Laura Meyers
Clinical Professor - Program Coord. of MACIE Early Childhood and Elementary Education- Education
Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University
M.A. in Children’s Literature and Literary Theory, Hollins University
B.S. in Elementary Education, Presbyterian College
- Specializations
Arts-infused instruction, especially within social studies & literacy
Social justice education
Cross-cultural and international education
- Biography
Laura E. Meyers, Ph.D. is a clinical professor in the College of Education & Human Development.
Meyers serves as the program coordinator of the Master of Arts in Creative and Innovative Education (MACIE). MACIE supports individuals interested in the development of young people’s creative and innovative skills via creative arts, curriculum design, entrepreneurship, non-profit, community outreach, etc. Meyers’ ongoing artistic contributions and arts-based service to local, national, and global communities serve her well in this role.
As an artist-scholar and teacher educator, she utilizes dramatic and visual arts as venues for exploring and questioning issues of social justice. Meyers collaborates with Atlanta-based filmmakers and theatre artists to produce stories that question issues of equity and spark conversations about racism, gun violence, and mental health, to name a few topics. Her roles in these projects include actor, director, producer, set designer and writer. In 2014, she created Tiles for Social Justice, an exploratory arts-based curriculum that supports educators and students in learning about and grappling with issues of social justice. Meyers utilizes her expertise within her teaching of introductory and methodology courses (e.g., PERS 2001 Teaching in Today’s Society and ECE 3385 Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment). On the graduate level, she designs and implements innovative, topical graduate-level courses. Titles include Art as Activism, Media & Children’s Learning, What is Curriculum?, and (Re)centering Well-being: Holding Space for Creatives & Educators. Often, Meyers leads study abroad programs in China and Mexico, among others.
Meyers shares her scholarship locally nationally and globally via film and theatre festivals, academic conferences and professional learning seminars. Her accomplishments are often celebrated by Georgia State University (GSU). An all-time favorite article of hers is titled Place Setting: Laura Meyers and highlights how her work is represented in her on-campus office.
Accolades include:
- GSU Instructional Innovation Award (2023)
- GSU George M. Sparks Award (2020)
- Honorary Teacher of The Experimental Lab School Attached to Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China (2015)
- Excellence in Social Studies Award from the Georgia Department of Education (2009)
- Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Georgia Council for the Social Studies (2008)
- GSU College of Education & Human Development Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award (2007).
Pictured: For over a decade, Sullivan (2002-2012; therapy dog) and Meyers supported educators in implementing arts-based teaching strategies to develop young students’ collaboration efforts, language skills and content knowledge across subject areas.
- Publications
Sampling of Publications
Duff, R. & Meyers, L. E. (In Press). (Re)centering well-being: Holding space for creatives and educators. In B. Butler (Ed.), “How Teacher Educators Learn: Profiles in Teacher Educator Professional Development.” Information Age Publishing.
Duff, R. & Meyers, L. E. (In Press). The well-being of teacher educators: An invitation to look inward, disrupt, and (re)center. In J. Jacobs & R. Burns (Eds.), “The Complex Work of Teacher Educators: Cases that Illustrate Teacher Educator Standards in Action.” Information Age Publishing.
Davis, A. (2020-present; circulating film festivals). “The Duchess of Grant Park.” Studio Vosges. (actor and casting director for children)
DAndrea, D. & Meyers, L. E. (2019). “Womxn’s One-Minute Play Festival.” Miami.
Meyers, L. E., Heath, H., Kemper, N., Waters, J., Mitchell, B., Jennings, C. & Davis, A. (2018). “Critical Crop Top Live Sketch Show: Critical Crop Top Saves America.” Highland Inn and Ballroom Theatre.
Meyers, L. E. (2016) “Picture this – bang!” One-Minute Play Festival.” Atlanta: Actors Express Theatre.
Meyers, L. E. and Aston, O. (2015). “Arts Integration & Children’s Books.” Atlanta: Georgia Public Library Service. Webinar series also includes “Culturally Responsive Approaches to Children’s Book Selections” with T. Crisp, “Read Aloud Tips & Strategies” with L. Criss-Mays, “Supporting English Language Learners & Their Families through Literature” with F. Baiden, and “Reading Nooks that Encourage Writing Too!” with D. Darby, N. Coleman, and Q. Bostic. Retrieved from: http://www.georgialibraries.org.
Zhao, Y. and Meyers, L. E. (2015). “Developing core democratic values across disciplines in American elementary schools.” “Chinese Journal of Moral Education /从教学“公平公正”这一价值观看美国中小学核心民主价值观的跨学科培养途径” (academic journal in China; translated into Chinese).
Meyers, L. E. and Morgan, P. (2014). “When one door opens.” HBO Project Greenlight. Retrieved from: https://vimeo.com/106625050
Meyers, L. E., Holbrook, T. and May, L. A. (2009). “Beyond Heroes: Using biographies to develop change agents.” Social Studies and the Young Learner, 21(3), 10-14.