Adam Schmitt, PhD

Dr. Adam Schmitt began his career in education as a middle school social studies teacher in Illinois, working in both public and private schools. As a teacher educator, Dr. Schmitt is dedicated to helping preservice teachers critically examine themselves and the curriculum in order to expand representation in the curriculum and engage students in interrogating how and why we teach the history we do. Dr. Schmitt’s research focuses on the ways students and teachers make sense of themselves as well as the past, present, and future within the classroom, and in public spaces such as museums and monuments. He is particularly interested in how identity comes into play in meaning-making about the past, as well as how people make sense of information that challenges their worldview. At USM, he teaches courses on elementary and secondary social studies methods, and the connections between democracy and education. He also teaches courses on the history of American education and the intersections between memory and history for the History Department. Dr. Schmitt also coordinates the Undergraduate Teacher Education programs and serves on the executive board of the Maine Council for Social Studies.