Sarah Smitherman Pratt, PhD

Professional Summary

Dr. Sarah Smitherman Pratt is a Lecturer in Baylor's Moody School of Education’s Professional Online Learning Unit and faculty advisor in the EdD in Learning and Organizational Change program. She joined the faculty in the fall of 2019; prior to that she was an assistant professor at the University of North Texas as well as University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research and teaching are both focused on complex conversations, which are about engaging professionals in how ideas and images can generate and enrich emergent understandings. She is passionate about education and thoroughly enjoys working with Baylor EdD-LOC students. She currently serves as a faculty advisor for specific EdD-LOC cohorts. In her role as instructor, she teaches Psychology of Learning, Social Foundations for Education, Leadership and Organizational Change, and Mixed Methods Research.

Dr. Pratt holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in middle grades mathematics from Texas A&M University. After teaching in Richardson ISD for five years, she moved to Baton Rouge to attend Louisiana State University. She earned her master’s degree in mathematics education and Ph.D. in curriculum theory. Overall, she has almost three decades of experience as an educator. When she is not working, she is often found sitting in the stands watching her oldest daughter perform in color guard or playing (and most likely losing) a game with her younger daughter. She also serves her community as a care giver for a newly built Isaiah 117 House which serves as a support system to change the way foster care begins.

Education

• PhD, Curriculum Theory, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (2006)
• MA, Mathematics Education, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (2002)
• BS, Mathematics Education, Texas A&M University (1995)

Research Interests

• Teacher Education
• Mathematics Education
• Complexity Sciences and Education Research

Select Publications

Petty, C.S., Eddy, C.M. & Pratt, S.S. Examining mathematics teacher motivation during lesson study: the role of contextual factors for perceived relatedness. Learning Environ Res26, 255–270 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-022-09421-1 

Eddy, C., Pratt, S.S., & Martinez, M. (2020) Breaking the routine in mathematics. Texas Mathematics Teacher, 66(1), 38-46.

Pratt, S. S. (2018). Area models to image integer and binomial multiplication. Investigations in Mathematics Learning, 10(2), 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/19477503.2017.1375352 

Select Presentations

Pratt, S. S., Petty, C., & Eddy, C. M. (2022, April 21–26). How mathematics teachers experience autonomy in the context of Lesson Study with Open Approach [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, United States.

Cooper, S., Blevins, B., Howell, L., Lively, C., Meehan, J., Pratt, S. S., & Talbert, S. (2020, October). Supporting EdD students to conduct rigorous research in a three-year, online program [Paper presentation]. CPED20 Convening of Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED), Online.