Katrina Watterson, PhD, is an assistant professor of Spanish at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. She received two BA degrees in broadcast journalism and Spanish from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana., an MA in Spanish and a Ph.D. in education with an area of concentration in foreign language education from Louisiana State University, also in Baton Rouge. Her student-centered research interests include metacognitive teaching strategies which concentrate on kinesthetic teaching and reinforcement methodology and the African Diaspora with a concentration on Spanish-speaking regions in a quest to encourage an equity-based higher education curriculum. Her publications and presentations include “I’m Bad and Boujee: The Metacognition of the Nontraditional College Student” (2018), “Language In Action: It’s Not Just a Game” (2018), and “Global Kinships: A Beginner’s’ Community-Based Research Agenda” (2020). She is one of this year’s 2021-2022 CURE Fellows (Course-based Undergraduate Research) which allows her to redesign the Spanish 131 course to assist students with African Diaspora themed research. In 2018, Watterson began the Alpha Alpha Beta Chapter of the National Collegiate Foreign Language Honor Society at Johnson C. Smith, and as the Chapter faculty advisor, she directs the Annual Foreign Language Week celebration with an array of Diasporic highlights which are demonstrated by the student body. She currently serves as a member of the QEP Committee and the Faculty Senate. LinkedIn
