Title
Professor, Research & Professional Development Leader at the Fishback Center for ECEOffice Building
Pugsley CenterOffice
112Mailing Address
Pugsley Cont Ed Center 112School of Educ, Counseling & Human Dev-Box 2218
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
Education
B.S. in Psychology from the University of MNPh.D. in Child Development and Family Studies from the University of TX-Austin
Academic Interests
Child DevelopmentVisual Thinking Strategies
Design Thinking
Teacher Research/SoTL
Inquiry-Based Learning
Early Childhood Education
Academic Responsibilities
ECE 325 - Inclusion & the Diverse LearnerECE 360 - Play & Inquiry
ECE 488 - Student Teaching - Community Placements
Committee Activities
EHS Promotion & Tenure Committee MemberChildren's Museum of SD Board Member & Exhibit/Experience Committee Chair
East Central Chapter of SDAEYC Membership Co-Coordinator
Early Learner South Dakota - Early Learner Communities Committee Co-Chair
Early Learner South Dakota Funding Committee Member
Awards and Honors
Scholarship Award, 2009-2010, The College of Education and Human SciencesOutstanding Faculty Award, 2002, The College of Family & Consumer Sciences
Grants
McKillip, A., Cutler, K., Letcher, T., & Silvernagel, C. (2021-2023). Living and Working in Space – Children’s Museum Traveling Exhibit Design. SD Space Grant Consortium Proposal. ($52,298.00).Garcia, A., Busmann, R., Cutler, K., & Daniels, A.M. (2020 -2021). Practiced-Based Coaching for ECE Enrichment Sites. South Dakota Dept. of Social Services. ($102,435).
Patents
McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Lucchesi, R., Silvernagel, C., Heller, B., Cutler, K., Hume, C., Vaz., A.*, Smither, M.*, Gordon, E.*, Stang, N.*, Heinz, A.*, & Gottsleben, T.* Konnectors Design Patent - April 2022.Invention Disclosures:
McKillip, A., Letcher T., Silvernagel, C., Lucchesi, R., Cutler, K, Hume, C., Anderson, K., Klarenbeek, T., Phuminpraphat, K., Diekhoff, A., Steers, E., Palmer, T., & Lange, W. Explorer 44. Invention Disclosure, Submitted Oct. 15, 2021.
McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Silvernagel, C., Lucchesi, R., Cutler, K., Hume, C., Elbedawey, M., Sudbeck, A., Hoffman, A., and Kleve, A. Sound Constructor. Invention Disclosure, Submitted Oct., 15, 2021.
McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Lucchesi, R., Silvernagel, C., Heller, B., Cutler K., Hume, C., Blick, K., Resche, E., Stukel, M., and Theisen, S., The Connextion Box Invention Disclosure. Submitted Nov. 13, 2019.
Professional Memberships
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA)
Area(s) of Research
Visual Thinking Strategies in Early Childhood - Using Visual Thinking Strategies to support the development of critical thinking in young children.Design-Thinking - Studying how interdisciplinary design thinking develops in team members and how the teams create the 'space in-between' for optimal design team functioning.
Department(s)
Image for School of Education, Counseling and Human Development
School of Education, Counseling and Human Development
Image for Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education
Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education
Image for Teacher Education
Teacher Education