Tamara Shreiner is Professor in the History Department, where she specializes in social studies education.  Since coming to GVSU in 2015, she has served as CLAS Curriculum Committee Chair, Associate Dean, Presidential Fellow, and Director of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Elementary Teaching program. Prior to her work at GVSU, Tamara taught middle school and high school history, civics, and English, and was Associate Curator of Education at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, MI. 

Tamara received an M.A. in Social Studies Education, a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies, and a Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a concentration in Teaching and Teacher Education from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she also received the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award. Her research has centered on the relationship between history education and civic education in K-12 schools, and the role of disciplinary literacy in preparing students for informed civic participation. Currently, her scholarship focuses on the teaching and learning of data literacy in social studies, exploring ways that critical analyseis of data visualizations in history and other social studies disciplines can both enhance students’ learning of subject matter and prepare them to be critical consumers of information. Tamara has received numerous grants, including from the National Science Foundation and Library of Congress, and authored or co-authored over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, including in Cognition & Instruction, The British Journal of Educational Technology, Theory & Research in Social Education, and The History Teacher. In 2024, she published a co-edited book, History Education and Historical Inquiry, and a sole-authored book, Teaching Data Literacy in Social Studies: Principles and Practices to Support Historical Thinking and Civic Engagement.

Tamara has been an active advocate for history and social studies education, serving on various boards and committees at state and national levels. She has been a longstanding board member of the Michigan Council for History Education and was the first woman to serve as its Executive Director, a role that she held for six years. She also served on the Michigan Social Studies Standards writing task forces in both 2007 and 2019, as chair of the American Educational Research Association Teaching History Special Interest Group. and as a board member for the Michigan Center for Civic Education. 

• Leads content-area teacher education faculty for elementary, secondary, and PK-12 programs in CLAS.
  • Helps coordinate teacher education program design, implementation, and revision.
  • Helps coordinate both internal (SAIL) and external (MDE) program application and document submission processes.
  • Attends CLAS unit head meetings and other college-wide meetings as needed
  • Oversees internal and external (MDE) teacher education program assessment, evaluation, and continuous improvement cycles.
  • Supervises creation and submission of CAEP accreditation documents by content-area faculty, and represents CLAS programs for CAEP site visits.
  • Provides support to unit heads and content-area education coordinators on matters related to teacher education.
  • Provides support to PCKET program director on multidisciplinary program initiatives and coordination.
  • Coordinates events for PK-12 teacher education faculty to promote collaborations.
  • Seeks out and coordinates grant opportunities to support PK-12 initiatives within CLAS.
  • Provides assistance as requested to directors and unit heads within class on PK-12 outreach.
     
• Serves as liaison with the College of Education and Community Innovation.
  • Collaborates with leadership in CECI on teacher education programs, curricula, assessment, and continuous improvement for all PK-12 programs.
  • Collaborates with leadership in CECI on assessment, program approval, data collection, and CAEP accreditation for all PK-12 programs.
  • Actively promotes communication and collaboration between CLAS and CECI faculty.
  • Communicates with CLAS faculty about events and developments in CECI.
  • Sits ex officio on Teacher Education Council.
  • Sits on CECI PK-12 Advisory Council and Advisory Council Steering Committee.
     
• Serves as CLAS representative for PK-12 education outreach efforts.
  • Leads CLAS dual enrollment initiatives and matriculation agreements, including those to promote teacher pipelines and “grow your own” programs.
  • Collaborates with the Director of PK-12 Partnerships on direct credit agreements.
  • Helps support communication with MDE and community college leadership on teacher education transfer agreements.
  • Represents CLAS at the state level, including attending DARTEP and other MDE meetings.
  • Actively promotes GVSU’s teacher education program and helps coordinate efforts to strengthen the teaching profession across the state.