Rate My Professor Mark Simpson

Mark Simpson, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at Florida Gulf Coast University. His main academic specialty is ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), with a teaching career that began in the early 1970s as a Peace Corps volunteer, where he met his wife, Sheila Bolduc-Simpson, an instructor in FGCU's College of Arts and Sciences. Simpson teaches courses including Foundations of ESOL (TSL 3080) and Methods, Curriculum, and Instructional Effectiveness (TSL 4340), receiving high-quality designations in FGCU's online course reviews. In 2017-2018, he served as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar at the University of Rwanda's College of Education, teaching English in Kigali for ten months. He has been honored with FGCU's Excellence in Teaching Award.

Simpson's research interests encompass pedagogy, curriculum development, e-learning, online education, and the integration of technology into teaching practices, particularly for ESOL and pre-service teachers. His key publications include 'Teaching Strategies: Engaging Our 21st Century Learners: Teaching Tips for Five Free-n-Easy Web 2.0 Apps' (2014), 'Designing, Developing and Assessing Online Intra-collegiate Earth Charter Projects: Focus on Diversity' (2013), 'Social Places in Virtual Spaces: Creating a Social Learning Community in Online Courses' (2012), 'Technology in the Schools: Video Clip Production by Pre-Service Teachers in an Online ESOL Methods Course' (2011), 'Connecting the Dots: Integrating Technology into Learner Reflective Practices' (2010), and 'Collaborative Blogs as Technology Learning Tools: An Initial Investigation' (2009). He evaluates teaching effectiveness through student relationships and regular feedback, promoting a learner-focused approach that blends art and science in education.