Rate My Professor Dawn Thompson

Thompson's primary focus is Career Technical Workforce Education (CTWE), where she supports individuals hired from industry to teach in Ohio's middle and high school career technical programs through a 24-credit-hour provisional licensure pathway offered fully online by BGSU. As part of the leadership team with DJ Kern-Blystone, Jeremy Nadler, and Cindy Ross, she helped develop and deliver the CTWE program, which grew from 21 students in 2013 to 350 by 2020 and received the Outstanding Advising and Mentoring Program Award in 2021. The team created specialized resources, including a Career Tech Teacher Resource website during the 2020 pandemic to facilitate online learning transitions, and in-class modules for personalized guidance. Thompson teaches courses such as EDWF 5670: Teaching and Learning in Career Tech Workforce Education and EDWF 4690: Program and Laboratory Management. She collaborates with the Northwest Ohio Career Tech Partnership through regular meetings since 2023 to address hiring challenges, teacher retention, and curriculum enhancements, including special education modules and new teacher observation programs. Over five years, 556 students enrolled in the program, with 110 completing for five-year licenses and data informing ongoing improvements. Thompson has provided expert testimony to Ohio legislative committees, including the Senate Education Committee and House Primary and Secondary Education Committee in 2024, advocating for equitable licensure standards amid teacher shortages.