Dr. Dave Mulder

Get to Know Dr. Dave

I have been teaching since 1998, and I can’t imagine a better profession. As a former science, math, and computer science teacher, and now as a teacher educator, I have at least some experience teaching learners at every grade level from kindergarten through graduate school, though most of my K-12 experience was working with middle schoolers, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I currently serve as Professor of Education at Dordt University, where I teach courses in educational foundations, STEM education, and educational technology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Alongside my teaching, I enjoy cohosting the Hallway Conversations podcast with a couple of colleagues, hosting a science podcast called It’s Good to Be Smart!, and providing professional development experiences for educators in schools across North America. My first book, Always Becoming, Never Arriving: Developing an Imagination for Teaching Christianly came out in 2024, and my second book, Teach Like a Human: Playful Practice and Serious Faith in the Age of AI is scheduled to be out in the fall of 2025.

I like to think of myself as a learner and a thinker, and I have a wide range of interests both within and outside of education. I am a voracious reader, an avid cyclist, a scholar of Educational Technology, an amateur geographer, and a self-described sci-fi geek. I play the ukulele (badly) and I love superhero movies.

Friends have described me as a “joy-bringer,” “whimsical,” and “relentlessly positive.” I seek to help my students, colleagues, and friends find joyful purpose in the big and small moments of life. I am a passionate advocate for daring acts of pedagogy and I take my work seriously while not taking myself too seriously.

Dr. Dave is likely to teach you to juggle.

Curriculum Vitae

Dave Mulder CV – June 2025

Education

Ed.D. in Educational Technology, 2017
Boise State University

M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, 2008
Dordt University

B.A. in Elementary Education, 1998
Dordt University

Courses I’ve Recently Taught Include…

Undergraduate Courses

  • Introduction to Education
  • Methods of Teaching Science in PreK – Middle School
  • Methods of Teaching STEM in K-12 Schools
  • Educational Robotics
  • World Regional Geography: Peace and Justice on the Global Stage
  • Technology, Identity, and Community

Graduate Courses

  • Issues in Education
  • Curriculum Development and Evaluation
  • Teaching and Learning with Technology
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Online Teaching and Learning
  • E-Learning Design

Dr. Dave loves meeting up with friends at conferences!

Some Recent Presentations and Publications

Invited Presentations

  • Swaner, L., Mulder, D. J., & Matthews, P. (February 24, 2025). “AI Culture: Navigating the Complexities & Opportunities.” Pre-conference Workshop, Converge Christian Educators’ Conference, Orlando, FL.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2025, February). “Developing an Imagination for Teaching Christianly.” John Knox Christian School, New Westminster, BC, Canada.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2025, January). “Teaching Christianly: Active Assessment for Student Flourishing.” (Webinar). Hanford Christian School, Hanford, CA.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2024, October). “Joy on the journey: Learning to teach Christianly.” Keynote Address, Flourishing Schools Institute, Association of Christian Schools International, Houston, TX.
  • Swaner, L., Schuurman, D., Ferguson, J. & Mulder, D. J. (2024, October). “Artificial intelligence in Christian education.” Panel Discussion, Flourishing Schools Institute, Association of Christian Schools International, Houston, TX.
  • Hall, J. & Mulder, D. J. (2024, October). “Exploring interdisciplinary opportunities.” Graduate Student Assembly, Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention. Kansas City, MO.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2024, October). “Learning to teach Christianly: We GET to do this!” Keynote Address, Corban Christian Educator Conference, Corban University, Salem, OR.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2024, October). “A Christian imagination for A.I. & education.” Corban Christian Educator Conference, Corban University, Salem, OR.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2024, June). “Authentic learning in an artificial intelligence world.” Plenary session, Vermeer Education Conference, Pella, IA.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2023, October). “Assessment for flourishing: Exploring our beliefs and practices.” Christian Educators Association Convention, South Bend, IN.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2022, February). “Digital footprints and the social media landscape.” (Webinar.) Thursdays in February Series, London Christian School, London, ON.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2021, October). “Story-formed people: Seeing the story, living the story.” Keynote Address, Mid-Atlantic Christian Schools Association Annual Conference, Langhorne Manor, PA.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2021, May). “We GET to do this! Formed with purpose.” Commencement Address, Dordt University, Sioux Center, IA.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2020, February). “Raising the Bar.” Dordt University President’s Weekend, Scottsdale, AZ.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Presentations

  • Mulder, D. J. (2024, October). “Podcasts and practice: A case study of instructional strategies for learning professional jargon.” Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention. Kansas City, MO.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2023, April). “Forming Kind Global Citizens of the Digital Age.” American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
  • Rogowski, A., Haroldson, R. A., Moore, A., Mulder, D. J., Na, C., Rich, P. J., Searle, K. A., Liao, J., Clarke-Midura, J. (2022, October). “Impacting student learning through computational thinking.” Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention. Las Vegas, NV.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2021, November). “Community development within an online doctoral cohort: A qualitative case study.” Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention. Chicago, IL.
  • Mulder, D. J., Wilson, M. L., & Hall, J. (2019, October). “Descriptive analysis of the Digital Natives Assessment Scale (DNAS) in a multi-institutional, undergraduate sample.” Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) International Convention. Las Vegas, NV.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2018, March). “‘We’re just expected to know how’: Unpacking pre-service teachers’ beliefs about technology integration.” Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) Annual Conference. Washington, DC.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2018, March). “Pre-service teachers as digital natives: The myths, the controversy, and how they describe themselves.”  Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) Annual Conference. Washington, DC.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2016, May). “Proving You Are Not a Dog: Developing Social Presence in Online Courses.” 12th Biennial Conference of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL.

Selected Publications

  • Mulder, D. J. (2024). “A Biblical framework for understanding and responding to artificial intelligence.” In L. E. Swaner (Ed.) Leading Insights: Artificial Intelligence. Colorado Springs, CO: Association of Christian Schools International.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2024). Digital florilegium: A high-tech twist on an ancient reading practice. Journal of Technology-Integrated Lessons and Teaching, 2(2), 25–31. https://doi.org/10.13001/jtilt.v2i2.7813
  • Hall, J. & Mulder, D. J. (2023). “Creating meaningful learning experiences with button-operated robots in early childhood settings.” In R. E. Ferdig, R. Hartshorne, E. Baumgartner, R. Kaplan- Rakowski, and C. Mouza (Eds.) What PreK–12 Teachers Should Know About Educational Technology in 2023: A Research-to-Practice Anthology (pp. 293-303). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/p/222690/
  • Wilson, M. L., Hall, J., & Mulder, D. J. (2020). Assessing digital nativeness in pre-service teachers: Analysis of the Digital Natives Assessment Scale and implications for practice. Journal of Research on Technology in Education.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2018). “We’re just expected to know how…”: Unpacking pre-service teachers’ beliefs about technology integration. In L. Liu, and D. Gibson (Eds.) Research Highlights in Technology and Teacher Education 2018 (pp. 115-124). Waynesville, NC: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.
  • Lowenthal, P. R. & Mulder, D. J. (2017). Social presence and communication technologies: Tales of trial and error. In A. Whiteside, A. Garrett Dickers, and K. Swan (Eds.), Social Presence in Online Learning: Multiple Perspectives on Practice and Research.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2017).A review of Earth Science: God’s World, Our Home by Kevin Nelstead. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, 69(2), 111-113.
  • Mulder, D. J. (2016). Pre-service teachers and technology integration: International cases and generational attitudes toward technology in education. In S. Keengwe, J. G. Mbae, and G. Onchwari (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Global Issues in Next-Generation Teacher Education (pp. 730-752). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.