Phillip J. VanFossen

James F. Ackerman Professor of Social Studies Education

Director, James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic  Citizenship

Associate Director, Purdue University Center for Economic Education

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

(Courtesy appointment, Krannert School of Management)

Research

Research interests include the potential of online role playing games (e.g., MMORPGs) for K-12 civic and economic edcuation, Internet use in social studies classrooms, the impact of technology on citizenship and citizenship education, the intersection between civics and economics, and the degree of social studies in K-5 curriculum.

Education

Ph.D.	The Ohio State University, 1994, Social Studies/Global Education, Economics, Teacher Education
M.Ed.	Miami University, Oxford, OH
B.S. Ed.	Miami University, Oxford, OH

Selected Publications

• VanFossen, P. J. (2009).  Econ Alive!: The Power to Choose. Palo Alto, CA: Teacher’s Curriculum Institute. 

• Shiveley, J. M. & VanFossen, P. J. (2009). Toward assessing Internet use in the social studies classroom: Developing an inventory based on a review of relevant literature.  Journal of Social Studies Research, 33 (1), 1-32.

• Berson, M.J.*, & VanFossen, P.J.* (2008). Another look at civic literacy in a digital age. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 8(3). Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol8/iss3/socialstudies/article1.cfm.  

• VanFossen, P.J.*, & Berson, M.J.* (2008). Civic literacy in a digital age. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 8(2). Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol8/iss2/socialstudies/article1.cfm.

• VanFossen, P. J. and Berson, M. J. (Eds.). (2008). The electronic republic?: The impact of technology on education for citizenship. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, Fall.

• Miller, S. L. and VanFossen, P. J. (2008). Recent research on the teaching and learning of pre-collegiate economics education. In, L. Levstik and C. Tyson (eds.), Handbook of research in social studies education. New York, NY: Routledge, 284-306.

• VanFossen, P. J.*, Freidman, A. and Hartshorne, R. (2008). The role of MMORPGs in social studies education. In Ferdig, R. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education; Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, 235-250.

• VanFossen, P. J.* and Waterson, R. (2008).  It’s just easier to do what you did before…:An update on internet use in secondary social studies classrooms in Indiana. Theory and Research in Social Education, 36 (2), 124-152.

• VanFossen, P.J. and Herman-Ellison, L. (2006). Internet-based economic education: The case of EconEdLink. Social Education, 70(3), 151-155.

• VanFossen, P.J. (2006). The electronic republics': Evidence on the impact of the Internet on citizenship and civic engagement in the U.S. International Journal of Social Education, 21(1), 18-43.

• VanFossen, P.J. (2005). Economic concepts at the core of civic education. International Journal of Social Education, 20(2), 35-66.

• VanFossen, P.J. (2005). 'Reading and math take so much of the time. . .': An overview of social studies instruction in elementary classrooms in Indiana. Theory and Research in Social Education, 33(3), 376-403.

• VanFossen, P.J. (2004). Using webquests to scaffold higher-order thinking. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 16(4), 13-16.

• VanFossen, P.J. and Shiveley, J.M. (2003). Trends in Internet use by social studies educators: Data from the National Council for the Social Studies annual meeting, 1995-2002. Theory and Research in Social Education, 31(4), 502-522.

• VanFossen, P.J. (2003). Best practice economic education for young children? It's elementary. . .! Social Education, 67(2), 90-94.

• VanFossen, P.J. (2003). Using literature circles to teach about immigration. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 15(4), 24-29.

   

Courses Taught

EDCI 36100	Social Studies in the Elementary School
EDCI 59000C	Integrating Technology into Citizenship Education
EDCI 59100	Developing Integrated Internet-Based Curriculum
EDCI 60400	Elementary Social Studies
EDCI 62400	Teaching Social Studies Using the Internet
ECON 21900	Economics for Future Educators
ECON 51900	Teaching International Economics (co-taught with Michael Watts, ECON)

Professional Experience

2005-present	James F. Ackerman Professor of Social Studies Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
2000-present	Director, James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship, College of Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
1997-present	Associate Director, Purdue University Center for Economic Education
1997-2001	Assistant Professor, School of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
1994-1997	Assistant Professor, School of Education, SUNY-Genesco Field Representative, New York Concil on Economic Education
1994-1999	Faculty Associate, The Mershon Center, The Ohio State University