Douglas Wassilak

Education

M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision – Ball State University 2023

M.S. in Environmental Science – Washington State University 2005

B.A. in Education – Saint Louis University 2000

Contributions

Douglas Wassilak serves as the Director of Accreditation and Field Placement as well as the Educator Licensing Advisor for the Department of Education at Valparaiso University. 

He is responsible for providing direction, initiative, and leadership to the ongoing work of accreditation as required by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Indiana Department of Education.  

As Field Director, Douglas coordinates field work for teacher candidates from initial classroom observations to student teaching.  He collaborates with VU faculty, area superintendents, principals, and cooperating teachers to co-construct mutually beneficial P-12 school and community partnerships, with the goal of providing exceptional clinical experiences for VU teacher candidates.  

Prior to joining Valparaiso, Mr. Wassilak was an educator at the middle and secondary levels for over seventeen years.  With a background in math and science education, he has taught at various grade levels and several school systems in Illinois and Indiana.  

His professional interests include inquiry-based learning, STEM initiatives, and outdoor education.  Douglas is a former board member for the Dunes Learning Center.

Select Publications & Presentations

Bartels, S. L., Boche, B., Wassilak, D., Byers, J., Kelley, E. (2022, March). Building Teacher Leaders while Preparing Future Teachers through a Professional Learning Community. A paper presented at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Meeting.

Bartels, S. L., Boche, B., & Wassilak, D. (2021, April). A critical analysis of a collaborative elementary education program: Striving for integrated teaching. A paper presented at the 2021 American Education Research Association Conference, virtual.

Bartels, S. L., Boche, B., & Wassilak, D. (2021, January). A critical analysis of a collaborative elementary education program: Striving for integrated science teaching. A paper presented at the 2021 Association of Science Teacher Educators Conference, virtual.