Rate My Professor Shelly Furuness

Shelly Furuness serves as Director of Academic Affairs, Operational Excellence and Professor of Education in Butler University's College of Education. She holds a BS in Secondary English Education from Indiana University (1997), an MS in Effective Teaching and Leadership from Butler University (2005), and a PhD in Curriculum Studies and English from Indiana University (2008), with her dissertation titled "Becoming a Teacher of Hope: A Critical Ethnography of Occupational Socialization in an Age of Teacher Deskilling." Before entering higher education, Furuness taught middle school English at schools including Guion Creek Middle School in Indianapolis, Lynch Middle School in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Ben Davis Jr. High School in Indianapolis, and Harrison Middle School in Merrillville, Indiana, from 1997 to 2004. She began at Butler University as a graduate assistant in 2004-2005, followed by instructor roles from 2007 to 2009, and was promoted to Assistant Professor in Fall 2009, advancing to full Professor.

Furuness's research interests encompass Curriculum Studies, Secondary Education, and English Education. Key publications include "Middle School Curriculum Aimed at Developing Agents of Change" (Middle School Journal, 2020, co-authored with M. Rupenthal), "Space for Transformation: Relational, Dialogic Pedagogy" (Journal of Transformative Education, 2012, co-authored with J.T. Lysaker), "Novice Teacher Socialization: Putting Your Educational Philosophy to the Test" (2011, co-authored with M. Beilfuss and A. Wenzel), and NCATE Program Reports for the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (2012), National Council for Teachers of English (2011), and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2011), all receiving national recognition. She has earned the Richard Guyer Chair in Education (2013-2016) and the National First-Year Seminar Teaching Award (2010). At Butler, Furuness teaches courses such as ED 227 Introduction to Middle-Secondary Students and Schools, ED 327 Curriculum and Instructional Methods for Middle Level (developed online version in 2013), ED 420 Adolescent Literature and Strategies for Teaching It (hybrid and online), and supervises student teaching and master's theses. She has led presentations on flipped classrooms, co-teaching, virtual practicums, and teacher academies, including collaborations with Pike Township schools through the Master Practitioner program, and contributed to faculty development workshops on formative assessment and advising.