Marj Terpstra


Marj Terpstra

Education

  • MA, Grand Valley State University, 2005
  • PhD, Michigan State University, 2009

Biography

I am passionate about building relationships as I develop learning communities. My prior positions, first as a fourth-grade teacher, and later as a K-8 school technology coordinator, ground and shape my relationships with Calvin education students and educators in our partnership schools. I aim to inspire and equip future teachers to make thoughtful decisions around curriculum content and pedagogy, including perspectives and practices surrounding technology.

I aim to foster my students’ development into the teachers God has created and called them to be. I desire that they immerse themselves in the complex process of instructional preparation and implementation, gaining a glimpse of the possibilities of authentic, engaged learning. I hope they, in turn, will engage their students in rich exploration of God’s world and their place in it.

My current research examines the complexities of learning and teaching with technology in a Christian school system. The research informs my exploration of technological perspectives and practices with Calvin education students. Cross-cultural work with Calvin students in Zambia continues to enlighten my class practices and encourages students in navigating and capitalizing on the wide diversity of students in their classrooms. I have especially appreciated opportunities to mentor student researchers in the technology research and the Zambia education research.

Academic interests

  • Learning to teach with technology
  • Spiritual development within school contexts

Publications

  • Terpstra, M. (2018). Making technology a servant: Review of The Tech-wise Family. Perspectives Journal, 33(3).

  • Sevensma, K., Terpstra, M., Gibson, J., Napitupulu, I., Quist Nieuwsma, E., Fuji Siahaan, M., Song, Y. (2018). Seeking a Scholarship of Pedagogy, Technology, and Faith: A Literature Survey. International Journal of Christianity in Education, 22(3), 252-273.

  • Terpstra, M. (2015). TPACKtivity: An activity theory framework for examining TPACK development, in C. Angeli & N. Valanides (Eds.) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Exploring, Developing, and Assessing TPCK. New York: Springer.

  • Rosaen, C. L. & Terpstra, M. (2012). Widening worlds: Understanding and teaching new literacies. Studying Teacher Education, 8(1), 35-49.

  • Rosaen, C. L., Lundeberg, M., Cooper, M., Fritzen, A. & Terpstra, M. (in press for 2010). Interns' use of video cases to problematize their practice: Crash, burn and (maybe) learn. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 18(1).

  • Rosaen, C. L., Lundeberg, M., Terpstra, M., Cooper, M., Niu, R., Fu, J. ( 2010). Constructing video cases to help novices learn to facilitate discussions in science and English: How does subject matter matter? Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 16(4), 507-524. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540601003754905

  • Rosaen, C. L., Lundeberg, M., Terpstra, M., Cooper, M., Fu, J., & Niu, R. (2010). Seeing through a different lens: What do interns learn when they make video cases of their own teaching? The Teacher Educator 45(1), 1-22.  DOI10.1080/08878730903386849

  • Rosaen, C. L., Lundeberg, M. & Terpstra, M. (2010). The case for constructing video cases: Promoting complex, specific, learner-centered analysis of discussion. Educational Technology Magazine, January/February, 50(1), 18-22.

Presentations

Marjorie Terpstra (Education), “Digital Citizenship: How Do We Prepare Teacher Candidates and Teachers to Lead the Way?” (lecture, American Association of  Colleges for Teacher Education, Baltimore, MD, March 1, 2018).

Terpstra, M. (2017). Teaching with Digital Technologies as Christians: What do Teachers Say? Paper given at the Kuyers Institute Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, October.

Sjoerdsma, R., & Terpstra, M. (2016). Sustaining a multi-partner experiential learning initiative:  Middle schools, teacher education, and a college based environmental collaborative. Presentation given at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, February.

Terpstra, M. & Westbrook, N. (2016). Candidate Research as a Pedagogical Practice: Collaborating Across Cultures. Presentation given at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, February. 

Westbrook, N. & Terpstra, M. (2016). Co-teaching as Collaboration:  Evidence from a Zambian School. Presentation given at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, February.

 

Professional services

Literacy Research Association
Christian Educators Association
  • (2018) Intentional Instructional Practices with Technology.
  • (2016)  Relevant & Rooted; Research Findings from a Christian School with 1:1 Technology. With Smith, D., McMullen, S., Sevensma, K.
  • (2016) Bending Technology for Relevant & Rooted Classroom Practices: Research Findings from a Christian School with 1:1 Technology. With Sevensma, K., McMullen, S., & Smith, D., Song, Y.
  • (2014) Is it about “The Cloud” or the Cloud of Witnesses? Student Learning in and outside of the Cloud. With Filippini, K., Boes, A., Jeninga, E., Jensen, E., Lape, A.
  • (2011) Helping Young (and Old) People Use Technology to Live the Difference
  • (2010) Technology for Teachers: Using Technology To Aid Students' Engagement with Subject Matter
  • (2008) Technology for Teachers: Connecting Students Globally
  • (2007) Digital Literacy: Collaboratively Telling the Story
  • (2004) Techie Teaching: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum
Calvin College Literacy Conference
  • (2010) Exploring New Literacies- Cheryl Rosaen and Marj Terpstra
West Michigan Christian Teachers Association

Related

Learn more about Calvin's excellent faculty and learning environment by scheduling a campus visit.

Visit »
×

  • Course code:
  • Credits:
  • Semester:
  • Department:
Top