Seema A. Imam, Ed.D.

Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary

• Practicum I and Practicum II
• Student Teaching Seminar
• Instructional Practice Curriculum, Assessment, and Technology
• Methods of Teaching Through Literature and the Creative Arts
• Methods of Health and Physical Education
• Methods of Teaching Social Studies

Master of Arts in Teaching Middle-Level Endorsements

• Introduction to Middle-Level Teaching Materials
• Introduction to Middle-Level Teaching Methods

Mater of Arts in Special Education

• Introduction to Methods of Teaching Students with Disabilities
• Practicum I

Elementary, Middle Level, and Special Education Teaching, Teaching and Learning with technology, Teaching with Diversity in Mind, Teaching and Learning with Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, international education, Islamic Education, and Islamic Schools’ Curriculum Development.

Professional Certifications:

• Type 21 Superintendent Certification
• Type 75 Administrative Certification
• Type 09 Learning Disability K-12
• Type 09 Reading Specialist K-12
• Type 03 Elementary Education
• Quality Matters Certificate: Applying the QM Course Rubric, 2012-2015

Doctor of Education 2015        Islamic Education, Graduate Theological Foundation, IN
Doctor of Education 2001        Curriculum & Social Inquiry, National Louis University, IL
Master of Arts 1987                 Educational Administrator, Northeastern IL University, IL
Master of Arts 1983                 Reading Specialist, Northeastern IL University, IL
Bachelor of Arts 1975              Elementary and Learning Disabilities with Art Minor,
                                                  Northeastern IL University, IL

Seema Imam currently serves at National Louis University (NLU) as a tenured Professor in the School of Teacher Preparation (TP). Seema has served on Standard 4 of the CAEP accreditation team from 2017-2019. She served as elected Co-Chair of the National College of Education (NCE) for two terms, 2016-2018. In prior years Seema has served as Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee and Academic Technology Committee in the National College of Education.

At the University level, Seema has served as Co-Chair of the University Leadership Council, Chair of the Faculty Senate, and Co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Council. Seema teaches in the Elementary, Middle Level, and Special Education Master of Arts in Teaching Programs. She has a passion for teaching with technology and meeting the needs of all students, with a special focus on teacher preparation that meets the needs of all multicultural students.

The most rewarding experience in working with pre-service teachers at NLU is the enthusiasm that students bring to teaching. Watching students grow as they progress through the program is the height of that for Seema and makes teaching even more rewarding.

Before coming to NLU, Seema served in the elementary, middle level, and special education classrooms in the Chicago Public Schools. She served as a founding principal for five years of one of the first and largest Islamic Schools in the country. Both the classroom and the opportunity to build a school have contributed to her NLU classroom. Seema has done a variety of international consulting activities and currently does professional development in a wide range of schools. Without those first-hand experiences, the higher education classroom today would not be as rich and fulfilling.

Seema participates in a wide range of community service activities. She has served for over a decade on the national board of the Islamic Schools League of America, where she served as the Chairperson for four years. For numerous years Seema taught an online course, Integrating, Infusing, Initiating: Designing Curriculum for Islamic School professionals, whose students' home countries spanned every continent from all around the world.

Research interests include diversity, technology, and Islamic Education. 

Dissertation Committees

Dissertation Committee Member Valerie Vistain. 2021-2022.
Dissertation Chair, Azra Naqvi. 2019-2021.
Dissertation Chair, Michael Kuhn. 2019-2021.
(Titles available, additional dissertations are not included here) 

Awards:

• Distinguished Service Award, five years of Service, 2024 from the Legacy International Online High School, May 2024, Baltimore, Maryland.

• 2024 ISNA Lifetime Service Award presented at the 25^th Annual ISNA ED FORUM of the Islamic Society of North America in Chicago at the Marriott Chicago O’Hare, May 11, 2024.

• 2015 The Mary McLeod Bethune Educational Leadership Award, presented at 2015 Convocation, Graduate Theological Foundation.
• 2013 The Inspiring Muslim Woman’s Award: Muslim Women’s Alliance, Annual Women’s Conference, March 10, 2013.
• 2009 The Philip C. Chinn Award in Multicultural Education Books for her chapter, “Separation of What and State” in Muslim Voices in Education, published by Sense Publications.
• 2008 Distinguished Lifetime Educator Award: IQRA International, Annual Dinner 25^th Anniversary, October 2008. 

Publications:

Invited Chapter:

Khan, S., Salahuddin, P., Imam, S. Chapter “Looking Back and Re-envisioning the Future: Full-Time Islamic Schools in the United States.” included in: Mabud, S.A. (Ed.) (2023). Education of Interior: Principles and Applications of Education in Islam: Essays in Honour of Syed Ali Ashraf.

Article:

Imam, S. and Khan, S., Students' Sense of Belonging at Full-Time Islamic Schools in the United States: A Phenomenological Study. Vol 3 No. 2, Spring, 2022 Journal of Education in Muslim Societies P. 57-78.

Invited Chapter:

Imam, Seema (2021). Chapter 14, “Evaluating, Redeveloping, And Action Planning Advice For Educators.” In Curriculum Renewal for Islamic Education Critical Perspectives on Teaching Islam in Primary and Secondary Schools, New York, Routledge.

Research Report

The ISLA Research Report, “Profile of Islamic School Principals in the United States, April 2021.

Invited Chapter:

Imam, Seema (2016). “Chapter 10 With New Standards in Mind: Selecting and Integrating Technology for Student Success.” In Addressing the Needs of All Learners in the Era of Changing Standards.  Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group.

http://bit.ly/2fHvYAU

https://www.amazon.com/Addressing-Needs-Learners-Changing-Standards/dp/B01GQU7F32

Imam, A Muslim Students in American Public Schools: Rising to the Challenge. Paper in 2015 AERA Annual Meeting Chicago, 2015

Invited Article:

iTeach Islam, Inaugural issue Noor Art Newsletter, November 2011.Connecting With 3 Cs: Classroom, Community, and Country

Book Chapter:

“Separation of What and State” Muslim Voices in Public Schools. Sense Publications Fall 2009. Phillip Chinn Award in Multicultural Education Books. November 2010.
https://brill.com/search?q1=Muslim+Voices+in+School 

Children's Book:

“I am Listening,” and I am a Good book. (2009) Lisle, IL. Lucent Publications, November 2009
http://www.islamicbookstore.com/b9428.html

Article:

“Islamic Schools and the 21^st Century and Beyond.”  (January/February 2007). Al-Jumaah Magazine publication: Main Feature article.

Presentations:

“Empowering Our Youth to Analyze Contemporary Issues” in the ICNA-MAS 49^th Annual Convention program held in Baltimore, Maryland, May, 2024.

 “Autoethnography of a Teacher Educator: Disempowering Phenomenon Being Visibly Muslim in a Landscape of Disdain, Ridicule, and Lies.”  International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry’s 20^th  annual conference, University of Illinois in Champaign, IL May 17, 2024.

 “Alumni Voices in Islamic Schools: Cultivating Belonging and Identity in Islamic Schools.” A Research Presentation. Islamic School Association of Canada’s ISAC conference in Toronto, Canada, April 20, 2024.

Education Series, 21st Century Alternatives to K-12 Schooling for Muslim Children. ICNA-MAS (Islamic Circle of North America and Muslim American Society. 47th Annual Convention, invited moderator and speaker, May 28, 2022, Baltimore.

One Muslim American Professor's Identity Construction: an Autoethnography at the 18^th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, a virtual event held May 18-22, 2022.

Technology and Curriculum: Tapping into the Future ISNA Ed Forum (Islamic Society of North America) May 14, Chicago, IL invited presentation.

“Muslim Students’ Sense of Belonging.” Nov. 2021 at JEMS The Journal of Education in Muslim Societies. Online.

Stop Racism, Hatred, and Discrimination. Invited Moderator and Speaker September 22-23, 2021, at Conference: Liberty and Justice for ALL, Racism, Redress and Reparations. Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago.

Digital Literacy and Technology Integration in the Classroom, Greensboro Islamic Academy. Sponsored by the Guilford County Schools Greensboro, NC. March 30, 2019.

Curriculum And Instruction Workshop: Delve Into Teaching Strategies for the 21st Century, Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Educational Forum West Coast, January 18, 2019, Anaheim, CA.

Silence, Suffering and Resilience: Uncovering Lived Realities of Muslim Students in Public Schools, in Panel: Islamophobia Symbolic Interactionism and Qualitative Methods. Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois, May 18, 2018, Champaign, IL. 

Maker Space, ISNA Educational Forum, March 31, 2018, Rosemont, IL 

Finland Phenomenon, The  ISNA Educational Forum,  March 30 and 31, 2018, Rosemont, IL.

Principles of Islamic Pedagogy, Islamic Center of Naperville, Full time school, Three-part professional development, Feb 19, Mar 23, April 20, Naperville, IL

Principles of Islamic Pedagogy, Dar Al Qalam School.  Professional Development, April 6, Minneapolis, MN

Finland Phenomenon, The ISLA Retreat,  December  9, 2017, T BAR M, New Braunfels, TX.

Curriculum Integration Efforts in the North American Context. Keynote Address Second Annual Australian Islamic Schooling Conference. July 2017 Adelaide, AU.

Curriculum Integration and the Road Ahead. Second Annual Australian Islamic Schooling Conference. July 2017, Adelaide, AU.

Islamic School Leaders Advancing Literary and Creative Arts Curricula. Co-Chair of the ISLA Leadership Retreat Program and Presenter. Dec 2016, Tampa, FL.

Leadership and Engagement in Curriculum Design: Maximizing the Art of Inspiration, Student Capacity, and Value Rich Cultural Understandings. Co-Chair of the ISLA Leadership Retreat Program and Presenter. Dec 2016, Tampa, FL.  

The New School Culture: Roadblocks to Teaching and Learning, Illinois and Indiana Association of Teacher Educators. 30^th Annual Midwest ATE Spring Conference, April 15, 2016, Champaign, IL.

Affirming Students’ Religion in the Classroom and Islam and the Practices of Muslims.  Invited Symposium Speaker for the Educator’s Forum. Department of Education, Elmhurst College April 9, 2016. Elmhurst, IL.

Authentic Islamic Schooling: Essence of the Islamic School Environment, 6^th Annual ISNA ED Forum. January 15-16, 2016, New Port Beach, CA.

Dr. Seema Imam
(630) 874-4522
simam@nl.edu
NLU Lisle
850 Warrenville Rd. Lisle, IL 60525