Teacher Learning, Research & Practice

Meet Loraine Glidewell, a teacher educator, scientist, doctoral scholar passionate about the wonders of rural education

Hannah Fletcher — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:52:18 +0000

Meet Loraine Glidewell, a teacher educator, scientist, doctoral scholar passionate about the wonders of rural education Hannah Fletcher Wed, 04/29/2026 - 16:52

From a fisheries biologist turned rural middle school science teacher to today a doctoral graduate and teacher educator, Loraine Glidewell’s journey seems to be as winding as a remote river in Colorado’s beautiful backcountry. But with a closer look, a pattern emerges. Glidewell has always been drawn towards people and places others can overlook.

Glidewell came to the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder School of Education to pursue her PhD in Teacher Learning, Research and Practice after teaching in the San Luis Valley, a place with a deep history but an expansive area where many Coloradans drive through or pass by.

In the valley, she saw a community rich with curiosity, resilience and wonder—the perfect place to teach science. When she became a middle school teacher in Monte Vista, Glidewell didn’t just teach students; she felt connected to them in the same way that a scientist understands the interconnectivity of a thriving ecosystem.

As a teacher, Glidewell noticed her students’ strengths before they noticed it in themselves. She watched them grow across grades and time, and they watched her growth too. She has always been focused on supporting people and community.

Some of her same students later showed up at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder to support her during her dissertation defense and to cheer her on during her 3‑Minute Thesis competition, where she won the people’s choice award and campuswide award to represent �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder at the regional competition.

That’s the kind of magic Glidewell brings to her relationships, cultivates in her classrooms and centers in her research. She sees beauty in small towns and in the oft overlooked corners of rural education. Her life’s work includes sharing that beauty with others.

Her faculty describe her “humanizing vision,” her ability to see the full potential of students and teacher candidates and her talent for designing learning experiences that are “powerful, informative and memorable.” All the reasons that helped Glidewell earn the School of Education’s Outstanding Teaching Award.

Glidewell sees people—really sees them—and that changes everything. She talks glowingly about her supporters: her advisor, her professors, her cohort, her partner, her current and former students and especially her family. She carries their support with her and aims to pay it forward.

“I never saw myself as a science person, as a teacher, as a doctor," she said. "Life has been a wild and unexpected ride. Even though my family did not have the social capital to help me understand and navigate college, they gave me other tools that helped me along the way.”

Through all her many, varied experiences, Glidewell has learned that brilliance doesn’t come packaged in degrees or titles. Her research and teaching are driven by a conviction that rural communities are rich sources of scientific knowledge and possibilities.

Glidewell wants future teachers to see the potential she sees in rural learning communities and in themselves. She wants to make the invisible more visible. She believes that magic is everywhere and available to everyone willing to take a closer look.

In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself

I came to �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder from the beautiful San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. I set out in life to be a biologist and had a pretty amazing life working with Colorado Parks & Wildlife in the fisheries world. But then somehow, I ended up randomly becoming a middle school science teacher in our rural community, and it changed my life. So often we talk about teachers and the impact they can have on students, but my students had the biggest impact on me. I was so lucky to get to be a teacher in Monte Vista, Colorado. In a small town, you get to watch your students grow up over time, across grades, and across town. I even have had the joy of seeing students I taught as middle schoolers here, now as college students, at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder! One even made it to my dissertation defense. That's the magic of rural education. The relationships are so deep and they don't stop at the end of a school day or the end of a school year. My students actually encouraged me to be here, to work on teacher shortages in rural areas. I chose �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder because it was a rare fully funded program, and as a rural teacher, there are serious pay inequities between folks teaching in more urban and suburban spaces and those of us everywhere else. I would not have been able to afford a PhD on my own, and I got so lucky with the incredible mentorship and friendship I experienced here along the way.

What is one of the most significant lessons from your time at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

The thing that I am going to carry with me wherever I go next is the importance of showing up for one another. I had so many people show up for me during my time here at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. The best example was during the 3-Minute Thesis competition, which was something way outside of my comfort zone. I am truly a shy human, and I pushed myself to gain skills and practice in talking about and sharing my work. At the competition, I had so many people show up for me. My advisor, my professors, my friends who are also in this doctoral program, my best friend and love of my life, my family, the pre-service teachers I have been so lucky to get to know and teach, and even my students from Monte Vista School District, one even drove down from CSU Fort Collins to surprise me and be there to support me. The way that people in my life have shown up for me is something I am not just going to carry with me, but something I am deeply motivated to pay forward.

What does graduating from �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder represent for you and/or your community?

My dad was a bartender and a wonderful human being. My mom is the funniest person I know. My big sister is the bossiest person I have ever met in my life. My brother Jojo, who has a rare genetic disorder, is deaf, mute, endlessly curious, and a close observer. Even though no one in my family went to college, bartending is a world of science and mixtures, a sense of humor is a source of strength and optimism, bossiness is just another word for leadership, and there is so much to learn by having a sense of wonder and paying attention to the details of the world around you. I never saw myself as a science person, as a teacher, as a doctor. Life has been a wild and unexpected ride. Even though my family did not have the social capital to help me understand and navigate college, they gave me other tools that helped me along the way. What this PhD means is that my nieces, my nephew, my students I got to teach out in Monte Vista, and someday, my kids, will know that something like this is possible for all of us.

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

My best piece of advice for incoming students is to be just as invested in the people around you as you are in yourself. Care just as much about their work and their happiness as you care about yours. This is a really tough journey, and it’s tough for everyone. Everyone is trying to figure it out, navigate life, do something meaningful, and it’s a lot easier (and so much more enjoyable) when you engage in that process together. My cohort and other doctoral students along the way made me feel like I could do this. They helped make me feel like my work mattered, and the things I care about are worthy of exploration. They even embraced all of my weird bug references and metaphors! In return, I am their biggest cheerleader, and so proud to know them and see how their work unfolds. The people around you are your best resource!

What are your next steps after graduation?

Looking to the future, my goal is to put my experience and passion for science education, teacher preparation, and rural education to work! In my dream world, this is as a future professor at a university in Colorado or nearby. I hope to continue to engage in teaching and research that supports beautiful science instruction, especially in rural areas that are often excluded by mainstream education research, policy, and curriculum. I believe that rural areas are incredibly rich for science teaching and I hope to be able to do work that makes that visible to pre-service teachers and beyond.

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Loraine Glidewell's passion for rural education runs as deep as the Arkansas River

Ichigo Takikawa — Wed, 21 May 2025 20:04:27 +0000

Loraine Glidewell's passion for rural education runs as deep as the Arkansas River Ichigo Takikawa Wed, 05/21/2025 - 14:04

Maddie Rudolph

Before stepping into the world of academia, Loraine Glidewell was waist-deep in the waters of the San Luis Valley, sometimes literally. The photo of Glidewell proudly holding a trout on the Arkansas River says it all: “The level of stoke on my face is basically the same level of stoke I feel when I get to talk about rural education!”

“I originally worked with fish,” said Glidewell. “But I accidentally became a middle school science teacher—best accident ever.”

In Monte Vista, Colorado, Glidewell taught seventh grade, everything from chemistry to dance. But more than the subjects, it was the students and the landscape that shaped her. A snapshot from a field trip to the Great Sand Dunes shows a class of seventh graders learning about science under a sky wider than any classroom ceiling.

“I believe there is magic in rural schools,” said Glidewell. “I've seen it, felt it, experienced it and loved it. I miss it every day.”

The first in her family to graduate from high school and college, Glidewell never imagined pursuing a PhD. But her students sparked a new mission: to advocate for rural schools that are too often overlooked.

Now in the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder School of Education’s STEM Education program, Glidewell is working to ensure that the realities of rural teaching aren’t just known, they’re respected. That’s why she launched the Rural Breakfast Club, a space where future teachers gather at on Friday mornings to talk about rural education and eat donuts—reviving a tradition Glidewell used to do with her middle school students.

“I piloted a survey in 2023 here at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder to see what our pre-service teachers know and think about rural education,” said Glidewell. She was shocked to learn that they knew very little and didn’t think much about it.

“Given that nearly 85% of school districts in Colorado are rural, many of those districts experience severe and continual teacher shortages, and the intersectionality of some of these districts being in some of the highest poverty counties in Colorado and the United States...I felt like I had to do something.”

The breakfast club has since become a small but mighty community, diving into everything from social justice in rural contexts to dismantling stereotypes. Eventually, the group will create a product to promote rural education on campus.

Glidewell originally dreamed of running a field program—Teaching Science in the San Luis Valley—to bring pre-service teachers to rural schools to learn “what science education looks like when you have small class sizes, access to the outdoors and an environment where the school is the heart of the community.” But funding challenges shifted her plan. Instead of bringing students to the valley, she brought the valley to CU.

“It still makes my guts churn that I had to leave my students,” she said. “But I told myself I’m going to bring badass teachers back to them.”

Glidewell's work is personal, purposeful and packed with pride, just like the slides she prepares for class.

“I spend way too much time making them beautiful,” she said. “I know the content is more important than the appearance, but I can’t help myself. I'll spend way too much time on colors, pictures, finding the perfect gif...it's really inefficient, but it makes my heart happy.”

Glidewell will fight tooth and nail—and apparently eyeball—to seek joy and stand up for what she believes in. She once got a fishhook in her eyeball. Yes, really.

In between research, club meetings and dreaming big for rural kids. Glidewell finds joy in the little things.

Because for her, teaching isn’t just about the content, it’s about the community, connection and believing that even the most remote corners of Colorado are full of brilliance worth celebrating.

In her own words

Tell me a bit about yourself:

"I am a fourth-year PhD student in Teacher Education and STEM Education at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. That’s crazy to say, considering I was the first person in my family to go to college and even to graduate from high school. Before coming to CU, I lived in what some people describe to be “the middle of nowhere”- also known as the San Luis Valley, a magical rural place on the border of Colorado and New Mexico. I highly encourage you to road trip there. Maybe wrestle alligators at the Gator Farm, summit the 14er called Mt. Blanca, see the Sandhill crane migration, learn about the Sangre De Cristo National Heritage Area, or visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park like I used to do with my students. I originally worked with fish, but accidentally became a middle school science teacher. Best accident ever. I taught 7th-grade science along with a slew of other subjects, ranging from dance to chemistry. It was a privilege to teach the students of Monte Vista, and I think about them and miss them every single day. My students are the ones who inspired me to pursue a PhD and become an advocate for rural schools."

Tell me about the Rural Educator Breakfast Club!

"I believe there is magic in rural schools. I've seen it, felt it, experienced it, and loved it. I miss it every day. I piloted a survey in 2023 here at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder to see what our pre-service teachers know and think about rural education. I was shocked to learn that they knew very little and didn't think much about it. Given that nearly 85% of school districts in Colorado are rural, and many of those districts experience severe and continual teacher shortages, and the intersectionality of some of these districts being in some of the highest poverty counties in Colorado and the United States...I felt like I had to do something. Rural students, families, and communities deserve for these pre-service teachers to know they exist. My hope is that this club can create opportunities for pre-service teachers to come together to learn about rural education. To me, the fact that folks have shown up at 8 am on a Friday morning is amazing, and it honors rural places and people that are often left out of the conversation."

What’s something you’d want people to understand about your research?

"It was really hard to leave my students out in the San Luis Valley, to come here, I had to contribute to the teacher shortages in my area. This is something that still makes my guts churn when I think about it. But I told myself it was going to be okay because I was going to help bring badass teachers back to them. My original goal was to run a field experience called "Teaching Science in the San Luis Valley", where I'd bring a group of pre-service teachers out there to learn about what science education looks like when you have small class sizes, access to the outdoors, and an environment where the school is the heart of the community. But then a reality bomb got dropped on me....money. It turns out, as a doctoral student, the logistics and cost associated with bringing a group of �鶹��Ѱ��students 4-5 hours away just were not feasible for my dissertation. So I had to get creative and instead think about how I could bring rural education to pre-service teachers. That led me to the breakfast club, something I actually used to do with my middle school students, where we got together in the morning, shared donuts, and built community. I rekindled this memory and retooled this idea to work for pre-service teachers, where we get together, still with donuts, but build community through having conversations about rural education. It's been a small but mighty club so far, and our conversations have been richer than I could have dreamed of. So far we have spent time blowing up stereotypes, discussing why rural education needs to be included in conversations around social justice, sharing ideas on how rural education could be incorporated into teacher education courses, exploring the challenges and benefits of teaching in rural schools, and we are going to end by creating some type of product that helps promote rural education to pre-service teachers here on campus. These conversations have been inspired and driven by club members' questions, which is really cool."

What’s your motto?

"Nothing, what's a motto with you! JK- Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Discover more from Voices, vol. 8:

Cross-Cultural Connections

Associate Professor David Webb's Fulbright Specialist Award took him to the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic last year to enhance his math education work, grounded in the real-world experiences of students

The Heart of Public Education: Redefining our Roots

Nelia Peña began her journey as a public school teacher where she grew up: in Denver

Now & Then

When Christie Rolph opened her classroom to a student teacher last fall, she wasn't expecting to see her former student

Return to Voices Volume 8

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Elizabeth Tetu, trailblazing graduate of the Teacher Learning, Research & Practice program, has more to share with new teachers

Anonymous — Mon, 06 May 2024 16:59:38 +0000

Elizabeth Tetu, trailblazing graduate of the Teacher Learning, Research & Practice program, has more to share with new teachers Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/06/2024 - 10:59

A veteran educator with nearly a decade of experience practicing as an elementary school teacher and administrator in New York City, Elizabeth Tetu is well acquainted with the common themes that affect teachers in their first years of teaching.

“Feelings of overwhelm and failure, a sense of having been inadequately prepared, and a reported lack of support to navigate these experiences,” said Tetu. She also experienced “tensions between what I had learned and come to value through my early justice-centered teacher preparation as an undergraduate, and the practices and expectations in my school environments.”

It was these tense experiences that led Tetu to first apply to graduate school, where she was able to unearth the focus of what her research and teaching would ultimately be.

“Both my research and teaching have come to focus on supporting new teachers to find community and self-efficacy to support them to enact their values,” she said.

With an abundance of opportunities to work with pre-service teachers in the Elementary Education program and the School of Education’s commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity and justice, Tetu was drawn to the research potential that the Teacher Learning, Research & Practice (TLRP) program offered.

The TLRP program area offered Tetu a unique opportunity “to learn from/in a community of faculty and graduate students who care deeply AND theorize richly about teachers and teaching,” she said. “Being in community with peers and mentors who move with great authenticity and integrity has taught me ways of integrating my values and ways of being into my identity as a scholar.”

This integration of values that Tetu has learned to harness and utilize in her work were applied well in her time teaching in the Elementary Education program.

“Elizabeth’s attention to equity and justice has been a hallmark of the courses she has designed and taught in the undergraduate Elementary Education program,” said her award nominators, Associate Professors Jamy Stillman and Melissa Braaten.

Gaining the respect and admiration of her faculty mentors, peers and students, Tetu was proudly nominated as the recipient of the 2024 PhD Outstanding Teaching Award.

“Elizabeth’s concerted focus on teaching and teacher education — including her efforts to empirically explore questions about teaching/teacher education in the context of her own practice — have resulted in teaching excellence that far exceeds what is typical for doctoral students.” said Tetu’s nominators. “Elizabeth has excelled as a course instructor while making immeasurable contributions to the Elementary Teacher Education program through her teaching, course development, leadership, and scholarly activities.”

As the first graduate of the TLRP program, Tetu’s trailblazing contributions to the Elementary Education program during her doctoral program are only the beginning, and she is excited to be returning to the School of Education as an Assistant Teaching Professor at the end of this summer.

Before Tetu returns to the Elementary Education program, she has another important goal to accomplish in Europe this summer, hiking the famed Camino de Santiago.

In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself

I grew up and attended public schools in southeastern Pennsylvania, and I attended college/graduate school in NYC. I was an elementary school teacher and administrator for nine years in New York City. In my different roles, I saw (and experienced myself) some common themes in the first year of teaching: feelings of overwhelm and failure, a sense of having been inadequately prepared, and a reported lack of support to navigate these experiences. In my own early teaching career, I also experienced tensions between what I had learned and come to value through my early justice-centered teacher preparation as an undergraduate, and the practices and expectations in my school environments. This problem is what made me want to apply to graduate school, and ultimately both my research and teaching have come to focus on supporting new teachers to find community and self-efficacy to support them to enact their values. I chose �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder for a few reasons: (1) the TLRP program area and the unique opportunity it offered to learn from/in a community of faculty and graduate students who care deeply AND theorize richly about teachers and teaching, (2) the school's commitments to equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice, and (3) the abundant opportunities available here to teach and work with pre-service teachers in the elementary education program."

What is one of the most significant lessons from your time at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter of your life?

I came to graduate school with very little knowledge about the academy and learned very early on that there are strong pressures in academic spaces to produce rather than humanize, perform rather than listen, and achieve rather than learn. My time at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, especially being in community with peers and mentors who move with great authenticity and integrity, has taught me ways of integrating my values and ways of being into my identity as a scholar. I feel that this integration is the only way to do justice-centered work and remain whole in the academy, and I'm grateful to everyone who has helped me to see that."

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

Doctoral education is full of difficult experiences: critically reflecting on your teaching, having conversations across infinite lines of difference, the big milestones (comps and dissertation) and so much more. Although these experiences contribute to a lot of individual growth and accomplishment, you in fact navigate them with peers and mentors. And there are SO many wonderful people teaching and working at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder. If I could give an incoming student one piece of advice, it would be to find people that you both respect and trust. Having the right people on your committees and collaborative teams can turn all of the challenges into precious gifts, as you are transformed by the expertise and generosity of others."

What are your next steps after graduation?

First, I'm going to take half the summer off to hike the Camino de Santiago! I see it as an opportunity to reconnect with myself before moving into the next phase of my career. In the fall, I am returning to �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder as an Assistant Teaching Professor in Elementary Education."

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