problem-based learning as a tool for learning to teach students with special needs. Teacher Education and Special Education, 25(3), 12-19.

*Rock, T. & Levin, B. (2002). Collaborative action research projects: Enhancing preservice teacher development in professional development schools. Teacher Education Quarterly, 29(1), 7-21.

Hibbard, K., Levin, B. & Rock, T. (2001). The inclusion classroom problem: Learning about students with disabilities. In B.B.Levin (Ed.), Energizing Teacher Education And Professional Development with Problem-Based Learning (pp. 56-72). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.