Elizabeth N. Christian, Ph.D.
Elizabeth N. Christian, Ph.D.
Elizabeth N. Christian, Ph.D., is assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Her teaching and scholarship explore how materials, discourse, and experiential learning shape the development of preservice teachers and young children. Grounded in constructivist and inquiry-based approaches, her work examines play, multimodal reflection, children's literature, community engagement, and the role of emerging technologies in education.
Dr. Christian's recent scholarship includes research on preservice teachers' evolving understandings of play, faculty-library colaborations, experiential learning, and the integration of artificial intelligence in professional practice and higher education. Her work has appeared in journals and conference proceedings including Industry and Higher Education, The Great Lakes Social Studies Journal, and the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference proceedings.
Before entering higher education, Dr. Christian worked extensively in preschool, special education, and laboratory school settings. She brings more than 25 years of experience in early childhood education, teacher preparation, and community-based learning initiatives.
- EDU 23600 Play as Development
- EDU 24900 Child Development
- EDU 32700 Early Childhood Social Studies and Family Studies
- EDU 33300 Inquiry in Math and Science
- EDU 34600 Guidance for Young Children
- EDU 35200 Emergent Curriculum Methods
- EDU 35500 Early Childhood Mental Health
- EDU 40100 Laboratory/Field Experience
- Christian, E. N. (2026). Faces of identity: Materials-based social studies learning in early childhood teacher education. The Great Lake Social Studies Journal, 6(1), 41-46.
- Christian, E. N., Jia, X., Van Dellen, S. A., Zubovic, Y., & Dehr, K. (2026). Learning from practice: How professionals use AI and what it means for higher education. Industry and Higher Education. 09504222261438628
- Christian, E. N., & Britton, C. (2026). Partners in practice: Education-library collaborations that expand teacher access to materials. In Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 2232-2236).
- Christian, E. N., & Smith, J. (2026). Building prior knowledge before a field trip: Photography as a bridge in kindergarten learning. In Proceeding of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 2226-2231).
- Christian, E. N., & Nowak, J. A. (2026). Indiana bridges: Inclusive STEM learning for tudents with Down syndrome. Indiana STEM Education Conference Proceedings.
- Christian, E. N. (2026). Indiana leaves: Using graphic organizers to support meaning making. ViewPoints: Indiana Council for the Social Studies.
- Christian, E. N., & Tock, E. (2025). Book bundles: Digital access to campus library brings life to children's books in early childhood education. In R. J. Cohen (Ed.), Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 2231-2236).
- Christian, E. N. (2023). Lessons from rural regions: Urban teachers' scaffolded explorations of Midwestern farms. In Expanding the vision of rurality in the U.S. educational system (pp. 130-151). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-7437-2.ch007
- Yoho, L. M., Christian, E. N., LaDuke-Pelster, F., & Moore, J. D. (2025). Humor and the academy: Lessons from Straight Man on personal growth and professional practice [Featured presentation]. Academy for Education Studies Conference, Savannah, GA, United States.
- Christian, E. N., Moore, J. D., Yoho, L. M., & LaDuke-Pelster, F. (2023). Key skills of P-12 classroom teachers in the college classroom journey [Conference presentation]. National Association of Teacher Educators Conference, Jacksonville, FL, United States.
- Christian, E. N., & Britton, C. (2026). Partners in practice: Faculty-library collaborations that expand teacher access materials [Visual conference presentation]. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
- Christian, E. N., & Smith, J. (2026). Building prior knowledge before a field trip: Photography as a bridge in kindergarten learning [Virtual conference presentation]. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference, Philedelphia, PA, United States.
- Christian, E. N., & Nowak, J. A. (2026) Indiana Bridges: Inclusive STEM learning for students with Down syndrome [Conference presentation]. Indiana STEM Education Conference, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
- Christian, E. N., Yoho, L. M., Moore, J. D., & LaDuke-Pelster, F. (2026). Dear committee members: The letters we really want to write [Panel discussion]. Academy for Education Studies Conference, Sand Diego, CA, United States.
- Christian, E. N., & Tock, E. (2024). Book Bundles: Connecting early childhood education students with hands-on materials [Poster presentation]. Midwest Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, South Bend, IN, United States.
- Christian, E. N., & Cousik, R. (2024). Educator preparation: Engaging and assessing standout students in class [Poster presentation]. Midwest Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, South Bend, IN, United States.
- Community Engagement Grant, "Play in and Out of the Library." Community Engaged Alliance, 2025.
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Project Cohort, "Inquiry-Based Learning." Purdue Fort Wayne Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, 2025.
- Summer Research Grant, "Play Beliefs Across Experiential Learning Contexts." Purdue Fort Wayne Office of Academic Affairs, 2025.
- Little Bit of Luck Grant, "Early Childhood Microprojects." Dekko Foundation, 2024.
- Summer Instructional Grant, "Inquiry-Based Learning." Purdue Fort Wayne Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, 2024.
- Uplifting Brightspace Revisions Grant, "EDU 35200 Revisions." Purdue Fort Wayne Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, 2024.
- Summer Instructional Grant, "Brightspace Book Bundles." Purdue Fort Wayne Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, 2023.