MA, University of Idaho, 1986

Kim McDonald received her Masters degree from the University of Idaho in 1986. She began her studies in literature, but soon discovered the growing discipline of rhetoric and composition. Her thesis, Particle, Wave, Field Prewriting Strategy: From Theory to Practice presents a qualitative study of the effects of this prewriting heuristic, developed from tagmemic theory, on the specific content included in student essays. She continues to enjoy hands-on research, and her areas of interest include assessment, peer-review, and the effectiveness of specific pedagogical approaches in the teaching of writing.

Kim teaches First-Year Writing and Teaching Composition: Theory and Practice, as well as sophomore-level literature classes, such as Reading Fiction, Reading Non-fiction, Major American Writers, and a special topics course on the fairy tale.