Cecile Arquette

Biography

After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Dr. Arquette served in the United States Peace Corps teaching English in Cameroon, West Central Africa from 1987-89, where she discovered her love of teaching, which led her to her master’s degree upon her return to the US, after which she taught bilingual and second language learners in New Mexico for nine years. Upon earning her Ph.D. Dr. Arquette began her career as a university professor at Eastern Washington University. She also taught at San Diego State University before arriving at Bradley in the fall of 2005.

Teaching

Dr. Arquette teaches a variety of undergraduate courses in the areas of Early Childhood and Elementary Education. These include Methods of Teaching Language Arts, Emergent Literacy, Reading and Writing across the Curriculum, and Methods of Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs).

Dr. Arquette believes it is very important for future teachers to learn by using practical methods, thus her courses are project based. Her students practice effective instruction via participatory lessons in class; their assignments focus on practical skills, and they work individually, in pairs, and in small groups. She also includes assignments that enable her students to work directly with students at school sites in the Peoria area, enabling them to apply classroom theory in the real world.

Scholarship

Because of her interest in best practices in teaching, Dr. Arquette’s research has focused on effective classroom methodology and peer and cross-age interactions in classrooms. She has been able to link her research to her teaching and service in such projects as a three-year journal-writing project between her methods students and children in a local primary school. This research culminated with a Special Emphasis Grant that enabled her to hire and work with two undergraduate students who assisted her with interviewing study participants. She and her research assistants presented their findings at a national research conference and published a book chapter based on this work. Dr. Arquette is a two-time Fulbright award recipient. Her first award took her to Chile to teach English to future English teachers at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso. Her second award was to be in Vietnam, at Phu Yen University in Tuy Hoa in Spring 2021, but was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.

Service

Dr. Arquette is active in, and has served on many university committees, including: the University Senate, the University Sabbatical Committee, the University Strategic Planning Committee, and the EHS 120 advisory board. She was the Whittier Primary School Coordinator for the College of Education and Health Sciences Kemper project for four years. In addition, Dr. Arquette has served on many departmental committees such as: the Academic Review committee, the Elementary Education and Early Childhood committees, the Teacher Education Scholarship Committee, and ESL committee. She is the co-faculty advisor for the Bradley Student Education Association and has served as the liaison for the Department of Education’s part-time faculty.

Licensures and Certifications

Elementary Education, New Mexico