Ed Pultorak | Education | SIU

Curriculum Studies | Teacher Leadership

Ed Pultorak, Ph.D. is currently a Professor in the School of Education (SOE) with a focus on curriculum and instruction. He serves the SOE in a number of ways including as Program Coordinator for the Master of Science in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. The passion, drive, and dedication for helping individuals become their very best has been his paramount goal and focus since joining SIU over 25 years ago and throughout his professional career.

His research interests include teacher reflectivity, teacher leadership, and teacher education. His contention has been that all teachers/instructors must constantly assess what their students think and understand and redesign their teaching accordingly. He believes that teacher reflection plays a significant role in this process and his research offers ways to design activities that foster effective instruction that improves student learning.

He has served the education profession in numerous national and international leadership roles including educational task forces, commissions, committees, educational boards including the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) board where he completes accreditation reviews of other institutions. Dr. Pultorak has served as President of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) as well as President of a local school board. He is an ATE Distinguished Member, an ATE Association Development Specialist, Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Teacher Educators, a Distinguished Teacher Educator, and was recently honored with the ATE national mentoring award. He has received several prestigious awards for his professionalism.

He has presented at many national and international educational conferences and has had numerous books and articles published on education topics including articles in Kappan, Journal of Teacher Education, and Action in Teacher Education. He has also served in several editorial roles for professional publications.