Arthur T. Costigan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Secondary Education and Youth Services

Queens College, CUNY
Powdermaker Hall 150-Q
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing, New York 11367
Telephone: (718) 997-5175
Facimile: (718) 997-5152
Email: arthurcostigan@aol.com

Biography

After earning an MAT in English Education at Brown University and having several jobs outside of academia, Arthur Costigan moved to New York and became a New York City public high school teacher, something he did for thirteen years at three different schools: Erasmus Hall in Flatbush, Brooklyn; Chelsea Vocational HS, in Soho, Manhattan; and the HS for Economics and Finance, in the Wall Street Area. During this time he earned his PhD in English Education at New York University, completing a dissertation studying how education students view their own learning histories (2000).  His college teaching began in the mid-1990s by teaching writing part time at Bronx Community College and at New York University. At NYU, he also taught in the Inquiries into Teaching and Learning program, the core curriculum for teachers there.

After accepting a one year “visiting professor” position at Wagner College on Staten Island, Dr. Costigan came to Queens College to teach Educational Foundations and English Education and became Co-Director, and then Director, of English Education programs, earning tenure in 2005.  His research interests are how new teachers become socialized into the profession, in particular in light of the high stakes tests and the increased accountability movement.  He uses a qualitative and ethnographic methodology which makes use of interviews and group discussions. A particular focus of his interest is the New York City Teaching Fellows and their experiences in “hard to staff” schools in poor urban areas.  In 1993 with Elizabeth Dykman, PhD, he earned the Distinguished Research award from the Association of Teacher Educators. 

Education

AB in Humanities, Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island

MAT in English Education, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Ph.D. in English Education, New York University, New York, New York

Research Agenda

“My current research agenda uses qualitative and ethnographic research focusing on the lives and narratives of new teachers, particularly those factors which induce them to choose to become teachers, what factors influence their socialization into the profession, and how they acquire a teaching practice which they see as meaningful for themselves and beneficial for their students.  A particular interest is how new English or Language Arts teachers in poor urban districts negotiate an effective and rewarding teaching practice in 7 to 12 classrooms where educational reforms are implemented by curricular mandates and the use of scripted “teacher proof” curricula, as well as which factors induce them to remain urban teachers, to leave for better funded suburban districts, or to leave teaching altogether.  Allied with these research interests is the implementation of Aesthetic Education practices into the Language Arts classroom.”

Books

Costigan, A. T.  (2008). Teaching Authentic English Language Arts and Test-Driven Era.  NY: Routledge.

Costigan, A. T., Crocco, M. S.  (2004). Learning to Teach in an Age of Accountability.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Journal Articles

Costigan, A. (2008, in press). Canaries in the coal mine: Urban rookies learning to teach language arts in “high priority” schools. Teacher Education Quarterly.

Crocco, M. S. & Costigan, A. T. (2008, January). The Narrowing of Curriculum and Pedagogy: Urban Educators Speak Out. Urban Education, (43)1.

Crocco, M. S. & Costigan, A. T. (2006). High-stakes teaching: What’s at stake for teachers (and students) in the age of accountability. The New Educator, 2, 1-13.

Costigan, A. (2005a, Spring). Choosing to stay, choosing to leave: The New York City Teaching Fellows after two years. Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(2), 125-142.

Costigan, A. (2005b, February). A “Traditional” alternative route to certification: Narrative research and implications for teacher education and teacher retention. Association of Teacher Educators Yearbook, XIII, 27-38. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Education/Rowman & Littlefield.

Costigan, A. (2004a, February). Finding a name for what they want: A study of New York City’s Teaching Fellows. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal, 20(2), 129-143.

Costigan III, A. T.  (2002).  Teaching and the culture of high stakes testing: Listening to new teachers.  Action in Teacher Education: The Journal of the Association of Teacher Educators, 22(5), 35-42.

Book Chapters

Asher, R. & Costigan, A. (2005, July). Art and the city: A case of collaboration in Art and English teacher education. In Madeline Hotzler (Ed.), Community in the making: Lincoln Center Institute, the arts and, teacher education. NY: Teachers College Press.

Costigan A. (2003). Education foundations: Building a case for communication. In D. Kaufman, D. M. Moss, and T. A. Osborn (Eds.) Beyond the boundaries: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Teaching and Learning. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.

Academic Awards

02/03 Distinguished Research in Teacher Education (DRTE) Award of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE): Awarded with Elizabeth Dykman, “Finding a name for what they want: A study of New York City’s Teaching Fellows,” February 18, 2003, Jacksonville, Florida.

Papers Presented by Invitation

02/05   Costigan, A.  “A ‘traditional’ alternative route to certification: Narrative research and implications for teacher education and teacher education.”  Featured Yearbook XIII Speaker at the 2005 Annual Association of Teachers Educators (ATE) Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 15-19, Chicago, Illinois

Papers Presented at Conferences (Refereed)

11/07 Costigan, A. “Aesthetic Education as Knowing: Links to Student Centered Curriculum” Presentation to Queens College Lincoln Center Initiative Brown Bag conference, in the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, November 7, 2007.

10/06 Costigan, A. “From the inside: New York City Teaching Fellows join the debate.” Paper presented at The New Educator Conference, City College, CUNY, NY, October 21, 2006.

10/06 #Crocco, M. S. & Costigan, A. T. “Narrowing curriculum and pedagogy due to NCLB: New teachers speak out. Paper presented jointly at The New Educator Conference, City College, CUNY, NY, October 21, 2006.

04/06 Costigan, A. “Canaries in the coal mine: Urban rookies learning to teaching Language Arts in “high priority” schools. Paper presented at the AERA conference, San Francisco, CA, April 07, 2006.

04/05 Costigan, A. & Crocco, M. “Urban rookies respond to the age of accountability: An empirical study of learning to teach in New York City.” Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division K, Section 4, “Demography and Democracy in the Era of Accountability,” Montreal, Canada, April 11-15, 2005.

02/05 Costigan, A. “A ‘traditional’ alternative route to certification: Narrative research and implications for teacher education and teacher education.” Featured Yearbook XIII Speaker at the 2005 Annual Association of Teachers Educators (ATE) Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 15-19, Chicago, Illinois

11/04 Milner, B., Costigan, A. T., Malow-Iroff, M. S., & O’ Connor, E. A. “Issues Influencing the Retention of Beginning Urban Teachers: The New York City Teaching Fellows.” Panel discussion at “Emerging Scholarship in Urban Education,” The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, December 11, 2004.

09/04 Costigan, A. “Researching the New York City Teaching Fellows at Queens College: What are they telling us? What are the implications for the future of our programs.” Presentation to SEYS Brown Bag Forum, September 29, 2004

02/04 Costigan, A. “Teacher recruitment is not teacher retention: Implications of narrative research for the alternative New York City Teaching Fellows program.” Paper presented at the University of Pennsylvania 25th Annual Ethnography in Education Research Forum, February 28-29, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

02/03 Costigan, A & Dykman, E. “Finding a name for what they want: A study of New York City’s Teaching Fellows.” Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Distinguished Research in Teacher Education (DRTE) Award presentation, ATE annual meeting, Jacksonville, Florida, February 17-21, 2003.

02/03 Costigan, A. “Making the leap to teach in troubled schools: A study of New York City’s Teaching Fellows.” Research presented at the University of Pennsylvania 24th Annual Ethnography in Education Research Forum, “Reform, Representation and Social Responsibility, February 28 to March 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

01/02 Costigan, A., Gerwin, D., & Crocco, M [# joint presentation]. “Beginning teachers experience accountability: Implications for our programs.” Research presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE), February 25, New York, New York.

Courses Taught

Fall 2007 SEYS 560 Seminar in the Teaching of English

Fall 2007 SEYS 540 The Improvement of Reading in the Secondary School

Spring 2007 SEYS 380 Curriculum and Assessment in Teaching English

Spring 2007 SEYS 580 Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment in Teaching English

Spring 2007 SEYS 782 Seminar in Research Language Arts II

Fall 2006 SEYS 360 Methods of Teaching English in Middle and High School

Fall 2006 SEYS 560 Seminar in the Teaching of English

Fall 2006 SEYS 781 Research Seminar in Language Arts I

Spring 2006 SEYS 380 Curriculum and Assessment in Teaching English

Spring 2006 SEYS 580 Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment in Teaching English

Spring 2006 SEYS 782 Seminar in Research Language Arts II

Professional Memberships

American Educational Research Association

National Council of Teachers of English

Lincoln Center Institute for Arts Education

CONTACT ME

Arthur T. Costigan, PhD
Co-Director, English Education programs
Secondary Education and Youth Services (SEYS)
Powdermaker Hall 150-Q
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing, New York 11367
Telephone: (718) 997-5175
Facsimile: (718) 997-5152

Email: arthurcostigan@aol.com