Kathleen M. Cowin, Ed.D.
Associate Professor (Career Track) of Educational Leadership
Department of Educational Leadership and Sport Management
Washington State University, Tri-Cities
2719 Crimson Way, Office 207X
Richland, WA 99354
Phone: (509) 372-7107
Kathleen.Cowin@wsu.edu
Curriculum Vitae
I teach graduate courses in the state-wide Master’s in Educational Leadership and Principal and Program Administrator Certification Program. I teach Ed_Ad 516, instructional and curricular leadership; Ed_Ad 583, community and communication; Ed_Ad 589, the leadership development seminar; and Ed_Ad 590, the Principal and Program Administrator internship seminar. I supervise Principal and Program Administrator candidates in their internships, working with their K-12 mentors in their schools and/or school districts.
I have also developed two new courses focusing on mentorship, effective mentoring, and using co-mentoring circles (Ed_Ad 521 & Ed_Ad 522), and taught Ed_Ad 580, school organization and administration, in the Ed.D. program.
Before coming to teach at the university, I served as an elementary teacher for 14 years and a principal for 16 years. I have a passion to work with aspiring school leaders in developing their leadership capacity and supporting them on their leadership journey. I also completed my Superintendent certification.
I was inducted into WSU’s Teaching Academy in 2020. Through my work in the Teaching Academy and the Provost’s Office with the Transformation Change Initiative, I co-created and co-lead a university-wide program with Professor Emeritus Theresa Jordan called Peer Observation in Support of Instructional Excellence (POSIE). The POSIE program brings faculty members from across the university together to focus on enhancing their teaching practices through observing each other teaching and then providing feedback.
Research
Mentorship, Mentoring, and Co-mentoring Circles: My research in mentorship, mentoring, co-mentoring, and co-mentoring circles grew out of my reflection as a teacher. I teach Ed_Ad 590, the certification internship seminar, for our Principal and Program Administrator Candidates/Interns. I have focused my mentoring research on creating and refining the co-mentoring circle process. I began to use co-mentoring circles in our seminars to help our Interns have a much-needed safe and supportive place to debrief, discuss, reflect, and learn more about their Internship practices. Interns provided feedback to each other during the co-mentoring circles and often the community that developed among circle participants became a deep source of support, reflection, and learning for the Interns. Through the co-mentoring circle, Interns had a network of at-the-ready mentors/co-mentors. Being able to have dedicated time to talk with others who really understand the nature of the work of being an Intern is what Interns say they value most about the co-mentoring circles. My work with our Interns and my own mentors in the mentoring research has provided opportunities to write and present about, and continue to develop, the co-mentoring circle process.
Collaborative Conversations:
Aligning with my co-mentoring circle research, for the past five years I have collaborated with Dr. Sarah Newcomer on a process we have developed called “Collaborative Conversations.” Collaborative Conversations bring future educational leaders and pre-service teachers together during their certification coursework to discuss culturally sustaining, socially just pedagogy. We bring our students together four times in the term to discuss six shared readings about deficit thinking, everyday literacy, culturally sustaining pedagogy, funds of knowledge, and what culturally sustaining, socially just pedagogy might look like in practice. Dr. Newcomer and I combined scholarship on critical reflection (Hernandez & Marshall, 2009; Khalifa et al., 2016), caring school cultures (Cooper & Chikwe, 2012; Trujillo & Cooper, 2014), student achievement and staff capacity (Theoharis, 2007), social justice as part of one’s identity (Theoharis, 2008), equitable relationships with students and families (Faltis, 2006), having students develop critical consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 1995), and using students’ cultural and linguistic competencies (Au, 2011; Moll et al., 1992/2005) as a framework for the design of the Collaborative Conversations. A significant outcome of our Collaborative Conversations research is that it provides a safe and supportive space where future teachers and school leaders can practice discussing topics of a sensitive nature, such as how to implement culturally sustaining, socially just pedagogy, and the systemic power differential inherent in their respective positions.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles:
Cowin, K. M., & Helm, K.1 (2024). Self-portraits shared in co-mentoring circles: Touchstones to leadership discoveries. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 8(3), 83-88.
Smith, M., & Cowin, K. (2023). The impact of portraiture on mentoring relationships in schools:
“An unworthy assignment.” The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 7(16), 100-105.
Cowin, K. (2023). Co-mentoring circle practices: Self-discovery through sharing our stories. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 7(16), 127-133.
Cowin, K., & Newcomer, S. (2023). “Removing the blinders”: Collaborative Conversations among aspiring teachers and school leaders. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 7(16), 134-139.
Cowin, K., & Newcomer, S. (2022). “How do we raise all voices, not just talk about it?”: Collaborative Conversations and co-mentoring networks. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 6(1), 52-59.
Cowin, K., & Smith, M.1 (2022). “Who knew?”: The power of story in creating a co-mentoring circle for aspiring leaders. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 6(1), 249-254.
Newcomer, S. N., & Cowin, K. M. (2022). Collaborative Conversations for culturally sustaining, socially just pedagogy: Creating a safe space for dialogue and practice. Diversity, Social Justice, and the Educational Leader, 5(1), 1-15.
Cowin, K. M., & Newcomer, S. N. (2022). Collaborative Conversations between teacher and school leader candidates: A co-mentoring network develops. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 22(2), 137-147.
Cowin, K. (2021). Pandemic lessons: “Yes, you can create co-mentoring circles over Zoom.” The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 5(1), 164-170.
Cowin, K., & Newcomer, S. (2021). “It was a risk…”: A co-mentoring network emerges between teacher and leader candidates. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 5(1), 178-183.
Newcomer, S. N., & Cowin, K. M. (2021). The power and possibility of stories: Learning to become culturally sustaining and socially just educators. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2020.1860407
Cowin, K. M. (2020). Connecting in co-mentoring circles: Learning to lead together. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching, 4(1), 131-136.
Cowin, K. M., & Newcomer, S. N. (2019). Sharing our stories and learning to lead: A relational mentoring process through self-portraiture. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 31(2), 239-262.
Newcomer, S., & Cowin, K. M. (2018). Journey of a culturally responsive, socially just leader. Journal of School Leadership, 28(4), 488-516.
Book Chapters:
Cowin, K. M. (2023). Facilitating leadership learning: Using co-mentoring circles. In D. Law & N. Domínguez (Eds.), Making connections: A handbook for effective formal mentoring programs in academia. Utah State University. UEN_Pressbook
Newcomer, S. N., & Cowin, K. M. (2022). Making arij chaj n en tres idiomas: A middle school language arts lesson. In S. Cantrell, D. Walker-Dalhouse, & A. M. Lazer (Eds.), Culturally sustaining literacy pedagogies: Honoring students’ heritages, literacies, and languages (pp. 75-93). Teachers College Press.
Cowin, K. M. (2021). Creating and facilitating co-mentoring circles: A guide. In E. H. Reames & L. J. Searby (Eds.), The art and science of mentoring: A festschrift in honor of Dr. Frances Kochan (pp. 87-100). Information Age Press.
Cowin, K. M. (2021). Don’t forget us: Leadership development for assistant principals through co-mentoring. In F. K. Kochan, E. H. Reames, & D. Griggs, (Eds.), Partnerships for leadership preparation and development: Facilitators, barriers and models for change (pp. 215-229). Information Age Press.
Cowin, K. M. (2018).¡Sí, se puede: Creating developmental, relational mentoring networks for future school leaders. In J. McClinton, D. S. B. Mitchell, D. T. Carr, M. A. Melton, & G.
B. Hughes, (Eds.), Mentoring at minority serving institutions: Theory, design, practice, and impact (pp. 397-414). Information Age Press.
Service
I view service as a core value in my philosophy of leadership, education, and life.
I was inducted as a Teaching Academy Fellow in 2020, serving on the assessment committee. As a member of the Teaching Academy I co-created and co-led a Peer-observation and Co-mentoring Pilot Program with participating Teaching Academy members for two years. I continue to co-lead that program, which has now gone university-wide as part of the Provost’s Transformational Change Initiative. The focus of the Peer Observation in Support of Instructional Excellence (POSIE) Program is to provide a safe and supportive space for faculty to select an area for development and enhancement in their teaching practice.
Since 2020, I have given four invited presentations on mentoring for the WSU Human Resources Staff Mentoring Program, and two invited presentations on mentoring for the 2023 Elevating Cougs Conference.
I serve on the College of Education (COE) Scholarship Committee and the Grants and Research Advisory Committee. I conduct events promoting our department programs to our local school district leaders and to recruit future students.
I represent our department at our Tri-Cities COE Advisory Board and Professional Education Advisory Board meetings. I serve as Chair for all Tri-Cities Ed.M. in Educational Leadership students, and serve on educational leadership doctoral committees as requested. I also serve on Ed.M. committees in other departments and for students on other campuses as requested. I also helped prepare for the state accreditation of our Principal Certification Program, working extensively on alignment of curriculum to state standards and new national standards, which involved deep collaboration across our department on all campuses. I have served on a number of search committees for both faculty and administrative positions. I have served on the Tri Cities Faculty Organization (TCFO), formerly the Resident Faculty Organization, since 2017. The TCFO advises and assists the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors regarding our academic mission.
I organize and lead orientations for our incoming Tri-Cities educational leadership students, and continue to be of service after our students graduate or complete their certification programs by providing ongoing mentoring, reviewing their interview materials and skills, writing letters of recommendation and completing reference forms and calls.
I have served in a variety of capacities for a number of professional organizations, including the American Educational Research Association Mentorship and Mentoring Practices special interest group, the University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute, the International Mentoring Association, and the International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership. I serve as a reviewer for the Journal of Research on Leadership in Education and the International Jornal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education (IJMCE), and was awarded Reviewer of the Year for the IJMCE in 2022. I have served as a pro bono consultant on co-mentoring circles for the University of Rochester Center for Learning Innovation and Collaboration, which is a part of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program funded by the Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health.
Education
Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Seattle University (2006)
Dissertation entitled: “Storytelling As Caring: Creating a Supportive Environment for Beginning Teachers”
Committee Chair: Daisy Arredondo-Rucinski, Ph.D.
Ed.M. in Educational Administration from Seattle University (1987)
B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1976)
Professional Certifications
Superintendent, Seattle University (2006)
Administrator Certification Seattle University (1987)
Washington Teacher Certification, University of Washington (1982)
California Teacher Certification, University of California, Santa Cruz (1976)
Selected Awards
2022, Outstanding Publication in the Scholarship of Teaching in Higher Education. Presented by
the Washington State University Teaching Academy.
2022, Emerald Publishing Awards 2022 Literati, Outstanding Reviewer, the International
Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education
2020, Inducted into the Washington State University President’s Teaching Academy
2017, Washington State University Tri-Cities Outstanding Teaching Award