Professor
Department of Teaching & Learning

Yonghee Suh

757-683-6697
Grant Work

3109 EDUCATION BUILDING
NORFOLK, 23529

Yonghee Suh's research centers on history teaching, teacher learning and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her recent publications, including "Experiences of African American teachers in desegregated PK-12 schools" (2020), "Planning to teach a difficult history through historical inquiry: The case of school desegregation" (2021), and "Opportunities for teacher learning to teach difficult histories: A perspective from the social theory of learning" (in press), have investigated the process and outcomes of teacher learning in relation to the difficult history of school desegregation. This research was conducted within professional development settings funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program. Her scholarly work has been featured in journals such as Schools, The Journal of Social Studies Research, and Teacher Development.

Originally from Seoul, Korea, Suh brings her experience as a former middle school social studies teacher to her current role. She enjoys collaborating with teachers, community partners, archivists, and historians across various professional development settings. She is a certified yoga teacher and loves to swim.

Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy, Michigan State University, (2006)

M.S. in Social Studies Education, Seoul National University, (1998)

B.S. in History Education, Seoul National University, (1994)

Certification for teaching secondary social studies (Grade 7-12)
Sponsoring Organization: South Korean department of Education, Seoul National University
Date Obtained: 1994-02-01

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Suh, Y. "The Analysis of Teacher Learning through Cultural Historical Activity Theory: Individual and Social Dimensions of Teacher Learning to Teach Difficult Histories. " $5,000. Old Dominion University. 2021 - 2023
Suh, Y. "Stories Untold: School Desegregation in the Context of U.S. History" $20,000. Federal. May 1, 2020 - December 31, 2022
Suh, Y. "Investigating Teacher Knowledge Growth in the Community of Practice: Teaching Difficult History through Primary Sources" $2,000. Federal. 2020 - 2022
Suh, Y. "The long road from Brown: School desegregation in Virginia" $204,729. Federal. October 1, 2019 - December 31, 2022
Suh, Y. "M.E.C.A. (Multicultural Education in the Content Areas). Improving preservice teachers’ disciplinary writing through multicultural education" $20,000. Old Dominion University. 2018 - 2019
Suh, Y. "The Local and the Global: School Desegregation in the Context of U.S History" $20,000. Federal. 2017 - 2018
Suh, Y. "The Long Road From Brown: School Desegregation In Virginia" $175,813. Federal. 2016 - 2017
Suh, Y. "Teaching Hidden History" $5,000. 2015 - 2016
Namkoong, G., Marsillac, S. and Suh, Y. "Collaborative Research: Developing a Student Learning Strategy to Bridge Virtual Learning and Hands-on Activity in Organic Solar Energy Education" $150,000. Federal. 2013 - 2016
Suh, Y. "The Long Road from Brown: School Desegregation in Virginia" $176,200. Federal. 2014 - 2015
Suh, Y. "Building Literacy in Social Studies: Improving Teacher Quality Grant" $71,566. State. 2013 - 2014
Suh, Y. "Project 6: A Program-based Portfolio and Professional Development Project to Improve Pre-service Teachers’ Writing Performance" $20,000. Old Dominion University. - 2013

Expertise

History-Social Studies Education
Teacher Education and Professional Development
Qualitative Research Methods

Research Interests

Teacher learning
Interdisciplinary collaboration across subject matters
Teaching history

Articles

Gutierrez, K., Beck, J., Hinton, K., Rippard, K. and Suh, Y. (2022). Preparing Culturally Competent Teachers Using Disciplinary Multicultural Writing Assignments: A Mixed-Methods Study. Teacher educator 57 (4) , pp. 386-408.
Suh, Y., Daugherity, B. J.., Maddamsetti, J. and Branyon, A. (2020). Experiences of African American teachers in desegregated PK-12 schools: A systematic literature review. Schools: Studies in Education 17 (2) , pp. 271-293.
Suh, Y. and Hinton, K. (2020). Navigating disciplinary boundaries: Two stories of collaborative teaching in English and social studies. Action in Teacher Education.
Suh, Y., Daugherity, B. and Hartsfield, D. (2020). Planning to teach difficult history through historical inquiry: The case of school desegregation. The Journal of Social Studies Research.
Hinton, K. and Suh, Y. (2019). Foregrounding collaboration in disciplinary literacy: Implications from JAAL, 2008-2017. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 63 (3) , pp. 279-287 .
Suh, Y. and Daugherity, B. (2018). Oral history as inquiry: Using digital oral history collections to teach school desegregation. The History Teacher 51 (4) , pp. 697-709.
Kimmel, S., Hartsfield, D., Suh, Y. and Garrison, K. (2016). The portrayal of the United States in the translated international children's literature. Social Studies Research and Practice 11 (1).
Suh, Y., Butler, B. and Yaco, S. (2015). Integrating the Desegregation of Virginia Education Project in a social studies methods course. Museumedu 2 , pp. 101-108.
Suh, Y. and Hinton, K. (2015). Mirroring ourselves: Teacher educators of color reading multicultural texts. Issues in Teacher Education 24 (2) , pp. 23-42.
Suh, Y. and Grant, L. (2014). Assessing ways of seeing the past: Analysis of the use of images as historical evidence in the NAEP U.S. history assessment. The History Teacher 48 , pp. 71-90.
Hinton, K., Suh, Y., Lourdes, C. and Maria, O. (2014). Historical fiction in English and social studies classrooms: Is it a natural marriage? . English Journal 103 (3) , pp. 22-27.
Suh, Y. (2013). Past looking: Using arts as historical evidence in teaching history. Social Studies Research & Practice 8 (1) , pp. 135-159.
An, S. and Suh, Y. (2013). Simple, yet complicated: U.S. history represented in South Korean history textbooks.. Social Studies 104 (2) , pp. 57-66.
Suh, Y., Hinton (Johnson), K., Marken, J. A. and Lee, G. (2011). Are we feeling comfortable teaching it? A self-study of four teacher educators’ conversations about So Far from the Bamboo Grove. Multicultural Education 19 (1).
Suh, Y., Yurita, M. and Metzger, S. (2010). What do we want students to remember about the “Forgotten War”? A comparative study of Japan, Korea, and U.S high school history textbook accounts on the Korean War. International Journal of Social Education 23 (1) , pp. 51-75.
Suh, Y. (2008). How the doctoral mentoring helped the cultural transformation from peripheral observer to active participant: Learning to research and teach from Suzanne Wilson. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue 10 (1-2) , pp. 87-100.
Metzger, S. and Suh, Y. (2008). Significant or safe? Two cases of instructional uses of history feature films. Theory and Research in Social Education 36 (1) , pp. 88-109.

Book Chapters

Suh, Y. and Yurita, M. (2010). Toward building global citizenship by teaching historical controversy: a comparative research on Japanese and South Korean history textbooks London & Portland, OR: International Review of History Education: Trends in Contemporary ‘Public’ Debates on History Education .

Presentations

Suh, Y. and Grant, L. (April , 2013). Learning ways of seeing the past: Analysis of the use of images as historical evidence and student performance in the NAEP U.S. history assessment Paper AERA San Francisco, CA.
Suh, Y. and An, S. (April , 2013). “Strangers from a different shore”: Collective memory of Asian American experiences represented in U.S. history textbooks. Paper AERA San Francisco, CA.
Butler, B. M., Suh, Y. and Scott, W. (November , 2012). Knowledge transmission versus social transformation: A critical analysis of big ideas in elementary social studies methods textbooks Paper College and University Faculty Assembly Seattle, WA.
Suh, Y. and An, S. (November , 2012). Model minority or perpetual foreigner? Images of Asian Americans portrayed in U.S. History textbooks Paper CUFA associated with NCSS Seattle, WA.
Suh, Y. and Yurita, M. (November , 2012). World War II revisited: Students’ perceptions on historical significance in Japan and South Korea Paper CUFA associated with NCSS Seattle, WA.
  • 2018: Dean's Recognition Award, Darden College of Education and Professional Studies
  • 2018: Most Collaborative Grant Award, Darden College of Education and Professional Studies
  • 2005: Travel Grant, National Council for Social Studies
  • 2005: Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Michigan State University
  • 1998: University Recruit Fellowship, Michigan State University
  • 1998: Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award , Seoul National University
  • 1990: University Recruit Fellowship , Seoul National University

Organizational Chart