Texas Tech University

Fanni Liu Coward, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department Chair
Teacher Education Department

Email: fanni.coward@ttu.edu

Phone: 806-834-4475

Office: Education 113A

Vita

Dr. Coward began teaching at Texas Tech University in 2009 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Shortly after, the College of Education re-organized and formed the Department of Teacher Education. Dr. Coward joined this newly formed department that focuses on teacher education, school partnership, and community engagement. In 2013, Dr. Coward became a clinical Site Coordinator, serving as a liaison between the school districts and TTU's teacher preparation program and coaching pre-service teacher candidates in the field. Dr. Coward received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education in 2015.

In 2016, Dr. Coward assumed a leadership role in the College, first serving as the Associate Chair for her previous department- Curriculum and Instruction and then later as the Department Chair (2016-2019). One of her most important contributions during this time was assisting the department in implementing community engaged scholarship into its curriculum. Dr. Coward returned full time to her faculty role in 2019 in the Department of Teacher Education. Currently, she serves as the Department Chair for the Department of Teacher Education

Dr. Coward is dedicated to her teaching and has earned numerous teaching awards during her time as a faculty member including the UAH Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award (2007), the TTU Alumni Association's New Faculty Award (2013), the College of Education Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (2014), the Phi Beta Kappa Honored Faculty (2020), and the President's Excellence in Teaching Award (2021). She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Human Development, Instructional Theory and Design, Teaching Diverse Students, The Educative Effect, and Influences of Technology on Identity and Social Processes. Dr. Coward has also created and taught a highly successful service-learning course that reaches out to students in local public schools since 2014.

Dr. Coward's current research interests center around Teacher Identity, Teacher Recruitment, and Access Issues in Schooling and Teacher Education. She has received the Established Investigator Award, Division I-American Educational Research Association (2011) for her research work.

Fanni Liu Coward

Education

  • 1997-2002 Ph.D., Educational Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX             
  • 1994-1996 M. A., Educational Studies, The Ohio State University, Columbus             
  • 1990-1994 B. A., English, Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan

Areas of Expertise

  • Human Development
  • Learning Science

Selected Publications

Playton, S., Hite, R., Coward, F.L., & Childers, G. (2023). Supporting STEM Career Awareness and STEM Interest for Rural Grade Two Students Through a University- School Partnership. In J. Spott, L. Sobehrad, & R. L. Hite (Eds.)., Developing and Sustaining STEM Programs across the K-12 Education Landscape. IGI Global.   

Coward, F.L., Hamman, D., Brown, D., & Lechtenberger, D. (2022). The Icarus effect: Evidence of possible over-commitment and burnout among special-education teacher candidates. TxEP-Texas Educator Preparation, 6, 7-17.

Chang, R. & Coward, F.L. (2015). More recess time, please! Kappan, 97(30), 14-17. DOI:10.1177/0031721715614822

Coward, F. L., Hamman, D., Johnson, L., Lambert, M., Indiatsi, J., & Zhou, L. (2015).Centrality of enactive experiences, framing, and motivation to student teachers' professional identity development. Teaching Education, 26(2), 196-221. DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2014.996741

Coward, F.L. (2014). Becoming an American without losing my Chinese identity. In W. Ma & C. Wang (Eds.). Learner's privilege & responsibility: A critical examination of the experiences and perspectives of learners from Chinese backgrounds in the United States (pp.235-250). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Inc.

Hamman, D., Coward, F. L., Johnson, L., Lambert, M., Zhou, L., & Indiatsi, J. (2013) Teacher possible selves:  How thinking about the future contributes to the formation of professional identity. Self and Identity, 13(3), 307-336. DOI: 10.1080.15298868.2012.671955.

Cheon, J., Coward, F.L., Song, J., & Lim. S. (2013). Factors predicting pre-service teachers' adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. Research in the Schools, 19(2), 17-29.

Coward, F. L., Matteson, S. M., & Hamman, D. (2012). A case study of teacher identity development in middle level student teachers. Middle Grades Research Journal, 7(4), 31-42.

Coward, F. L., Crooks, S. M., Flores, R., Dao, D. (2012). Examining the effects of gender and presentation mode on learning from a multimedia presentation. GÉNEROS-Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 1(1), 48-69.

Coward, F.L. & Jacob, S. (2012). Research Writing Team as a form of mentoring graduate students. In S. Myers & C. Anderson (Eds.). Dimensions in mentoring: A continuum of practice from beginning teachers to teacher leaders (pp.167-179). Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Coward, F.L. & Brown, D. (2011). How pre-service teachers' beliefs and assumptions about diverse students change through their reflection on a study-buddy program. Kansas Teacher Education Advocate, 19 (2), 7-16.

Flores, R., Coward, F.L., & Crooks. S. (2011). Examining the influence of gender on the modality effect. Journal of Educational Technology System, 39(1), 87-103. 

Coward, F.L. & Miller, P.C. (2010). Navigating the graduate seminar discussion: A qualitative analysis of international students' experiences. International Journal ofCommunication, 4, 1013-1031. (available online at http://ijoc.org)