Phone: 828-227-2474
Email: strahan@email.wcu.edu 
Office Address: 270 Killian

Education

• Ed. D., University of Cincinnati, Curriculum and Instruction, 1979
• Reading Specialist, Miami University - Oxford, Ohio, 1973
• M.Ed., Miami University - Oxford, Ohio, 1972
• B.S.Ed., summa cum laude, Miami University - Oxford, Ohio, English Education, 1971

Licensure

• Middle Grades Language Arts
• Reading K-12
• Curriculum and Supervision

Research Interests

• Creating connections with disconnected students
• Teacher development
• Middle school improvement

Personal Note

Currently the editor of the North Carolina Middle School Journal Online, Dr. Strahan has initiated collaborative research projects with schools across the state to explore ways to improve students’ academic engagement and teachers’ professional growth.

Publications and Presentations - Selected List

• Strahan, D., Cope, M., Hundley, S., and Faircloth, C. (2005). Positive discipline with students show need it most: Lessons learned from an alternative approach. The Clearing House, 79 (1), 25-30.
• Ponder, G. and Strahan, D., (2005). Editors. Deep Change: Reforming Schools for Significance AND Test Success. Information Age Publishing Inc., Research on Curriculum and Instruction Series, O.L. Davis, Jr., Series Editor.
• Strahan, D. and Layell, K. (2006).  Keeping the faith when the going is tough: How one team accomplished success in a struggling middle school. The Clearing House, 79 (3), 147-154.
• Strahan, D., Faircloth, C. V., Cope, M., and Hundley, S. (2007). Exploring the dynamics of academic reconnections: A case study of middle school teachers’ efforts and students’ responses. Middle Grades Research Journal, 2 (2), 19-41.
• Strahan, D. (2008). Successful Teachers Develop Academic Momentum with Reluctant Students, Middle School Journal 39 (5), 4-12.
• Strahan, D., and Hedt, M., (2009) Teaching and Teaming More Responsively: Case Studies in Professional Growth at the Middle Level, RMLE Online—Research in Middle Level Education, Volume 32 (8).
• Strahan, D., L’Esperance, M., and Van Hoose, J. (2009). Promoting harmony: Young Adolescent Development and Classroom Practices. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.