Christopher C. Martell

Research and Teaching

I am an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education and Graduate Program Director of Middle/Secondary Education at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Massachusetts Boston. My research has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals and books. I am also the author of the book Teaching History for Justice: Centering Activism in Students' Study of the Past (with Kaylene M. Stevens; Teachers College Press) and the editor of the book Social Studies Teacher Education: Critical Issues and Current Perspectives (Information Age Publishing).

I have taught EDC 466-662 Social Studies Methods, EDC G 676 Advanced Strategies for Teaching History, Social Studies, and Ethnic Studies, EDC 626 Integrating Social Studies and the Arts, EDC 406-606 Sociocultural Foundations of Education, EDC 460-660 Using Data to Plan Curriculum and Instruction, and supervise student teachers through the Teach Next Year program. Previously, I was a Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University, were I taught CH 300-515 Methods of Instruction/Elementary Social Studies 1-6, SO 566 Developing Historical Literacy 5-12, SO 930 The Nature of Social Studies Education, SO 933 Doctoral Seminar in History Education, SO 935 Doctoral Seminar in Civic Education and Engagement, and RS 620 Action Research and Practitioner Inquiry.

I was a high school social studies teacher for eleven years in urban and suburban contexts. For most of my teaching career, I taught at Framingham High School, which is a racially and economically diverse urban school outside Boston with large immigrant populations from Brazil, Central America, and the Caribbean. As a teacher, I engaged in regular examinations of my own classroom practices through action research.

My research and professional interests focus on teacher development across the career span, including preservice teacher preparation, inservice professional development, and practitioner inquiry. I am particularly interested in social studies teachers in urban and multicultural contexts, and how they teach for social justice, use culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy, and engage their students in historical inquiry.