Faculty and Staff

English 100: Intro to Composition

English 200: Intro to Literature

English 300: Writing in the Disciplines

English 302: Language and Communication

Internationalization; Student Services; Women’s Educational Leadership

Biography

Dawn Winters is originally from Dayton, Ohio but has completed all of her higher education at WKU. She holds a BA in English, an MA in English—Literature, an MA certificate in TESOL, an MA in Criminology, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. Her dissertation, Success and the Other[ed] Woman: Examining the Persistence of Female Students from Saudi Arabia, was a qualitative analysis of narratives in order to explore how international students, specifically women from Saudi Arabia, break the patterns of pathways to success in higher education environments. Her areas of interest regarding research are in student success and retention, narrative analysis, qualitative research methodology, and family violence.

She has taught both full- and part-time at WKU since 2008. Currently, she teaches full time in the English Department but has taught a class on crime and pop culture for the Department of Sociology and Criminology. She has also taught classes for the Literacy program at WKU. Formerly, she worked for more than 10 years in the ESL field as an academic administrator.

She lives in Alvaton, Kentucky with her spouse, Sarah, and their menagerie of pets, including dogs, cats, and chickens. She loves reading true crime and a wide array of fiction, traveling, and cooking.

Teaching Philosophy

I do not consider my pedagogical philosophy to be a stagnant, abstract entity. Rather, I think of it as a living aura, constantly shifting and changing as I experience things, learn from my students, and discover approaches that work or don’t. Because I teach English Foundations courses that are required as a part of general education, I am accustomed to students who may not share my passions for reading, writing, and rhetoric; however, my philosophy is that art, including narrative, argumentation, and creation, is required for humans to survive. Everything we do in the classroom or in meeting the objectives of the course is connected to reality, society, and the students themselves.

My pedagogy is trauma-informed and based in mutual expectations between myself and scholars. I respect and expect scholars to see themselves and others first as unique individuals with varied backgrounds and related needs. In my role, I facilitate learning through exploration, inquiry, and feedback. I encourage and expect students to challenge the status quo as active participants in an academic community. Students in my classes are asked to travel boldly through their journey of scholarship and growth, while reflecting on their experiences and learning. They can expect from me a ready steward in this journey, there to inform, challenge, and guide them along the way.