Faculty Profiles

Biography

Brita Beitler (Ed.D., Indiana University) is an Instructor and the Secondary Education Coordinator in the Department of Education and the chair of the Secondary Education Advisory Committee (SEAC). She has been teaching and supervising students at Wheaton College since 2014.

Prior to coming to Wheaton, Brita worked as an instructional coach in Rhode Island, taught as a 7th-8th grade English Language Arts teacher, 6th grade teacher, and 5th grade teacher in Michigan. She has experience teaching in private Christian, public, and charter schools. 

Brita has served on state and national committees, including the Rhode Island State Literacy Team, the NAEP Reading Framework Advisory Review Committee, and the University Musical Society Teacher Advisory Panel. In her schools, she has served on literacy teams, the ELA Curriculum Coordinator, and as the 8th Grade Class Trip Coordinator (Washington, D.C.). 

Brita and her husband are members of All Souls Anglican Church, where she serves as a catechist for the 4- and 5-year-olds. She has volunteered as a board member for the Wheaton College Women's Club, a host family for Safe Families for Children, a house group leader for her church, and a room parent and Battle of the Books coach at her children's school. 

She and her husband, Jim, are grateful to be teaching at Wheaton College, where they met as undergrads in Badminton class. They are excited to raise their two boys in Wheaton.

Indiana University
Ed.D., Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy, Culture, and Language Education, 2024

The University of Michigan
M.A., Educational Research: Literacy, Language, and Culture, 2009

Wheaton College - Wheaton, IL
B.A., Elementary Education with English Literature Concentration, 2004

Areas of Expertise and Research Interests

• Cultural Literacies
• Disciplinary Literacy
• Best Practices 
• Teacher Mentoring
• Critical Literacy
• Instructional Coaching
• Curriculum Planning
• Literacy Assessment
• Writing Workshop

Courses Regularly Taught:

• EDUC 306/506 Classroom Communication and Curriculum Integration
• EDUC 317 Theories and Methods of Elementary English Language Arts
• SSCI 321 Theories and Methods of Elementary Social Studies
• EDUC 324L/527L Methods Practicum
• EDUC 494/594 Senior Seminar: Craft of Teaching
• EDUC 496/596 Student Teaching

Past Courses:

• EDUC 498 Literacy Assessment 

Additional One-Year Appointments: 

• EDUC 136 Teaching Diverse Learners 
• EDUC 311 Elementary General Methods

Publications

Beitler, B. E. (2024). Co-creating a Culture Circle: A Horizontal Mentoring Model for New Teachers’ Spiritual Formation. International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal, 19(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/1932-7846.1337

Beitler, B. (2024). Developing a year-long culture circle with beginning teachers: A counterstory to traditional mentoring models. [Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University - Bloomington]. 

Presentations 

Racial empathy and visual literacy: Engaging preservice elementary teachers in anti-racist pedagogies through picturebook artwork. National Council of Teachers of English, Annual Convention, November 18-21, 2021. 

Instructional Coaching

• Literacy Coach, 2009-2013, Portsmouth School District, Portsmouth, RI

Classroom Teaching (K-12)

• Language Arts Teacher, 2006-2009, Fortis Academy, Ypsilanti, MI
• 6th Grade Teacher, 2005-2006, Fortis Academy, Ypsilanti, MI
• 5th Grade Teacher, 2004-2005, Light and Life Christian School, Taylor, MI 

Past Committee Work and Leadership

• Rhode Island State Literacy Team, 2011-2013, RI Department of Education Providence, RI
• Portsmouth School District Literacy Team, 2009-2011, Portsmouth, RI
• NAEP Reading Framework Review Committee, 2009-2010, ETS and US Department of Education, Princeton, NJ
• ELA Curriculum Coordinator, 2007-2009, Fortis Academy, Ypsilanti, MI
• University Musical Society, Teacher Advisory Panel, 2007-2009, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 

Athletic Coaching

• Varsity Softball Coach and JV Volleyball Coach, 2004-2005, Light and Life Christian School, Taylor, MI