ERIC LANE GRUVER

3884 Wildwood Drive

Campbell , Texas   75422

903-886-3692 (home)    903-468-6082 (office)

Eric_Gruver@TAMU-Commerce.edu               903-468-3230 (fax)

 

EDUCATION:

 

Master of Science—History                           Texas A&M University-Commerce, May 1995

Thesis:  “Surviving the Agricultural Holocaust: A Texas Tenant Stays on the Land, 1928-1940”

Bachelor of Science—History/English           Texas A&M University-Commerce, May 1991

 

TEACHER CERTIFICATIONS:

Grades 6-12 History, Composite Social Studies, English/Language Arts

 

COURSES TAUGHT:

Middle School and High School

U.S. History before 1877;  World History since 1600;  Advanced Placement U.S. History;  World Geography;  Advanced Placement European History;  Special Topics in U.S. History

University

U.S. History survey courses

Social Studies for Elementary Education Teachers

Social Studies for Middle School Teachers

Historical Geography

Composite Social Studies for Middle and High School Teachers

Foundations of Modern America , 1877-1914

U.S. in the Great Depression (undergraduate)

Texas in the Great Depression (undergraduate and graduate)

            Race and Education in 20th Century U.S.

 

EXPERIENCE:

HISTORY INSTRUCTOR and HISTORY TExES ADVISOR                1999-Present

Department of History, Texas A&M University-Commerce

--Teach 4/4/3 load that includes freshman survey courses, courses designed to prepare history and social studies teachers, and courses that examine history “from the bottom up” covering the Great Depression and race issues of the 20th century

--Advise and create degree plans for undergraduate 8-12 history and 4-8/8-12 social studies students who are working toward teacher certification

--Advise and create deficiency plans for post-baccalaureate 8-12 history and 4-8/8-12 social studies students who are working toward teacher certification

--Conduct teacher certification orientations for history and social studies majors, addressing the overall certification process and departmental requirements

--Review programs and propose curriculum changes to teaching programs to better prepare future teachers

--Member of departmental faculty search, curriculum, Human Subjects Research, and ExCET committees, as well as department representative on university-wide ExCET Advisory Committee

--Judge for the History Department-sponsored National History Day regional competition

--Direct departmental “Film Series” designed to enhance and/or reinforce information students receive in regular courses, and/or provide knowledge not present in courses or degree program

--Supervise activities of departmental graduate assistants who assist with my teaching and advising load and will all matters related to ExCET/TExES

 

SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT CHAIR (1996-99) & TEACHER   1995-1999

Harlingen High School , Harlingen , TX

--Supervised 21 social studies, speech, and theater arts teachers, including informal walk-through evaluations of teachers as well as the checking of teachers’ grade books and lesson plans

--Designed yearly course master schedule and teaching assignments for social studies department

--Mentored first-year teachers, helping them learn policies and procedures as well as teaching effectiveness

            --Oversaw a departmental budget of $8000 and the purchasing and distribution of materials

--With department chair from other senior high, coordinated the revision of district curriculums with TEKS, and coordinated the vertical alignment of curriculums from grades 4 through  12

--Responsible for all duties associated with teaching classes at all levels in U.S. history, world geography, European history, and Special Topics in U.S. history

--Sponsored Student Council (1997-99) and coordinate activities, including Freshman Orientation, Homecoming festivities, Adopt-an-Angel Christmas project, and the Kiss-a-Pig fund-raiser for the American Diabetes Association

            --Sponsored UIL Current Events (1995-99)

 

TEACHING ASSISTANT         1993-1995

East Texas State University ,  Commerce, TX

--Taught and was instructor of record for two U.S. History survey classes per regular semester and for one class during the summer

--Judged junior and senior high school student projects in association with National History Day contest sponsored by ETSU History department

            --Coordinated UIL district and regional “Current Issues and Events” contest conducted at ETSU

 

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER        1992-1995

Lone Oak Elementary, Lone Oak ISD, Lone Oak, Texas

            --Substituted full days on Tuesdays/Thursdays in grades K through 5

--Performed all duties as classroom teacher, including but not limited to attendance, instruction, and class changes due to departmentalization

 

CONSULTANT     1993

Region 10 Educational Service Center , Richardson , TX

--Co-wrote, with Sidney Hicks, an instruction manual to prepare teacher certification students for the Secondary Professional Development portion of the ExCET

 

 

ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS/ACTIVITIES:

“The Traveling Texas History Institute” supported by an Academy for Educator Development Fellowship Grant, Texas A&M System, 2003-2004

“Landless and Successful: A Texas Cotton Tenant and the USDA, A Reprise” as part of the “2002 History Lecture Series” of the Heritage Farmstead Museum, Plano, Texas, July 2002

“Landless and Content:  A Texas Tenant and the USDA” as part of the American Cotton Museum’s Fifth Annual History Conference, Greenville, Texas, April 2001

“High Cotton:  Texas Tenant Farming in the 1930s” as part of the American Cotton Museum ’s First History Conference, Greenville , Texas , April 1997

 

 

TEACHING/EDUCATION PRESENTATIONS:

History and Social Studies ExCET Advising Orientation Workshop to the Departments of History and Political Science, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas, February 2002

“History Day and the TEKS:  Thinking outside the Box” at the Regional History Day Teacher Orientation, Texas A&M University-Commerce, October 2000

“What is Advanced Placement Social Studies” as Staff Development for Upper Elementary, Middle, and Senior High School Teachers, Harlingen CISD, April 1999

“Teaching the Gifted and Talented Student” as part of Introduction to the Exceptional Child, required course for teacher certification, University of Texas-Brownsville, 1997-1999

 

 

CONFERENCES ATTENDED:

A&M System 2nd Academy for Educator Development Conference, Houston , Texas , June 2001        

A&M System Regents’ Initiative Conference on Recruitment and Recruitment, Texas A&M University , College Station , Texas , May 2001

“Just for the Kids,” sponsored by the Academy for Educator Development, Austin , Texas , January 2001

A&M System Institute for School-University Partnership Conference, Austin , Texas , October 2000

Regents’ Initiative K-16 Academic Roadmap Project System Conference, Tarleton State University , Stephenville , Texas , September 2000

Regents’ Initiative K-16 Academic Roadmap Project A&M-Commerce Regional Meeting, Kaufman , Texas , September 2000

Chancellor’s Conference for the Academy for Educator Development, Houston , Texas , June 2000

“TEKS for Teachers Training: Grades K-12,” Region I ESC, Edinburg , Texas , July 1998

National TECH PREP Conference for Business and Education, San Antonio , Texas , September 1997

Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) Training, Harlingen CISD, Harlingen , Texas , June 1997

Advanced Placement History Summer Institute, St. Thomas University , Houston , Texas , July 1995

 

 

STATE COMMITTEES/TESTIMONY:

“Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills,” State Board of Education Curriculum and Instruction Subcommittee, Texas Education Agency, Austin , Texas , September 11, 2003

History 8-12 Texas Examination of Educator Standards “Standard Setting” Committee, State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), Austin , Texas , November 2002

History 8-12 Texas Examination of Educator Standards “Pilot Test Results Review” Committee, SBEC, Austin , Texas , October 2002

History 8-12 Texas Examination of Educator Standards “Pilot Test Results Review, Item Revalidation, and Preliminary Standard Setting” Committee, SBEC, Austin , Texas , May 2002

History 8-12 Texas Examination of Educator Standards “Item Review and Validation” Committee, SBEC, San Antonio , Texas , November 2001 & February 2002

History 8-12 Texas Examination of Educator Standards “Test Framework” Committee, SBEC, San Antonio , Texas , February 2001

Region I ESC Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Social Studies Draft Committee, Edinburg, Texas, 1997-1998

 

 

INSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEES:

Texas A&M University-Commerce Texas Examination of Educator Standards (TExES), formerly the Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET), Advisory Committee, 1999-Present

A&M-Commerce History Department Institutional Review Board Human Subjects Committee, 2001-2003

Grades 4-8 and 8-12 Teacher Education Implementation Teams, Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2001

A&M System Academic Roadmap K-16 Committee (Regional Social Studies Chair), 2000-2001

European History Faculty Position Search Committee, Department of History, Texas A&M-Commerce, 1999-2000

Harlingen CISD District-wide Education Improvement Committee, 1998-99

Harlingen High School Social Studies and Theater Arts Committee Chair for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Re-accreditation, 1997

Harlingen CISD Grades 4-12 Social Studies Vertical Alignment Team (Co-chair), 1997-99

 

 

THESIS COMMITTEES:

Member, Debra Cavett, A Study of “ America First” in Texas during the 1930s and 1940s, Master of Science, August 2003

Member, Kevin Neptune, “Heart of the Matter: The Phillips Petroleum Company During World War II,” Master of Science, May 2003

Member, Jane Spring, “The Impact of the Lost Cause on Texas School Mascot Choices, 1953-1968,” Master of Science, May 2003

Chair, Paul Philp, “The Use of Primary Sources and Writing in the Teaching of European History,” Master of Arts, May 2001

 

 

HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS:

Nominee, Faculty Senate Neill Humfeld Distinguished Faculty Award for Service, 2003

Faculty Appointee, A&M-Commerce Mayo College instructor, 2000-2002, 2003-2004

Faculty Appointee, Texas A&M System’s Academy for Educator Development, 2000-Present

Cited in Thad Sitton and Dan Utley’s From Can See to Can’t, UT Press, 1997

Recipient, Sallie Mae First-Year Teacher Award, Harlingen CISD, 1995-96

 

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