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Dr. Melissa Rojas Williams

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Teacher Education and Administration

Email: melissa.williams@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, University of Texas, 2023
    Major: Curriculum and Instruction
  • MEd, University of Texas, 2012
    Major: Curriculum and Instruction

Professional Memberships

  • American Educational Research Association. (January 2023 - Present).
  • National Council of Social Studies of the National Council of Social Studies. (August 2017 - Present).

Development Activities

  • Continuing Education Program, CETO (Certificate of Excellence in Teaching Online), UNT | SEA | Teaching & Learning Center. Denton ,TX ,United States of America. (January 2026).
  • Workshop, Promotion & Tenure Workshop, UNT Faculty Success. Denton ,Texas,United States of America. (October 2025).
  • Workshop, Faculty Speed Luncheon, UNT Faculty Success. Denton ,Texas ,United States of America. (September 29, 2025).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • EDBE 2050 - Teaching Multilingual Students, 4 courses.
  • EDBE 2060 - Latina/o/x Children's and Young Adult Literature for the Elementary Multilingual Classroom, 3 courses.
  • EDBE 5600 - Sociocultural Foundations of Bilingual and ESL Education, 1 course.
  • EDCI 6900 - Special Problems, 1 course.
  • EDCI 6950 - Doctoral Dissertation, 1 course.
  • EDLL 6950 - Doctoral Dissertation, 4 courses.
  • EDUC 6030 - Research and Practice in Teaching and Teacher Education, 2 courses.

Directed Student Learning

  • Dissertation Defense Committee Chair, Teacher Education and Administration. (2025).
  • Dissertation Committee Chair, "DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF DUAL LANGUAGE EDUCATION: SUPPORTING BLACK ADOLESCENT STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE, IDENTITY, AND EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS.," Teacher Education and Administration. (2024).
  • Dissertation Committee Chair, "Examining the Experiences of Latina/o/x Pre-service Bilingual Teachers," Teacher Education and Administration. (August 2023).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, "Centering the Lived Experiences of Latinx Bilingual Preschool Teachers," Teacher Education and Administration. (August 2023).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Book Chapter

  • Williams, M.R., Berlanga, P. (2024). Why stories matter: Using Latine children’s literature in the bilingual elementary classroom in advancing the civicness of Latine communities. Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Social Studies: Examining Research and Practice with and for Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Youth. Teachers College Press.
  • Williams, M.R., Salinas , C., Fránquiz, M. (2023). The narrative and our civicness: Capturing the identity, agency, and membership of the Latina/o communities.. Reimagining Citizenship Education: Empowering students to become critical leaders and community role models. Information Age Publishing.

    • Broadcast Media

  • Williams, M. (2024). I Still Believe in School because of the Power of Community.. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/i-still-believe-in-school-dr-dave-barry--GftQzyUpL8/?srsltid=AfmBOorwDU8cc0_NeS0_9nyS3lTDqzOv9CuAC5BzRXDGw4gJx7pFLWpK

Presentations Given

    Invited Talk

  • Williams, M. (Author), Latinos in the US Foundation for Rhode Island College, “Culturally + Linguistically Relevant Narratives & Citizenship “How has education affected Latinx/Latine students in the U.S. school setting?, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island College, United States of America. (2023).

    • Oral Presentation

  • Williams, M. (Author), Literacy Research Association (LRA), Stories that Must be Told: Agentically Centering Latine Children’s Literature for Dynamic Reading Practices, Literacy Research Association (LRA), Atlanta, GA, United States of America. (2024).
  • Williams, M. (Author & Presenter), La Cosesha: Dual Language Conference Annual Meeting, Dual Language, pero where is my cultura? Identity in the classroom, Dual Language Education of New Mexico (DLeNM), Santa Fe, NM, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Williams, M. (Author), Salinas, C. (Author), AERA Annual Meeting, Learning from Elementary Bilingual Latina Preservice Teachers: Reconceptualization of Civic Instruction in the Social Studies., Philadelphia, PA, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Williams, M. (Author), Ynostroza-Ochoa, A. (Author & Presenter), Batista-Morales , N. (Author & Presenter), National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE)., Stories that Must be Told: Agentically Centering Latine Children’s Literature in Elementary Bilingual/Dual Language Classrooms, National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE)., New Orleans, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).

    • Panel Presentation

  • Williams, M. (Author), Berlanga, P. (Author & Presenter), College University Faculty Association Annual Meeting, Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Social Studies:(Re)Imagining Research and Practice with and for Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Youth., National Council for the Social Studies, Boston, MA, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).

Media Contributions

    Other

  • "Episode 222: Latine Counternarratives in Children’s Literature with Melissa Rojas Williams," Visions of Education. (November 3, 2025).
  • "“I Still Believe in School because of the Power of Community.”," I Still Believe in Schools. (October 2024).

Service

University Service

  • Committee Member, Student Affairs Committee. (September 2024 - Present).
  • Special Institutional Assignment, Bilingual Homework Hotline Contact for College of Education. (August 2024 - Present).
  • Prepare/Grade Certification Exams, Spring Oral Comps Scorer. (February 2024 - Present).
  • Faculty Advisor, Bilingual ESL Student Organization. (August 2023 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Social Studies Hiring Committee. (September 2023 - December 2023).

Professional Service

  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Social Studies Research and Practice. Denton, Texas. (July 2024 - Present).