ABOUT ME

I am an award-winning educator, writer, and creativity advocate advancing faculty development & enhancing students’ literacy skills.

Text that reads 'my mission' in cursive font on a brushstroke background.

I work to democratize digital creativity by mobilizing accessible design technologies so that students and teachers can realize their creative potential and narrativize their knowledge, passion, and impact dynamically and intentionally across digital platforms.

My passion for education lies at the intersection of literacy, technology, and instructional leadership.

The ways we drive and develop our students’ essential literacy skills — whether creative, digital, or linguistic — matter now more than ever, and teachers deserve quality professional development resources that empower them to leverage technology to elevate their instructional practice and manage their careers.

A graphic listing core values: "Cultivating Creativity," "Walking the Walk," and "Responsive Data-Driven Teaching," with descriptions for each.

How did I get here?

I began my education career teaching K-12 developmental reading classes before designing and teaching interdisciplinary writing and literature courses at the college level. After earning my Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in English, my area of content specialization, I became a teaching-track faculty member and administrator in the Department of English at Indiana University Bloomington. My investment in faculty development and instructional coaching emerged while serving as Associate Director of Undergraduate Teaching, training and supporting graduate student and post-doctoral instructors teaching digital composition and intensive writing courses.

How do I define my professional identity?

A Venn diagram unpacking Dr. Gabrielle Stecher Woodward's identity as a scholarly teacher and faculty developer, with overlapping qualities such as creativity and advocacy in the center.

What’s in the works?

When I am not busy teaching or furthering my own education in instructional leadership and learning technology, I facilitate faculty development workshops, and I write. As a writer, I explore not just teaching & learning topics but the intersections of creativity & culture. Writing is the core of my own creative practice, which you can learn more about here.

Two women giving a presentation in a conference room with a large screen displaying a slide titled "BYTE Framework". The slide explains the framework and features the acronym BYTE, standing for Branding, Your, Teaching, Excellence.

Branding Your Teaching Excellence

A Bit on BYTE :

I am the co-founder & co-creator of BYTE, a faculty development initiative serving current & future teaching professionals nationwide.


At BYTE, we believe teaching excellence deserves more than checklists—it deserves strategic storytelling, evidence-driven reflection, and authentic professional alignment. As longtime educators and faculty developers, we’ve built BYTE to help teaching-focused professionals articulate and advance their distinctive brand of teaching excellence in ways that elevate and support their career.

Education

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Education •

Image displaying academic degrees from the University of Georgia, including Ph.D. in English with a focus on Victorian Literature and Visual Culture, and B.A. in English with concentration on Studies in the Novel.

Continuing Education

Graduate Certificate in Learning Sciences, Media, & Technology
Indiana University Bloomington, School of Education

In progress - anticipated completion 2026

Certificate in Instructional Leadership
Harvard University, Graduate School of Education

In progress - anticipated completion 2025

Awards & Recognition

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Awards & Recognition • 

Teaching Awards

Open Educator of the Year Award
Indiana University Libraries, 2024

“An honor bestowed annually to an IU Bloomington faculty member for their outstanding contributions to open education, measured by the resulting cost savings for students and the broader educational influence… Stecher stands out for her prolific creation of OER focused on writing and writing pedagogy.”  

Martha F. Bowden Teaching Prize
SE American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 2024

“The prize seeks innovative pedagogies for teaching the time period to students at the undergraduate or graduate level.”

Excellence in Teaching Award
University of Georgia Graduate School, 2022

“The Excellence-in-Teaching Award was established by the Graduate School to recognize those who have demonstrated superior teaching skills and have contributed to teaching beyond their own classroom responsibilities, making a significant contribution to the instructional mission of the university.

Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
University of Georgia Center for Teaching & Learning, 2021

“This award is intended to recognize graduate students who have demonstrated superior teaching skills while serving in a significant instructional role at UGA.”

Finalist, FACET Innovate Award (Creative Use of Online Tools)
Indiana University, 2025

“The FACET Innovate Awards serve two important purposes that promote FACET’s mission. The awards recognize faculty who bring passion, innovation, and creativity to the classroom to promote student success. It also helps FACET share and disseminate best practices in teaching for the benefit of the entire IU community.”