Dr. Sarah Hamsher is a full professor and Division Chair of the Undergraduate and Initial Licensure programs at Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU; Marion, Indiana) in the School of Integrated Learning and Development. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (K-8), a master’s degree in Special Education - Mild/Moderate with Reading Endorsement (K-12), and a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction in Elementary Education. Dr. Hamsher previously taught in the middle school and elementary school settings. She has provided professional development to educators in reading development and practices, special education, and assessment to teachers in India, Ecuador, Belize, and Latin America, as well as athletic training to youth in South Africa and Turkey. Her line of research involves the affective domain of learning related to reading, assessment, character development, and online learning.
PHD
University of Akron , 2011
MA
Education
Malone University , 2007
BA
Grove City College , 1997
Learn more about Sarah's education, professional experience, and more!
Books:
- Hamsher, Sarah. Unlocking Literacy: From Learning to Read to Achieving Fluency and Comprehension. Independently published, 2023.
- Hamsher, Sarah. Learning Differences and Disabilities: An Educational Guide for Homeschool Parents. Independently published, n.d. (available as a trade book under Dr. Sarah Hamsher’s name; the specific publication year is not clearly listed in accessible sources).
Book chapters:
- Hamsher, Sarah, and Merissa Waddey.
“Implications for Assessment of Student Interest in the Classroom: A Case for Affective Domain.” In Integrating the Affect Domain: Challenges and Implications for Assessment and Instruction, pp. 45–58. Linus Books, 2019.
Peer-reviewed journal articles:
- Dieterich, Cynthia A., Sarah Hamsher, and Amie Anderson.
“Maximizing the Needs of School Leaders in Online Educational Leadership Coursework.” eJEP: eJournal of Education Policy 23, no. 2 (2022).
- Dieterich, Cynthia A., and Sarah Hamsher.
“Maximizing Online Instructional Pedagogy in Teacher Education Courses for Career Changers.” Journal of Educators Online 17, no. 1 (2020): Article n1.
- Hamsher, Sarah.
“A New Perspective: Spontaneous Character Education Using Positive Causal Attribution Training.” Journal of Character Education 14, no. 1 (2018): 45–58.
- Hamsher, Sarah, and Cynthia A. Dieterich.
“Creating a Positive Atmosphere in Online Courses: Student Ratings of Affective Variables.” Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning 14, no. 7 (2017): 75–84.
- Hamsher, Sarah.
“Students’ with SLD Meaning Construction While Reading Naturally Occurring Texts and Traditional Leveled Passages.” Article dated October 2013.
- Hamsher, Sarah.
“Naturally Occurring Text in the Classroom: Student Preference and Assessment Possibilities.” Affective Reading Education Journal 26 (2011): 27–40.
