Becky L. Noel-Smith

Liberal Studies
Kremen School of Education and Human Development
MS Credential Program
smith@mail.fresnostate.edu

Academic Degrees: (Include teaching credentials, if any)

Professional Experience:

Faculty and Administrative Load: (Should total 12 units each semester)

Community Service

University/School Service

Professional Association Memberships

Publications (Selected)

Noel-Smith, B. L., & Hewitt, R. (Eds.). (2020). Love in education and the art of living. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Studies in the Philosophy of Education Series.
Noel-Smith, B. L., Benson, K. E.; Levinson, M., Stengel, B. (2019). A review of Doris A. Santoro, Demoralized: Why teachers leave the profession they love and how they can stay [Book review symposium]. Educational Theory, 69(3), 341-354.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2019). The art of loving in the craft of teaching. Philosophical Studies in Education, 50, 35-45.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2018). Public transparency, student privacy, and technological persuasion in education: Refining some concerns of opt out. Thresholds in Education, 41(3), 201-219.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2016). Moral oppression and a vision for outlaw emotions. The Journal of School and Society, 3(2), 72-82.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014). Teaching in the institutional cage: Metaphor and collateral oppression. Critical Questions in Education, 5(2), 76-92.
Noel-Smith, B. L., & Shaw, M. L. (2014). Art as resistance: Creating and collecting content for a public lesson on standardization. Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy, 11(1), 5-17.
Noel-Smith, B. L., Becker, K. L., Miller, L. R., Reid, N. S., Sorenson, M. D. (Eds.). (2014). Collective Unravelings of the Hegemonic Web. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Rosa, R., Noel-Smith, B. L., Smith, C., Campos-Martinez, J. (2014). The advancing endgame revolt! Dialogues with activists & community organizers in the trenches. In R. D. Rosa & J. J. Rosa (Eds.), Capitalism’s Educational Catastrophe & the Advancing Endgame Revolt! (pp. 121-160). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishers.
McDermott, M., & Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014). Imagining alternatives to education reform: The Save Our Schools Campaign for Artful Resistance. In B. L. Noel Smith, K. L. Becker, L. R. Miller, N. S. Reid, & M. D. Sorenson (Eds.), Collective Unravelings of the Hegemonic Web (pp. 209-226). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014). The speech: The story behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream by Gary Younge [Book review]. Critical Questions in Education, 5(1), 64-67.

Papers and Presentations (Selected)

Noel-Smith, B. L. (2018, November). Democratic action (and hope) in public education. University of Central Florida. Orlando, FL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2018, September). The art of loving in the craft of teaching. Phil Smith Lecture respondent at the Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society, Nashville, IN.
Santoro, D.; Benson, K. E.; Levinson, M., Noel-Smith, B. L.; Stengel, B. (2018, March). Demoralized: Why teachers leave the profession they love and how they can stay. Author Meets Critics session at the Philosophy of Education Society, Chicago, IL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014, March). Market-based reform and our current state of affairs: Helpful or harmful? Panel at the Advocacy, Activism, and Transformation Forum at The Bridge Crossing Jubilee. Selma, AL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014, October). Testing and the school-to-prison pipeline. Central Florida American Civil Liberties Union. Orlando, FL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2013, December). The critical emergence of a classroom teacher. Aurora University. DeKalb, IL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2012, March). Unlearning with the ‘dystopian youth.’ Northern Illinois University. DeKalb, IL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2012, March). Unlearning with the ‘dystopian youth.’ Aurora University. DeKalb, IL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. & Hewitt, R. (2020, April). ‘Soul’ searching with Dewey. Co-authored paper at the John Dewey Society conference, San Francisco, CA.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2020, February). A Deweyan conception of ‘soul’ as embodied in individual and social habit. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Athens, GA.
Noel-Smith, B. L., Hewitt, R., Atkinson, B., Burke Givens, M., Heybach, J. (2020, February). A feminist pragmatist response and critique of Love in Education & the Art of Living. Authors meet critics session at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Athens, GA.
Noel-Smith, B. L. & Hewitt, R. (2019, October). Teaching (and Learning) Through Despair with Philosophy and Love as Hope. Co-authored paper at the American Education Studies Association conference, Baltimore, MD.
Hewitt, R. & Noel-Smith, B. L. (2019, September). A Deweyan Conception of Soul. Co-authored paper at the Society of Philosophy and History of Education, Oklahoma City, MO.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2019, February). Manifestations of a pre-election media onslaught against the teaching profession: 2007-2012. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Decatur, GA.
Noel-Smith, B. L. & Hewitt, R. (2018, October). Spirituality of habit and the aesthetic in relationships of learning. Co-authored paper at the Critical Questions in Education Conference, Kansas City, MO.
Heybach, J. & Noel-Smith, B. L. (2018, March). Provoking dangerous possibilities: Reconsidering Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto. Co-authored paper at the Critical Questions in Education Conference, Portland, OR.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2018, February). Refining the philosophical concerns of opt out: Public transparency, student privacy, and technological persuasion in education. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Chattanooga, TN.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2017, February). A convergence of federal and philanthropic interests under Clinton. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Knoxville, TN.
Jones, D., Heybach, J., McDermott, M., Noel-Smith, B. L.; Rosa, R. (2016, April). Inside educational activism & organizing: Insurgent insights on the advancing endgame revolt in U.S. education. Panel at the American Educational Research Association, Washington D.C.
Noel-Smith, B. L. & McKnight, A. N. (2016, February). From alienation to natural praxis: Cultivating socio-ecological knowledges in the K-12 garden via Dewey’s aesthetic. Co-authored paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Asheville, NC.
McKnight, A. N. & Noel-Smith, B. L. (2015, November). Fromm’s ethics of love, critical orientations, and sites for ecological connection - Plus you get strawberries. Co-authored paper at the American Education Studies Association conference, San Antonio, TX.
Altwerger, B., Jones, D., McDermott, M., Noel-Smith, B. L. (2015, November). Racial violence and global education reform: On the move to inter-sectionalize and internationalize resistance. Panel at the Critical Questions in Education Conference, Baltimore, MD.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2015, April). Opt Out Orlando: A struggle toward democracy in Central Florida. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2015, February). Experimenting with Dewey, Sexton, and melancholy. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Memphis, TN.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2015, February). Socio-ecological alternatives and surveying the lay of the land for sustainability projects in K-12. Co-authored paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Memphis, TN.
Bailey, M., Gaskill, L., Lewis, K., Noel-Smith, B. L. (2015, February). Autobiography as curriculum via a beginning, two middles, and the end. Panel at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Memphis, TN.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014, October). Launching Sputnik into the twenty-first century: Symbiosis amid the newest STEM crisis. Paper at the Critical Questions in Education Conference, Louisville, KY.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014, February). Launching Sputnik into the twenty-first century: Metaphor, crisis, & venture philanthropy. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Decatur, GA.
Noel-Smith, B. L. (2014, February). Eros, philosophy, addiction. Paper at the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society, Decatur, GA.

Grants and Research

Collaborative Works/Projects (with public schools, community agencies, etc.)

Collegial Works/Projects (i.e., grants, articles, conference presentations, etc.)

Dr. Noel-Smith spent a significant amount of her assigned time in AY 2018-19 collaborating with people on her campus and in her field. She collaborated with Dr. Randy Hewitt to co-edit a book with the work of 9 other contributors, which included scholars, activists, students, and artists. This project also included a chapter written by one her students from Fresno State, Myra Verdugo, and will result in the first publication for this teacher candidate. Dr. Noel-Smith also collaborated with 3 other authors on a book review symposium for the flagship journal in one of her fields. Additionally, after sensing the amount of need and emotional support for her own students, Dr. Noel-Smith used her position on Kremen’s Educational Equity Committee to begin exploring the creation of a School-Community Support Liaison for her building. This project is ongoing, but it has involved staff from throughout her college, including the Kremen Advising Office, the Dean of Kremen, including the Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation. The Dean has supported this idea with fervor, and a pilot project should come to fruition in the coming year in the creation of a support service to students and faculty, specifically as it relates to emotional labor. Finally, Dr. Noel-Smith collaborated with three different people during AY 2018-19 to help develop her LEE 167 and CI 100 courses. After partnering with Robert Salinas and Matthew Doyle, Dr. Noel-Smith’s CI 100 courses now make visits every semester to the Services for Students with Disabilities, to the Tech Lending Center, and to the Teacher Resource Center. The intent of these visits is to broaden students’ understanding of these vital human and technological resources on campus and how to make advantageous use of them. Dr. Noel-Smith also reached out to Dr. Dominiqua Griffin from the Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation in the spring of 2019 after realizing that the stress levels of her students raised concerns about a need for self care and an understanding about the causes of and available support services for secondary trauma. The students seemed very appreciative of Dr. Griffin’s lecture, and Dr. Noel-Smith is looking forward to inviting her back to future classes to help provide support to students.

Professional Development

Through the Tenure Track Faculty Network and the CFE Technology, Innovation, and Pedagogy Conference: All Things Canvas, Dr. Noel-Smith became familiar with Canvas as a course management system in AY 2018-19. She has since built out course shells for each of her classes, improves upon them each semester as she learns more about the features that fit her class, and uses it regularly for assignment descriptions, grading, and for providing feedback to students (see Course Materials, Assignments, and Responses subsection). In the coming year, Dr. Noel-Smith would like to seek assistance from SSD and CFE to explore further appropriate methods for making her course materials and class website more accessible.

Honors (Optional)

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