Sonja Brandt
- Assistant Professor in Elementary Education Methods, Teaching & Leadership
Contact Info
- Email: sonja.brandt@UND.edu
- Office: 701.777.3145
- Dept:
Office Address
Education Room 376
231 Centennial Drive Stop 7189
Grand Forks, ND 58202-7189
Curriculum Vitae
Biography
Dr. Sonja Brandt joined the Teaching and Leadership faculty here at UND in 2019. She is a member of the Elementary Education program, teaching preservice teachers in early childhood and elementary programs as well as graduate students in literacy education. Her work focuses on teachers' awareness of their nonverbal behaviors during instruction to increase and positively impact student learning as well as incorporating active learning strategies into her teachings and as a guide for her undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Brandt and her husband and two children live here in Grand Forks. She enjoys reading, photography, spending time outdoors, and traveling with her family.
Undergraduate Courses:
TL 328 Survey of Children's Literature
TL 409 Reading in the Content Areas
TL 410 Teaching Reading in the Elementary School Classroom (Elementary TEAM Methods)
TL 440 Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School Classroom (Elementary TEAM Methods)
TL 443 Mathematics for Primary Grades
TL444 Assessing and Correcting Mathematics Difficulties
Graduate Courses:
TL 524: Reading in the Content Areas
TL 536: Innovations in English Language Arts Instruction
TL 528: Children's and Young Adult Literature in the Classroom
Dr. Brandt's research is centered on elementary teacher's nonverbal immediacy behaviors during instruction. Her goal is to lead current and preservice teachers to become more aware of their instructional and non-instructional nonverbal behaviors to positively impact student learning and engagement. Her newest research endeavors are on incorporating active learning components into her teachings for university students to experience and then use themselves as they plan lessons and activities for today's preK-12 students.
Spring 2020 North Dakota Council of Teachers of Mathematics and North Dakota Science Teachers Association STEM Conference Accepted Presenter
Spring 2021 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics National Conference Presenter
Dr. Sonja's educational background includes degrees from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN (B.A. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Communication/Language Arts), St. Mary's University of Minnesota (M.A. in Education), and the University of North Dakota (Ph.D. in Teacher Education). Her varied educational experiences at these higher education institutions and working in different school districts has shaped her into the educator she is for teaching elementary students, preservice teachers, and graduate students alike.
Dr. Brandt has 15 years' teaching experience in preschool and elementary classrooms. She comes to UND with prior experience teaching undergraduate courses at UND as well as the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Member of the National Council of Teachers of English
Department
Elementary Education Department Committee (2019-present)
College
Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice (TLPP) Committee (2019-present)
Undergraduate Assessment Committee (2020-present)
Teacher and School Professionals Education Committee (TSPEC) (2019-present)
University
University Senate Honors Committee (2020-present)
Alice T. Clark/UND Alumni Association & Foundation Scholars Mentoring Program (2019-present)