Judy Schaffer

Dr. Judy Schaffer is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University-Central Texas, where she serves as the B.S. in Education Program Coordinator and Program Lead for the CBF Raising Texas Teachers Scholarship. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University, with a focus on literacy, curriculum, and teacher education. She also holds a master’s degree in educational administration and will complete a master’s degree in Technical Communication and Rhetoric in May 2026.

Her professional background spans K–12 and higher education. She has served as an elementary and secondary classroom teacher, instructional coach, testing coordinator, and literacy interventionist. In higher education, she has taught at Texas Tech University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and has supported teacher candidates as a clinical supervisor for Western Governors University. She has also contributed to curriculum development as a writer with Texas Tech University and the TEKS Resource System, experience that informs her understanding of the professional texts teachers use to plan and enact instruction. In addition, she has served for more than two decades as a reviewer and grant team facilitator for federal education programs with the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity.

She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher preparation, including science methods, social studies methods, literacy development, instruction and assessment methods, and foundations of education. Her teaching emphasizes inquiry-based instruction, standards alignment, and the use of authentic disciplinary and professional artifacts to support meaningful learning. As a Service-Learning Fellow at Texas A&M University-Central Texas, she also integrates community-engaged learning experiences that connect coursework to real-world educational contexts. Across her courses, she works to make the purposes of writing visible so that teacher candidates not only complete assignments, but learn how writing shapes their thinking and, ultimately, their teaching.

Her scholarly work has appeared in Literacy Practice and Research, and she has presented at national conferences, including presentations on writing, artificial intelligence, and teacher education.