Academic program: Early Childhood Education

Office: Gillham Hall 4500L
Office Phone: 419-530-4482
Email: jcopley@rockets.utoledo.edu
Mailing address: 
Mail Stop 924
2801 West Bancroft St.
Toledo, OH 43606-3390

• Spring Arbor University, Jackson, Michigan, M.Ed., 2003
  
• University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, B.Ed., 2000

I have been educating children of all ages for 23 years.  I have a bachelors degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from the University of Toledo and a Masters of the Arts of Education from Spring Arbor University.  My career started off as an early childhood/elementary educator.  I taught multi age 1st/2nd grades in a coteaching environment for two years.  Then I taught 3rd grade in a coteaching environment for 4 years.

At the same time I began my public school teaching career I also began teaching as a youth instructor at The Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, OH. After 6 years I was inspired by my work as a museum educator and decided to pursue becoming an art educator full time. In 2006 I began coursework to be certified in Art Education (K-12) through the University of Toledo.  At the same time I started teaching elementary art within my school district and eventually in 2011 was moved to a middle school art position where I taught until 2022.

With all of my experiences I became passionate about working with future educators. In 2017 I combined my passions for working with young children and arts integration as an adjunct instructor for "Art For Elementary Teachers" at Monroe County Community College as well as a semester teaching "Curriculum In Art Education" at The University of Toledo. In fall of 2022 I started my position as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Toledo in the Early Childhood department teaching the early childhood fast track program and leading an early childhood cohort.  

Throughout my teaching career I have continued teaching at the Toledo Museum of Art as a youth instructor working with students in PreK through 8th grades and developed the program "Art Crawl" working with babies from birth to 18 months in age.  I also led a professional development session at the museum on integrating music and art. In June of 2023 I served as the K-12 education scholar for the Toledo Museum of Art Summer Institute through the National Endowment For The Humanities.  I lead collaborative curriculum sessions helping participants study both historical and contemporary Native American and African American art that showcases a diverse array of perspectives. I also continue to teach youth on Saturdays during the school year and summer art camps at the museum. 

I am also active as a member of the Toledo Campus Ministry Executive Board serving members of the UT and greater Toledo community.