Education

Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL / May 2001
Emphasis:  ESL, Computer and Internet Technology
Dissertation:  The Effectiveness Of Web-Based Materials On International Student Adjustment To The United States University Environment

M.S. in Education
Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL / May 1993
Emphasis:  ESL, Education Administration, and Special Education
Thesis:  The Relationship between Acculturation and Oral Language Proficiency

B.A. in Psychology
Hanover College, Hanover, IN May 1988
Minor:  Sociology, American History

Teaching experience

University of Central Florida - Assistant Professor (2003 - present)
TSL6940: Practicum
TSL6440: Problems in ESOL Evaluation (online and face-to-face)
TSL6350: Grammar for ESOL Teachers (online and face-to-face)
TSL6142: Critical Approaches to ESOL Curriculum Development
TSL5245: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (online)
TSL4141: Issues in Second Language Acquisition (online and face-to-face)

Southeast Missouri State University - Instructor (2001 - 2003)
TL648: Foundations in Linguistics Online Course
TL635: Seminar in Teaching ESOL at the University Level
TL634: Seminar in Teaching ESOL at the University Level
Intensive English Program courses: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing, and Grammar

Carbondale Community High School Substitute Teacher (2000 - 2001)
Middle School/High School

Southern Illinois University - Graduate Assistant Instructor (1998 - 2001)
CI487: Microcomputer Applications for Teachers
CI315: Pre-Service Teaching
CI212: Critical Reading for Adults

The Caledonian School, Prague, Czech Republic Lead Instructor (1997 - 1998)
English-as-a-Foreign-Language: Business English

Illinois Cooperative Extension - Educational Programmer (1995 - 1996)
Life Skills for the homeless

Si-Sa-Yong-O-Sa, Inc., Seoul, South Korea - Teacher Trainer (1993 - 1994)
Teaching English-as-a-Foreign-Language

Macomb Community Schools - Lead Instructor (1992 - 1993)
English-as-a-Second-Language: ESL Pull-Out Program

WESL Institute, Western Illinois University - Lead Instructor (1992)
English-as-a-Second-Language: Reading 110

Ramses College for Girls, Cairo, Egypt - Lead Instructor (1989 - 1991)
English-as-a-Foreign-Language: English Literature

Research and Grant Experience

Priority Research Grant from the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (2006) entitled The Effect of Type of Written Practice Exercise on Grammar Learning in collaboration with Dr. Keith Folse.

UCF Toni Jennings Exceptional Institute Special Initiative Award
Co-PI with Dr. Jennifer Platt 2004- 2005
With this grant, we implemented a volunteer reading program matching pre-service teachers with ELLs in the public school system.

Character Education High School Survey
Research Assistant Southern Illinois University (1999 - 2000)
Under Dr. James Leming, I assisted in setting parameters for survey questions and totaling the responses for final statistical analysis.

The Character Education Partnership: www.character.org
Research Assistant Southern Illinois University (2000)
Under Dr. James Leming, I assisted in maintaining an online database of character education research, including researching articles and books to include on the database and entering that information into the database through the Endnote program.

Education Administration
Research Assistant Western Illinois University (1992 - 1993)
Conducted research for five professors, including preparing classroom materials and conducting original library and statistical research.

Professional experience

Coordinator TSL4141 University of Central Florida (2003 - present)
As the Coordinator of all sections of TSL4141: Issues in Second Language Acquisition, a state-mandated course for pre-service teachers, I have innovated several new components to the course. I have taken over the WebCT component of the course, which has 13 sections and over 200 students. I have uploaded course materials for each instructor of the course, plus added student discussion, student grade reporting, and a Webquest, an inquiry-based learning model. Additionally, we are currently doing Teacher Development with the instructors of this course, including the sharing of course aims, materials, and techniques.

This course has been fully transformed into a Service-Learning Course, and is recognized by UCF as such. We place approximately 200 students in over 35 schools in six counties in the mid-Florida region each semester to work with ELLs reading below grade level.

Testing Coordinator/Curriculum Supervisor Southeast Missouri State University (2001 - 2003)
In this position, I was responsible for the testing, placement, supervision, and exit of all new international students, including IEP, undergraduate, and graduate students. Further, I conducted all IEP teacher meetings, supervised all instruction and curriculum in the program, and maintained records for all students. Additionally, I supervised all Teaching Assistants in the graduate TESOL program and maintained 72 advisees.

Online Contractor Southeast Missouri State University (2002 - 2003)
I developed the Academic Advising website for the TESOL program and created a new online course entitled Computer Aided Language Learning.

Manager of Human Services Illinois Community Action Agency (1996 - 1997)
Managed two grant projects in housing and nutrition, wrote a monthly newsletter article, staffed two committees on social services, and provided members with current legislative and policy information. Also, traveled throughout Illinois and the USA in order to organize and present at various professional workshops that the association sponsored. As a grant manager, organized two seminars entitled Hospitality for the Homeless, bringing together business people and homeless shelters.

Textbook Developer Si-Sa-Yong-O-Sa, Inc., Seoul, South Korea (1994)
On a committee of three, worked to create middle school textbooks for distribution to the company's English schools throughout Korea. Finalized the content, organization, and publication of the Middle School student textbook along with the teacher text and all supplementary materials.

Job Coach Special Education, PORTA High School (1991 - 1992)
Supervised Special Education students in their off-campus jobs. Did task analysis for the students' IEPs and trained them in various job-related tasks.

Publications

Purmensky, K. L. (in press). Service Learning Helps ELLs in Elementary School. CATESOL Journal.

Purmensky, K. L. (2006, Spring). Weblogs Transform Service-Learning Reflection. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 10(1), 13-17.

Purmensky, K. L. (2005, March).How educational media can benefit the international student population in the United States university setting. Journal of Educational Media and Library Sciences, 42(3), 363-368.

Purmensky, K. L. (2004, Fall). Sound pedagogy and the Internet. Florida Foreign Language Journal, 2(1), 35-41.

Purmensky, K. L. (2004, January). Inquiry-Based learning through webquests: Hoping to pass the torch, University of Central Florida Faculty Focus, 3(1).

Purmensky, K. L. (2003, Fall). Teacher to Teacher Column. Sunshine State TESOL's The Messenger, 10(1).

Sandberg, K. L., Current, M. C., & Lee, Y. M. (1994). Step into English: Student book 1. Seoul, South Korea: Si-Sa-Yong-O-Sa, Inc.

Sandberg, K. L., Current, M. C., & Lee, Y. M. (1994). Step into English: Student book 2. Seoul, South Korea: Si-Sa-Yong-O-Sa, Inc.

Sandberg, K. L., Current, M. C., & Lee, Y. M. (1994). Step into English: Teacher's book 1. Seoul, South Korea: Si-Sa-Yong-O-Sa, Inc.

Sandberg, K. L., Current, M. C., & Lee, Y. M. (1994). Step into English: Teacher's book 2. Seoul, South Korea: Si-Sa-Yong-O-Sa, Inc.

Manuscripts under Review

Purmensky, K. L. (Fall, 2005). ESOL Endorsement: The First Year. (submitted)

Purmensky, K. L (Spring 2007). The Unexpected Outcomes of Service Learning Reading Programs. (in progress)

Purmensky, K. L. (Spring 2007). Developing a Successful Service-Learning Program. (in progress)

Papers Presented

Purmensky, K. L. (2006, Fall) Successful ESOL Techniques. Teacher training seminar for The Language Company.

Purmensky, K. L. & Pollgreen, S. (2006). Service Learning Meets the ESOL Standards. Paper presented at the International TESOL Conference, Tampa, Florida.

Purmensky, K. L. (2006). Creating Group Reflections using the WWW: Weblogs and Discussion Boards for Creating Communities
Electronic Village Classics Fair, International TESOL Conference, Tampa, Florida.

Purmensky, K. L. (2005, August). Can Blogging Transform Reflective Practices for Teachers of ESOL? Lessons Learned Questions Raised.
Paper presented at EuroCALL 2005. Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Purmensky, K. L. (2005, April 8). Using Technology to Enhance Service-Learning Outcomes. Paper presented at The Gulf-South Summit, Cocoa Beach, FL.

Jankowic, C. & Purmensky, K. L. (2004, October 23). Webquests: Bringing the Internet into Your Classroom. Presentation in conjunction with a student for Central Florida TESOL: 3rd Annual Mini-Conference, Orlando, FL.

Purmensky, K. L. (2004, March). Real Listening and Speaking on the WWW. Internet presentation at the International TESOL Conference, Santa Barbara, CA.

Purmensky, K. L. (2004, March 4,). UCF Fellow of the Academy representative. Panel member at The National Professional Development Conference, Orlando, FL.

Purmensky, K. L. (2004, February 28). From Concept to Creation: Teaching Grammar That Sticks, a grammar teaching model using the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning modalities. Workshop conducted at the Central Florida TESOL workshop, Orlando, FL.

Purmensky, K. L. (2003, November). The Savvy Shopper, a teaching concept infusing real websites from the Internet. Activity presented at the Central Florida TESOL Mini-Conference, Orlando, FL.

Purmensky, K. (2001, October). The effectiveness of web-based materials on international student adjustment to the United States university environment. Paper presented at WebNet 2001: AACE Conference, Orlando, FL.

Media Events

Purmensky, K. (2006, October 11). ESOL in Central Florida. Panelist on the UCF Public Information channel with host Kelly O'Dell under the direction of Jeff Kuback.

Purmensky, K. (2006, Fall). Service Learning at UCF. TSL4141 Service Learning highlighted on UCF Metro.

Professional memberships

TESOL
CALICO
Sunshine State TESOL
Central Florida TESOL, Communications Chair
Florida Association of Service-Learning in Teacher Education
AACE (American Association of Computing in Education)
Phi Delta Kappa: Membership Recruitment (2002)

Committees

UCF TESOL Advisory Committee (current)
UCF HOLMES Partnership Committee (current)
UCF Paraeducators Acquiring Certification in Exceptional education (PACE) (current)
Florida Foreign Language Advisory Committee (current)
TESOL Committee, Southeast Missouri State University (2001 - 2003)
Computer Advisory Committee, Southern Illinois University (2000 - 2001)
Graduate and Professional Student Council, Southern Illinois University (2000 - 2001)
Illinois Cooperative Extension Board of Directors, Springfield, IL (1996)
Illinois Nutrition Council, Springfield, IL (1996 - 1997)
Pastor Nominating Committee, Petersburg, IL (1988 - 1989)

Honor Societies

Phi Kappa Phi
Psi Chi
Alpha Lambda Delta

Thesis Committees

Dissertation Committee Member. Does the Attendance of Hispanic Families to Specifically Designed Workshops Increase their Level of Knowledge and Involvement in the Education of their Children with Special Needs? Mayra Ruiz, PhD student (in progress).

Dissertation Committee Member. We're Becoming Bilingual and Biliterate. Black, Diane, PhD student (approved December 2006).

Dissertation Committee Member. A Probe Into Learning Approaches and Attitudes Toward Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) in Chinese Instruction. Yuan, Rong, PhD student (approved November 1, 2005).

Accreditations

Florida approved Teacher Certification (pending)
ESL
Middle School Social Science

Illinois Teacher Certification 09 (Issued 3-1-93, updated until 2010)
ESL
Psychology
Sociology
Middle School Social Science

Indiana Teacher Certification (Issued 8-18-88)
Psychology
Sociology
United States History

Certified Emergency Medical Technician (1995-1999)

Websites

http://www.kerrypurmensky.com
http://www.centralfloridatesol.org
http://reach.ucf.edu/~tsl6440a/
http://reach.ucf.edu/~tsl6142a/
http://reach.ucf.edu/~tsl6350a/
http://reach.ucf.edu/~tsl5245a/
http://reach.ucf.edu/~tsl4141a/
http://reach.ucf.edu/~tsl4141k/

Grant Workshops designed/coordinated

Hospitality for the Homeless, ICAA, Rockford, IL (February 4-5, 1997)
Hospitality for the Homeless, ICAA, Collinsville, IL (February 19-20, 1997)

Awards received

In the Spring of 2004, I was chosen to represent the College of Arts and Sciences as a Fellow of the Academy for Teaching, Learning and Leadership. In this role I developed a research project that fosters and benefits the relationship between the University of Central Florida and K-12 public school system. I did follow-up evaluations of our recent teacher graduates and their effectiveness in teaching ELLs students in the public school classrooms.

Dissertation Research Award Recipient, 2000-2001

Community Service

International Student Host Family
International Friends Club
SIU International Students and Scholars Orientation volunteer
American Red Cross: First Aid Instructor and Administrative Assistant
Pediatric Oncology Unit, Cairo Children's Hospital volunteer
Church Elder
Youth Group Leader, Sunday School Teacher, Christmas play director