Education
- Ph.D. 1998 – North Carolina State University, Curriculum and Instruction
- M.Ed. 1995 – North Carolina State University, Curriculum and Instruction
- B.A. 1991 – Meredith College, History
Areas of Expertise
- Social Studies Education
- Teacher Education
- Experiential Education
- Technology and Teacher Education
Background
Cheryl Mason Bolick is a former classroom teacher who has spent more than 20 years studying different dimensions of social studies education. She led some of the first efforts to integrate technology into social studies teacher education. Bolick has a long history of developing digital history curriculum materials and studying the use of digital history in social studies teacher education. This work laid the foundation for her current research interest in experiential education in social studies teacher education.
Research
Cheryl Mason Bolick specializes in social studies education and teacher education. She began her career by identifying and studying innovative ways to use technology in the social studies classroom. Bolick’s first research interests were in the inaugural uses of online education and digital history archives. Her scholarly interests have evolved alongside new emerging technologies. The focus of her work has been on using digitized archives to develop historical thinking. This work has provided the foundation for her work in social studies teacher education.
Most recently, Bolick is engaging in research that investigates the impact of engaging students in experiential education as a philosophy to inform teaching and learning. She has studied the impact of experiential education initiatives within teacher education programs and the transference to the classroom. Her current research is examining the impact of experiential education in a teacher education program on classroom teaching.