Smith-Burton Named Fayetteville State University Teacher of the Year
Dr. Kimberly Smith-Burton, a professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Reading and Special Education in the College of Education at Fayetteville State University (FSU), has been named FSU Teacher of the Year.
Smith-Burton is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. She attended North Carolina Central University (BS in Mathematics), Fayetteville State University (MAT in Mathematics) and North Carolina State University (Ph.D. in Mathematics Education). She has taught at FSU since 1994 serving in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, and the Department of Middle Grades, Secondary and Specialized Subjects. Prior to joining FSU's faculty, Smith-Burton was a mathematics teacher at Westover Senior High School, in the Cumberland County School System, in Fayetteville, NC. As a high school graduate, she was awarded the coveted North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship.
During her professional career, Smith-Burton has not only become a skilled teacher, but she has followed a multi-dimensional approach to support the development of teachers through her research and writing of articles and grants. Her writing topics include how social communication fosters student collaborations, the effects of the multiple intelligence teaching strategy on the academic achievement of eighth grade math students, fostering STEM learning communities to promote student interest in STEM disciplines, using student peer evaluations to evaluate team taught lessons and exploring whether student peer evaluations are consistent with instructor evaluations.
Smith-Burton has provided extensive professional development for teachers through her successful grant writing: U.S. Department of Education HBCU Master's Degree Program Grant (Principle Investigator and Project Director October 2017 - present), National Science Foundation-Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Grant Preparing Future Educators for Placement in K-12 Mathematics and Science Classrooms (PrEP) Program (Principle Investigator and Project Director January 2015 - September 2016 and September 2011 - December 2014), UNC-GA NC-QUEST Grant Program IBSO for Teachers: Inquiry-Based Science Outreach (Co-Principle Investigator March 2011 - September 2012) and Middle Math Teacher Academy: Effective Content and Literacy Instruction in Algebra Readiness and Algebraic Thinking for 6-8 Teachers (Co-Principle Investigator April 2009 - September 2010), National Science Foundation Implementation Grant HBCU-UP-Integrated STEM Academic Success (Co-Principle Investigator September 2010 - August 2015).
In addition to her teaching positions at FSU, Smith-Burton has served as Interim Associate Dean of the College of Education; Chair of the Department of Middle Grades, Secondary and Specialized Subjects; Interim Chair of the Department of Middle Grades, Secondary and Special Education; Director of the Math/Science Education Center; and Associate Regional Director for the Coastal Rural Systemic Initiative (National Science Foundation Grant).