Karin Sconzert

Karin Sconzert is a professor of education. She holds a Ph.D. in Administrative, Institutional, and Policy Studies in Education from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in history with a minor in theatre from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

At Carthage, Prof. Sconzert primarily teaches future secondary teachers (who major in their subject areas: math, English, etc) as they pursue teaching certification. She also teaches courses in urban education and supervises fieldwork for students earning an educational studies minor. Prof. Sconzert and biology colleague, Prof. Deborah Tobiason, created a co-taught course entitled Teaching Evolution: Science, Society, and the Schools. This has led to further work in science teaching through a National Science Foundation Noyce grant, the Carthage Noyce Scholarship Program: A Community Building Approach to Preparing Secondary Science and Math Teachers ($1.2 million), which was completed in 2024. She is the director of the Broad Field Social Sciences Program and supervises senior theses in this field, and teaches Methods for Teaching Theatre for theatre majors.

Prof. Sconzert was a 4-12 grade teacher of history, theatre, and computer applications at the Latin School of Chicago, The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Princeton Day School (NJ), and Forest Ridge Academy (IN) between 1987 and 1996. She conducted qualitative research with the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago from 1994-2001. She has also worked as a professional theatrical costume designer for the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

Prof. Sconzert previously served on the faculty at Ursinus College (PA) and Loyola University Chicago, as well as the Urban Education Program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. She also serves as a host of “Education Matters,” an interview program on Wisconsin Public Radio WGTD (Kenosha-Racine). She is a former trustee of the Kenosha Public Library.

Prof. Sconzert’s most rewarding service was working as an adult literacy tutor through the Blue Gargoyle Adult Literacy Program in Chicago from 1998-2001.

When Prof. Sconzert isn’t teaching, she enjoys cooking with her family, singing in the Music Insititute of Chicago Chorale, running along Lake Michigan with the Evanston Running Club, and crocheting colorful baby blankets (while listening to audiobooks), which she gives away as gifts or donations.

Hear from Prof. Sconzert: Why Education?

“I teach future middle and high school teachers because it is such a formative time in people’s lives. As a teacher of adolescents, you are often the first responder to many of life’s challenges and joys. Adolescents are becoming independent, but they still need strong adult influences in their lives for advice and encouragement. As teachers, coaches, music and theatre directors, and leaders of clubs and activities, middle and high school teachers bear witness to some of the most important moments in a teenager’s life. That is a powerful and meaningful role.

“One of the courses I teach is called Fostering Engagement and Positive Behavior. In the old days, this was called ‘Classroom Management,’ as though teachers were expected to move furniture around. What I teach, and I hope my students carry with them, is that you need to understand adolescent development and work with adolescents rather than against them. The adolescent brain demands novelty and risk, as well as belonging. Many adolescents struggle to sit still for an entire class period.

“So, the most effective way to ‘manage a classroom’ is to help students get to know each other, to put them into groups for competitions (during which they’ll quickly learn to cooperate in order to succeed), give them choices in assignments, and allow them to physically move around the classroom as part of learning. And above all, learn to respect your students, especially those who struggle. Go to games, performances, and exhibits to see your students in settings they choose, where they can shine. Let them know that you see them doing strong and good things. The relationships you build with your adolescent students can carry on over a lifetime, or at least, help them navigate high school successfully.

“Teaching is so much more than mastering the subject of your major field. I also teach Methods for Teaching Social Studies and History as well as Methods for Teaching Theatre, which were my subjects as a middle and high school teacher. These are important areas of study because they are the basis of our democracy. People need to learn about voting; how local, state, and national government works; the history of our form of government; and our rights and responsibilities as citizens. But they also need to learn how to relate to people and stories different from their own experiences, to walk in other’s footsteps, and to feel the emotions that develop empathy, as only theatre and storytelling can do. These two subjects, social studies and theatre, have been the basis of my teaching philosophy for over 30 years.”

• Ph.D. — Education Policy and the History of Education, University of Chicago, 2001
• B.A. — History and Theatre, Lawrence University, 1987

• EDU 1010: Education and Society
• EDU 2010: Educational Psychology and Assessment
• EDU 2340: Foundations of Urban Education
• EDU 2570: Fostering Engagement and Positive Behavior in 4-12 grade classroom
• EDU 3500: Field Experience in Education
• EDU 4200: Methods and Materials for Teaching Secondary Social Science
• THR 4200: Methods and Materials in Teaching Theatre

Prof. Sconzert’s research interests focus on urban education, including charter and choice schools, and teaching science in U.S. schools. She has developed a school choice simulation called “Who Chooses, Who Loses? A Simulation of a School Choice Market,” which she has presented to audiences at Brown University, teachers’ associations, church groups, Carthage Alumni College, and many college classes since 2005.

Prof. Sconzert is proud to have worked with and guided undergraduate student researchers since the beginning of her college-level teaching, leading to more than a dozen student presentations at Celebration of Scholars, local school districts, and regional, national, and international conferences.

Prof. Sconzert has presented for dozens of refereed conferences and college/university invited addresses, including Brown University, the University of Chicago, the American Educational Research Association, and the Canada International Conference on Education, among many others.

Prof. Sconzert was part of the Carthage Noyce Scholarship team that won a $1.2 million National Science Foundation Noyce Grant to prepare math and science teachers for high-needs schools. In 2020, the Carthage Noyce Scholarship team was awarded the Business in Education Award by the Kenosha Unified School District, in recognition of successfully increasing the number of math and science teachers in the area. In 2024, the Carthage Noyce Scholarship team won Carthage’s Quality of Life award for service to Carthage and the larger community.

As a middle and high school teacher, Prof. Sconzert won two Earthwatch teacher fellowships to work with teams of archeologists in the summer. She dug settlements revealing Neolithic trade in Neuchatel, Switzerland and excavated a Bronze Age horde of axes in Zaragoza, Spain.

Ms. Sconz, as she was known to her students, also won a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship for Teachers at Bowdoin College in Maine, where she and 15 other teachers studied Hamlet, specifically watching and analyzing every film that had ever been made of Hamlet in any language.

Prof. Sconzert served as adult literacy tutor from 1998 to 2001, and the award of which she is most proud is the 2000 Spotlight On Service Award, presented by the Illinois Press Association, the Illinois Literacy Foundation, and Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State, for outstanding service as a volunteer adult literacy tutor, May 2000.

Sconzert, Karin and Stephanie Zimmerman (2013) The Choices Behind School Choice: The Expansion of Wisconsin’s Voucher Program. Proceedings of the Canada International Conference on Education, 2013.

Sconzert, Karin. (2011) Schools and Communities: Perspectives on Partnering a Decade after the Annenberg Challenge. Proceedings of the Canada International Conference on Education, 2011.

Sconzert, Karin, Mark Smylie, and Stacy Wenzel (2004) Working for School Improvement: Reflections of Chicago Annenberg External Partners Chicago: Consortium oSconzern Chicago School Research, Chicago Annenberg Research Project.

Sconzert, Karin. (2001) Warming Up to the Schools? Connecting Universities with Teaching Practice in Chicago. Metropolitan Universities Journal. Volume 12, Number 4, Autumn 2001.

Newmann, Fred M. and Karin Sconzert. (2000) School Improvement with External Partners. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, Chicago Annenberg Research Project.

Sconzert, Karin, Demetria Iazzetto, and Stewart Purkey. (2000) Small Town College to Big City School: Preparing Urban Teachers from Liberal Arts Colleges. Teaching and Teacher Education. Vol. 16, Issue 4 (May 2000) p. 465-490.

Shipps, Dorothy, Karin Sconzert, and Holly Swyers. (1999) The Chicago Annenberg Challenge: The First Three Years. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, Chicago Annenberg Research Project.
Smylie, Mark, and Diane King Bilcer, Julie Kochanek, Karin Sconzert, Dorothy Shipps, Holly Swyers. (1998) Getting Started: A First Look at Chicago Annenberg Schools and Networks. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, Chicago Annenberg Research Project.

Prof. Sconzert has presented for dozens of refereed conferences and college/university invited addresses, including Brown University, the University of Chicago, the American Educational Research Association, and the Canada International Conference on Education, among many others.