Dr. Sharon Childs

Biography

Sharon Childs is an Associate Teaching Professor in Applied Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University, where she also serves as the Chair of the M.A. TESL Program and Director of the TESOL Minor Integrated Undergraduate Program. Her research interests encompass Language Teacher Cognition, Language Teacher Education, and Online Instruction. With a focus on L2 teacher learning and professional development through a Vygotskian sociocultural theory perspective, she regularly collaborates in research and mentoring. She teaches various courses including First-Year Seminar, Teaching American English Pronunciation, and Practice Teaching in ESL, and has been involved in the International Teaching Assistants program and the Online Graduate Certificate TESOL program. She co-authored the book 'Praxis-oriented Pedagogy for Novice L2 Teachers: Developing Teacher Reasoning' (2022, Routledge) and has contributed to multiple articles and book chapters in the field of applied linguistics and teacher education. Childs also coordinates global language initiatives and has engaged in international projects that connect students and educators across borders.

Research Interests