Debra Pratt
- Continuing Lecturer of Education
Debra Pratt has 7 children. Rome and Justin are her biological children, Lily and Ladd are twins who were adopted from Ukraine, and Tyler, Lina, and A.J. are from her recent marriage to Dr. David Pratt. She has one 2 year- old granddaughter, the beautiful Harlie. In the Pratt family there are 3 - 11 year olds. Debra says, “Having 3 - 11 year olds is really pretty fun but I can't imagine what it will be like having 3 - 16 year olds.” If a parent is a child's first teacher and practice makes perfect, raising these children has helped make Ms. Pratt the great educator she is.
Pratt received her bachelor of science in education from Indiana University Northwest, loved her teacher training and became a big I.U. fan in the process. After moving to Valparaiso and teaching at Westville Elementary School , Purdue North Central became a convenient and sensible location to pursue a master's degree in education. Attending PNC was “an amazing experience.” Ms. Pratt lauds Dr. Cindy Fontaine, Dr. Ed Hackett, Dr. Ross Blythe and Dr. Dan Keilman, some of her PNC professors. She says that each had high expectations for students and were experts in their fields. Attending PNC opened many doors and Debra now admits to honestly being a huge Purdue fan.
Ms. Pratt joined PNC as a visiting assistant professor of Education in 2003 and in 2005 became a Continuing Lecturer of Education, a rank she holds today.
She teaches three educational psychology courses: Creating and Managing Learning Environments, The Inclusive Classroom and Learning and Motivation. Additionally, she teaches one educational studies course entitled History and Philosophy of Education. She is the assistant director of student teaching and is co-advisor for Kappa Delta Pi, an educational honor society. Along with her students, she participated in service learning projects for the Michigan City Zoo and two area elementary schools. Some of her research interests are brain based learning, building a community of learners in the classroom, the millennial generation, English as a new language and inclusive classrooms.
