College Spotlights Doctor of Education Graduate

Marquita S. Blades, Ed.D, is an award-winning educator, international speaker, author, and education consultant with 16 years of experience as a high school science teacher and manager of national STEM programs for high-achieving high school students. Blades saves schools and school districts time and money by teaching them how to increase student engagement and collaboration through rigorous and meaningful learning experiences, using the resources they currently have on hand.

In 2018, Blades created the POWARRful Teaching Strategies® framework to help students build their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, based on recurring themes in her teaching practices. She found that she was constantly teaching the same six-core POWARR skills: Predict, Observe, Write, Analyze, Research, Report. Since releasing POWARRful Teaching Strategies®, she has shared the framework with thousands of educators across the US, giving them the tools and confidence, they need to put it into practice and build more student-centered classrooms immediately. Blades is also the founder of The Mediocre Teacher Project, which helps teachers avoid and battle through burnout by incorporating their unique gifts and talents into their daily practice.

Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards, including the Elizabeth Allen Alford Overcomer’s Award (2017), Teachers of Atlanta Honoree (2017), Eta Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Rising Star in Education (2017), National Celebrity Educators™-Georgia Celebrity Educator of the Year (2018), and Women of Strength Honoree (2018). Most recently, she was nominated for the 2019 Community Engagement R.I.C.E. Award and was selected to be included in the 2019 Edition of Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.

Blades earned a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Broad Field Science from Georgia State University, a Master of Science in Technical and Professional Communication from Southern Polytechnic State University, and a Doctor of Education in Instructional Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Blades said that earning her doctoral degree from Nova Southeastern University has been one of the best decisions in her professional career. Since earning her doctoral degree, her career as an educator has taken off. She’s doing what she intended to do: become an instructional leader! She has conducted hundreds of national presentations, held workshops and seminars all providing professional development to thousands of educators, sharing best practices she learned through classroom experience and doctoral research. In addition, she has become a published author, editor and publisher and gained the respect of colleagues who were once professors that she held in high esteem. Her degree has opened doors she could not have imagined walking through and earned her seats at tables where she could not imagine sitting. She is very grateful for her NSU education.

Recently, Blades established the “The Dr. Marquita S. Blades POWARRful Changing Lives Scholarship” at Nova Southeastern University to help provide scholarships to NSU students pursuing a graduate degree at the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. The Changing Lives scholarship, first-hand, touches student’s lives. We are beyond grateful for Blades’ generosity. Because of her newly established scholarship, the college will support students fulfill their dreams by continuing their education.

When she is not teaching or public speaking, Blades works as a Realtor alongside her husband Virgil Blades. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and exploring life in Panama, where she and her husband reside part-time.

For any questions regarding POWARRful Teaching Strategies® please contact Marquita at drblades@drmarquitablades.com and follow her on social media at @powarrfulteaching.

Posted 01/30/22