About our faculty
Teacher Education Department

About Dr. Elizabeth Dorman

Elizabeth Dorman is a professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Fort Lewis College. She joined the college in 2013. Dorman’s research focuses primarily on contemplative pedagogy and practice, social-emotional learning, social justice education, and the intersection among these areas.

Dorman’s scholarship has been recognized nationally and internationally. In 2018, she authored chapters in and co-edited a three-volume book series entitled Contemplative Practices, Pedagogy, and Research in Education, which has received worldwide attention as the relevance of this new area of scholarship increases. The first book, Cultivating A Culture of Learning, presents concrete examples of how to integrate contemplative practices in education courses and programs; the second book, Impacting Teaching and Learning, features current research on the impacts of contemplative practices and pedagogy in education; and the third book, The Teaching Self, focuses on educators’ first-person experiences with contemplative practices that honor, support, and deepen awareness of “the self who teaches.”

Other research interests include assessment (including the emotional aspects of assessment), teacher development throughout the career, and mindfulness in education. Prior to joining the faculty at Fort Lewis College, Dorman was an assistant professor at Regis University and an adjunct professor at the University of Denver. She was also the founding executive director of the Boettcher Teachers Program and the Expeditionary Learning Teacher Preparation Program, both in Denver.  
 
Dorman has taught English as a Second Language as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Central Africa, as well as English, French, and Spanish at the secondary level. She is certified in Linguistically Diverse Education and Elementary Education. Dorman has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research. She has also peer reviewed manuscripts and submissions for Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, Journal of Teacher Education, Teachers College Press, Wadsworth Publishers, Heinemann Publishers, and the American Educational Research Association.

Awards

Dr. Dorman received the 2019-2020 Featured Scholar Award for her contributions to and scholarly work in Teacher Education.

Dr. Dorman received the 2016 Francis P. Hunkins Distinguished Article Award in Teaching from the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum for her article "Building Teachers' Social-Emotional Competence Through Mindfulness Practices." One award committee member commented: "In the rapidly growing field of contemplative pedagogy, Dorman’s research offers fresh, valuable, and critical information to support teacher preparation that engages the full dimensions of the pre-service teacher -- emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual."

Selected Publications and Presentations 

3-volume book series on Contemplative Practices, Pedagogy, and Research in Education:

• Volume 1: Cultivating a Culture of Learning: Contemplative Practices, Pedagogy, and Research in Education
• Volume 2: Impacting Teaching and Learning: Contemplative Practices, Pedagogy, and Research in Education
• Volume 3: The Teaching Self: Contemplative Practices, Pedagogy, and Research in Education

Dorman, E. H. ( 2019). Lectio divina as contemplative, anti-oppressive pedagogy in social justice education courses. In M. Hall, C. Hoyser, & J. Dalton (Eds.), The whole person: Embodying teaching and learning through lectio and visio divina. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Dalton, J. E. & Dorman, E. H. (2018). Blending the professional and personal to cultivate authenticity through contemplative pedagogy and practice in teacher education. In D. Garbett & A. Ovens (Eds.), Pushing boundaries and crossing borders: Self-study as a means for researching pedagogy (pp. 203-209) Herstmonceux, UK: S-STEP. ISBN: 978-0-473-44471-6

“Contemplative Engagement with Emotion: Embodied Strategies for Transformation and Change,” co-authored with A. E. Winans, Methodological Advances in Research on Emotion and Education, 2015 

“Building Teachers’ Social-Emotional Competence through Mindfulness Practices,” Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 2015 

“The Five Dimensions of Engaged Teaching: A Window into Anti-Oppression Content and Pedagogy,” 7th Annual Association of Contemplative Mind in Higher Education Conference, Washington, D.C., 2015 

“Opening Teacher Education Classes with Contemplative Practice,” Contemplative Teaching and Learning in Teacher Education Symposium, Denver, CO, 2015 

“Cultivating Pre-Service Teachers’ Social-Emotional Competence via the 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching,” Advances in Social Emotional Learning Research, 2014 

“‘Everything That’s Challenging in My School Makes Me a Better Teacher’: Negotiating Tensions in Learning to Teach for Equity,” Annual Editions, Multicultural Education, 17th Edition, 2014