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Title

Professor, Research and Professional Development Leader at the Fishback Center for ECE

Office Building

Pugsley Center

Office

112

Mailing Address

Pugsley Cont Ed Center 112
School of Educ, Counseling and Human Dev-Box 2218
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Education

• B.S. in psychology | University of Minnesota
• Ph.D. in child development and family studies | University of Texas-Austin

Academic Interests

• Child development
• Visual thinking strategies
• Design thinking
• Teacher research/SoTL
• Inquiry-based learning
• Early childhood education

Academic Responsibilities

• ECE 325 - Inclusion and the Diverse Learner
• ECE 360 - Play and Inquiry
• ECE 488 - Student Teaching - Community Placements

Committees and Professional Memberships

Committees:

• EHS Promotion and Tenure Committee member
• Children's Museum of South Dakota Board Member and Exhibit/Experience Committee chair
• East Central Chapter of SDAEYC membership co-coordinator
• Early Learner South Dakota - Early Learner Communities Committee co-chair
• Early Learner South Dakota Funding committee member

Professional Memberships:

• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
• North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA)

Awards and Honors

• Scholarship Award, 2009-2010, College of Education and Human Sciences
• Outstanding Faculty Award, 2002, College of Family and Consumer Sciences

Grants

1. McKillip, A., Cutler, K., Letcher, T. and Silvernagel, C. (2021-2023).  Living and Working in Space – Children’s Museum Traveling Exhibit Design. South Dakota Space Grant Consortium Proposal. ($52,298.00).
2. Garcia, A., Busmann, R., Cutler, K. and Daniels, A.M. (2020 -2021). Practiced-Based Coaching for ECE Enrichment Sites. South Dakota Department of Social Services. ($102,435).

Patents

1. McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Lucchesi, R., Silvernagel, C., Heller, B., Cutler, K., Hume, C., Vaz., A.*, Smither, M.*, Gordon, E.*, Stang, N.*, Heinz, A.* and Gottsleben, T.*  Konnectors Design Patent - April 2022.
2. Invention Disclosures: McKillip, A., Letcher T., Silvernagel, C., Lucchesi, R., Cutler, K, Hume, C., Anderson, K., Klarenbeek, T., Phuminpraphat, K., Diekhoff, A., Steers, E., Palmer, T. and Lange, W. Explorer 44. Invention Disclosure, Submitted Oct. 15, 2021.
3. McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Silvernagel, C., Lucchesi, R., Cutler, K., Hume, C., Elbedawey, M., Sudbeck, A., Hoffman, A. and Kleve, A. Sound Constructor. Invention Disclosure, Submitted Oct. 15, 2021.
4. McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Lucchesi, R., Silvernagel, C., Heller, B., Cutler K., Hume, C., Blick, K., Resche, E., Stukel, M. and Theisen, S., The Connextion Box Invention Disclosure. Submitted Nov. 13, 2019.

Areas of Research

1. Visual Thinking Strategies in Early Childhood - Using Visual Thinking Strategies to support the development of critical thinking in young children.
2. Design-Thinking - Studying how interdisciplinary design thinking develops in team members and how the teams create the 'space in-between' for optimal design team functioning.