Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Dr. Joyce E. Kyle Miller has been a faculty member at Texas A&M University-Commerce since 1976. Hired by Dr. Barry Thompson, Dr. Miller taught in the Department of Secondary and Higher Education until 2005 when she became a member of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Miller received the Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English and Spanish, the Masters of Education Degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Secondary Education and College Student Personnel Administration from the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. Post doctoral studies have been completed at UNT and the University of Connecticut at Storrs, Connecticut. Prior to completing the Doctoral degree, Dr. Miller taught English and Spanish in public schools in Denton, Dallas, LaGrange, Brenham and Arlington, Texas. She holds certifications in Gifted Education, Secondary Instruction, and Supervision.
As a faculty member at A&M Commerce, Dr. Miller teaches Secondary School Curriculum, Models of Teaching, Philosophy of Education, Research Methods, Cultural Diversity, Assessment, and four Gifted Education courses. Dr. Miller is credited with having developed the gifted education program at A&M Commerce. This program has been in existence since the early 80’s; many graduates of the program are now leaders in gifted education in public schools, colleges and universities, state and regional agencies in Texas and nationally. The program began with a $32,000 grant from the Meadows Foundation, Dallas. The grant was used to provide a summer residential camp and Saturday seminars for high school gifted and talented students who were nominated by their high school principals and teachers. The students came to the campus from all over the State, lived in campus housing and completed academic coursework and enrichment workshops taught by A&M Commerce faculty and graduate students enrolled in gifted and talented education courses. Funding for the summer camp was provided by the University one year after the two-year grant ended. Today, each semester the Middle School and High School Academic Enrichment Saturday Seminars that began in the 80’s continue and are held at the Mesquite Metroplex Center. Dr. Miller has sought and received funding for the seminars from the University college deans, the office of Academic Affairs, the Advancement office and in-kind support from the Mesquite ISD. Every year since the 80’s Dr. Miller has planned and implemented seminars for gifted middle school and high school students. Thousands of youth have benefitted from the seminars and many have enrolled and graduated from programs at A&M Commerce.
Dr. Miller has chaired and served as a member of numerous dissertation committees in Secondary and Higher Education, Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction. Presently, she chairs ten doctoral committees; five students successfully defended their dissertation proposals since June, 2011.
Since 2003, Dr. Miller has developed twelve online courses. In preparation for online instruction, she completed 12 credit hours of online coursework in gifted education and has completed on-campus training in distance education and online instruction. She is adamant about the need to maintain quality online instruction and the need to employ tools that will enhance the human element in these courses.
Regionally, Dr. Miller has completed Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS/QAR) Accreditation Team Membership and Chair Training and has served as a member of approximately eleven teams since 2001. In this capacity, she has reviewed school improvement plans for high schools and has written reports addressing the curriculum of these schools.
Dr. Miller’s scholarship is characterized by publications in TEMPO, the Encyclopedia for Educational Psychology and the Encyclopedia for African American Education; over sixty presentations in the areas of gifted education and online instruction have been made for the National Association for Gifted Children, the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented and the Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. In addition, Dr. Miller served as a member of the TEMPO Editorial Board from 1996-2010.
University service includes membership on the Graduate Council, Hearing Committee, Commencement Committee, and the Institutional Effectiveness Committee. In the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Miller serves as Co-Director for the Secondary Education Program.
Over the years, Dr. Miller has assumed committee leadership with the National Association for Gifted Children and has served as a member of the Executive Board for the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented. Dr. Miller served on the Advisory Board for the development of the first Texas State Plan for Gifted Education; she was appointed as a member of the Commissioner’s Advisory Council for Gifted Education; she holds TAGT Research Division membership and has served as Chairperson and currently serves as Past Chair of the Dual Language/Multicultural Division. She has worked with Gifted Education testing publishers in the development of assessment instruments for teachers and students. Regularly, she is invited by school districts to provide professional development addressing the African American gifted student. Recently, Dr. Miller served as a member of the TAGT research team that researched the Status of Gifted Education in Texas.
Dr. Miller, as an A&M faculty member, Chair of the NAACP Education Committee, Advisor of the Garland NAACP Youth Council and as the State and Local ACT-SO Chairperson, is known as an educational leader who has impacted the lives of countless youth. Her service embraces not only the A&M campus but local, state and national efforts to address the education of the underserved advanced learner.
Dr. Miller has offices on the Commerce campus and at the A&M Mesquite Metroplex Center. She lives in Garland with her husband, James, who received his Masters of Business Administration from A&M Commerce. Her son, Jonathan, is a graduate of Pepperdine University with his Bachelor’s degree in Business. He resides in Los Angeles, California and is gainfully employed.