New faculty member brings passion for teaching to OHIO Southern

For more than 21 years, Melody Craft has helped students discover a love of learning.

Now, as Ohio University Southern’s newest assistant professor of instruction in early and middle childhood education, she is bringing that experience to future teachers who want to make a difference in their own classrooms and communities.

What has struck Craft most in her first semester is the passion of her students.

“Their heart stands out to me,” she said. “They all truly want to make a difference, and they’ve already been so inspiring in sharing their dreams for the difference they want to make for kids in classrooms one day.”

Craft coordinates classroom placements for education students while also teaching courses that prepare them for the profession. Her background includes two decades in public education, where she taught children of all ages, as well as adult educators, with an emphasis on literacy. Those experiences sparked her interest in higher education.

“My lifelong passion for learning drives my commitment in working with students,” said Craft. “As I have progressed in my career, I realized I loved working with people regardless of age. I decided to give working with college students a try, and I absolutely love it so far.”

At OHIO Southern, she teaches Introduction to Public Education, a freshman-level course that engages in critical inquiry into teaching as a profession, exploring the purpose and organization of schooling, social foundations, the history of public education, and the certification process in Ohio. She said her goal is to help students confirm their career paths early in their studies.

“By the end of the course, I hope students decide this is the path they want to stick to and cross the finish line at Ohio University to graduate and become a teacher. But if they discover it is not for them, they can switch gears early and pursue something else,” she said.

Her role connects directly to the strengths of Ohio University’s Education programs. Students at OHIO  Southern may pursue either Early Childhood and Elementary Education, preparing to work with children from preschool through grade five, or Middle Childhood Education, preparing to teach grades four through nine. Both programs emphasize not only content mastery, but also the skills to support children’s academic, emotional, and social growth.

Clinical and professional placements, which Craft now coordinates, are an essential part of the learning environment. Local schools across Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia serve as partners, giving students opportunities to work directly with children in a range of settings before graduation.

Students also take part in the Rural-Urban Collaborative, a distinctive field experience for sophomores and juniors in the Department of Teacher Education. The program brings rural and urban communities together with one mission: prepare pre-service teachers to teach anywhere. Through cultural immersion and classroom dialogue, students broaden their awareness of how issues such as gender, race, social class, and geographic locality shape the lives of children and families.

“They’ll see a variety of teaching strategies and methods, in every subject and every grade,” Craft said. “Those experiences will help them understand the diverse needs of students and how different communities approach learning.”

For Craft, preparing future teachers begins with introspection.

“Reflection is crucial for preservice teachers because it fosters ongoing professional growth by deepening self-awareness and builds confidence and agency in their teaching career. We consider the teachers they’ve had in the past and the impact those role models had on them,” she said. “That helps them dial in to how they can give back to their communities and what professionalism with heart looks like as an educator.”

Craft said she has already noticed the qualities that make Ohio University Southern students stand out.

“This campus has such a close-knit community feel and the students have empathy for each other and their surrounding communities,” she said. “I love that about them.”