Ph.D., George Mason University
Assistant Professor
Co-Director, Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning
Phone: (703) 993-4123
Fax: (703)993-4370
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Robinson Hall A 451B
4400 University Dr.
MS 4B3
Fairfax, VA 22030
Rebecca K. Fox, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director of the Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning Program and an Assistant Professor of Foreign/World/Second Language Education in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Bilingual in French, she has taught all levels of French in grades K - university and English to adult English language learners. Dr. Fox holds a Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Foreign/Second Language Education and Research from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. She received her master's degree "with distinction" in French literature from George Mason University.
In her ninth year at GMU, Dr. Fox is affiliated with two CEHD programs. She directs and teaches classes in the Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning area, an advanced master's program aligned with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She also teaches courses in Foreign/World Language Methods, Bilingualism and Language Acquisition Research, research methods and action research. She regularly mentors and works with doctoral students, and is actively involved in ongoing research with teachers in the P-12 setting.
Her research involves two primary areas: 1) the role of portfolios and the reflective portfolio process in teacher education; and 2) second language acquisition and foreign/world language gteaching and learning, particularly the sub-themes of culture, technology, language proficiency, and the role of self efficacy and acculturation in older adolescents with interrupted schooling. Her teaching in world language classrooms and work with both pre-and in-ervice teachers in the areas of advanced professional development and multilingual/multicultural education provide the context for her research, publications, and scholarly presentations. Her lines of research have greatly informed her teaching and are connected to her professional service, as well.
Specifically, In the area of second language acquisition, Dr. Fox conducts research on the language acquisition of adolescents with interrupted schooling and on the use of technology in the service of language learning. Her research on pre-and in-service portfolio development focuses on ways that portfolios might be used to measure program effectiveness, candidate (teacher) attitudes and dispositions, and program growth and development through portfolio evaluation. As a researcher for an NEA funded grant, she recently examined the dimensions of portfolio development as evidences of teaching readiness, manifested in PDS and non-PDS program participants. Dr. Fox's research and scholarly writing includes book chapters, research and journal articles and reports.
Dr. Fox is an active member of several professional organizations, among them the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), and the American Education Research Association (AERA), where she regularly presents research at their professional conferences. She is currently serving as the Secretary of the Portfolio SIG of the American Education Research Association and is Past Chair of the ACTFL SIG on Research. She is a member of the ACTFL NCATE Program Review Board, and was 2004 Chair of the ACTFL/MLJ Birkmaier Award for the Outstanding Dissertation Committee and has been named to the Pimsler Award Committee for 2006. Her appointment as Chair of the Student Standards Commission of the American Association of Teachers of French will begin in January 2008. In addition, she is a member of Golden Key, Phi Delta Kappa, and of Phi Beta Delta International Honor Societies.
Please visit Dr. Fox's professional web site at http://mason.gmu.edu/~rfox
This site contains course related information, technology-based resources for foreign and world language teachers, as well as extended information about research and development in portfolio research.
No courses taught this semester.