Paul J. Yoder

Paul J. Yoder is director of EMU's Graduate Teacher Education program in Harrisonburg and an associate professor of teacher education. Paul earned his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in social studies education from the University of Virginia. Paul is an EMU graduate with a B.A. in history and an M.A. in education. Before studying at UVA, Paul taught history at Thomas Harrison Middle School and English as a Second Language at Dayton Learning Center. Paul’s dissertation examined the teaching and learning of history among culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. Paul’s recent scholarship interests include Mennonite education, trauma in social studies education, language learning, student identity, and the enacted curriculum. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association and the National Council for the Social Studies.

Paul is married to Katrina Yoder, an instructional coach at Waterman Elementary School.  They are the proud parents of two elementary-age children.  The 2019-2020 school year (pandemic and all) was the first that they experienced public schools as parents, an experience that reinforces their appreciation for caring and passionate educators. 

Selected International and National Peer-reviewed Presentations and Workshops

• Yoder, P. J., Wiens, P., & Chou, A. (2024, April 11-14). Conceptualizing restorative justice in education in Mennonite schools [Paper presentation]. AERA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
• Yoder, P. J., Wiens, P., Shultz, R. M., & Chou, A. (2023, April 13-16). Educational experiences and teacher faith integration self-efficacy in pre-K-12 Mennonite schools in North America [Paper presentation]. AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
• Jaffee, A. T., Salinas, C., . . . Yoder, P. J. (2022, November 30 – December 2). Culturally and linguistically relevant social studies with emergent bilingual and multilingual youth [CID]. Annual Conference of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies.
• Yoder, P. J. (2021, November 16-19). Re-examining whiteness in social studies education through critical self-reflection [Paper presentation]. Online Conference of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies.
• Yoder, P. J., Calkins, L., & Wiens, P. (2021, November 16-19). Leveraging national survey data to reimagine culturally & linguistically responsive social studies instruction [Paper presentation]. Online Conference of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies.
• Wiens, P., Hightower, A., Yoder, P., & Chou, A. (2021, April 8-12). Antecedents of faith self-efficacy in preK-12 Mennonite Schools in North America [Paper presentation]. Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Conference Online due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• Calkins, L., Wiens, P., & Yoder, P. J. (2020, November 30-December 4). Renewed purposes for social studies teacher preparation: An analysis of teacher self-efficacy and initial teacher education [Paper presentation]. Online Conference of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies.
• Yoder, P. J., & Yoder, K. (2020, November 30-December 4). Engaging contested histories: Toward a theory of trauma-acknowledging history instruction [Paper presentation]. Online Conference of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies.
• Yoder, P. J. (2020, November 30-December 4). Engaging contested histories through integrated instruction for English learners: A collaborative action research project [Paper presentation]. Online Conference of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies.
• Yoder, P. J., Wiens, P., & Chou, A. (2020, April 17-21). Constructivist or Christian: Amixed-methods examination of teacher purposes and practices at Mennonite schools [Roundtable Session]. AERA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/w6denxu (Conference canceled)
• Yoder, P. J. (2019). The water in which we swim: Acknowledging and problematizing traumagenic events in social studies curriculum. Paper presented at the meeting of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies, Austin, TX, November 2019. 
• Yoder, P. J. & Jaffee, A. T. (2019). Complex citizenship: Examining the civic engagement of Iraqi and Eritrean youth in predominantly Latinx settings.  Paper presented in the symposium, Examining, Enacting, and Reframing Theory: Centering the Civic Engagement of Historically Marginalized Youth, at the meeting of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies, Austin, TX, November 2019. 
• Southall, A., & Yoder, P. J. (2018). Embedding ESL methods and instruction into traditional methods coursework.  SCUFF Roundtable Session at the meeting of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies, Chicago, IL, November 2018.
• Yoder, P. J., & van Hover, S. D. (2018). Teaching history to English language learners in standards-based settings: Implications for teacher educators. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY, April 2018.
• Yoder, P. J., & Jaffee, A. T. (2017). Multiple perspectives: Engaging diverse voices in the social studies classroom. Workshop presented at the meeting of the National Council for the Social Studies, San Francisco, CA, November 2017.
• Yoder, P. J. (2017). “I would say they did good things because I like America how it is today”: (Emergent) bilingual students’ employment of U.S. history narratives. Paper presented at the meeting of the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies, San Francisco, CA, November 2017.
• Yoder, P. J. (2017). He wants to get rid of all the Muslims: Student perspectives on Donald Trump. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Antonio, TX, April 2017.
• Yoder, P. J., & Johnson, A. P. (2016). (Mis)perceptions of Arabs and Arab Americans: How can social studies teachers disrupt the stereotypes? Paper presented in the symposium, 21st Century Social Issues and the Social Studies Curriculum, at the meeting of the National Council for the Social Studies, Washington, D.C., December 2016.
• Karam, F. J., Kibler, A., Yoder, P. J., & Monaghan, C. (2016). Syrian refugee NNESTs: Teacher identity and the fear of English. Winner of the TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues. Paper presented at the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo, Baltimore, MD, April 2016.
• Yoder, P. J., & van Hover, S. (2015). Supporting social studies learning among English language learners. Research into Practice session presented at the meeting of the National Council for the Social Studies, New Orleans, LA, November 2015.
• Yoder, P. J., & van Hover, S. (2015). History instruction with English language learners: A case study. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, April 2015.
• Yoder, P. J. (2007). Christian Peacemaker Teams: Uniquely Christian identity meets mainstream peacemaking. Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Human Rights and Religion, Mofid University, Qom, Iran, May 2007.

Selected State and Local Peer-reviewed Presentations and Workshops

• Yoder, P. J., & Jaffee, A. T. (2017). Uncovering with structured academic controversy. Workshop presented at the annual conference of the Virginia Council for the Social Studies, Richmond, VA, November 2017.
• Cook, R., & Yoder, P. J. (2017). Uncovering school unification in Rockbridge County. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Virginia Council for the Social Studies, Richmond, VA, November 2017.
• Yoder, P. J. (2014).  Supporting social studies learning and language production among immigrant students.  Presentation at the annual conference of the Virginia Council for the Social Studies, Vienna, VA, October 2014.

Selected Invited Scholarly Presentations and Workshops

• Wiens, P. D. & Yoder, P. J. (2020). Igniting creativity in teaching: What research has to say. Keynote address at the Mennonite Educators Conference, Leesburg, VA, February 2020.
• Yoder, P. J. (2015). Teaching English language learners.  Presentation at the James Madison University UnConference, Harrisonburg, VA, December 2015.

• Principal Investigator, Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Grant, Award Number 2050250 ($1,182,443), National Science Foundation (NSF 17-541), 2021-2026
• Summer Teaching Grant, Eastern Mennonite University, 2020-2021
• Undergraduate Faculty Release Time and Mini-Grant, Eastern Mennonite University, 2019-2020
• Small Colleges and University Faculty Forum Travel Grant, National Council for the Social Studies, 2017
• Dr. Phyllis Coulter Professional Enrichment/Development Grant, Eastern Mennonite University,
  2017, 2018, 2019
• The 2016 TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues, TESOL International Association

Virginia Collegiate Professional Teaching License:

• English as a Second Language PreK-12
• History and Social Sciences

• American Education Research Association (AERA)
• National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
• College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies

• Faculty Scholarship Committee, 2022-present
• Committee on Teacher Education, 2016-present
• Graduate Education and Action Research Committee, 2018-present
• Teacher Education Admissions Committee, 2016-2017, 2020-2022
• The Center for Teaching & Learning Taskforce, 2020-2021
• LovEMU Planning Committee, 2019-2021
• Faculty Senate, 2018-2020, (Co-President, 2019-2020)
• University Restructuring Design Group, 2018-2019
• Institutional Review Board, 2017-2020
• Education Faculty Search Committee, Spring 2018
• Colleague Review Committee, Fall 2017
• Creation Care Council, 2016-2017