Michael E. Skyer is an American Deaf educator and academic specializing in pedagogy, and multimodality. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee, where his work focuses on the intersections of deaf epistemologies, aesthetics, and ethics in educational contexts.
Early Life and Education
Skyer was born and raised in Rochester, New York, a city with a significant Deaf community. Immersed from an early stage in both Deaf and hearing cultures, he developed interests in art, visual communication, and education. He pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Fine Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), graduating in 2007. His studies concentrated on sculpture, drawing, and painting, disciplines that would later inform his approach to multimodal pedagogy[2].
Following his undergraduate studies, Skyer enrolled in the Master of Science in Secondary Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students program at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). He graduated in 2009 with highest honors, beginning a professional journey that blended classroom teaching with educational research[2].
In 2021, Skyer earned his Ph.D. in Teaching, Curriculum, and Change from the University of Rochester. His dissertation explored the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of deaf education through grounded theory methodologies. The work was accepted without revisions, a rare distinction in doctoral scholarship[2][3].
Academic Career
Skyer’s academic career began at NTID, where he taught developmental writing, American Sign Language (ASL), and Deaf education courses. Between 2011 and 2022, he held a range of roles from adjunct lecturer to senior lecturer in the Master of Science in Secondary Education (MSSE) program. At NTID, he designed curricula aimed at empowering Deaf learners through digital multimodality, critical pedagogy, and culturally responsive teaching methods[2].
In August 2022, Skyer joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as Assistant Professor of Deaf Studies within the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. His teaching responsibilities include ASL, foundations of Deaf education, and curriculum design. Beyond teaching, Skyer advises graduate students and participates actively in departmental and college-wide initiatives related to Deaf Studies and the Center on Deafness[1].
Research
Skyer’s research addresses the role of aesthetics, ethics, and power in Deaf education, often framed through the concept of axiology. He investigates how Deaf ways of knowing intersect with multimodal communication, online learning environments, and socio-political frameworks. His publications cover topics such as anarchist perspectives on Deaf education policy, queer-deaf identities, and metaparadigmatic analyses of Deaf pedagogy beyond Vygotsky[2][4].
Awards and Recognition
Skyer has received multiple awards for his scholarship and teaching. In 2018, he was honored with the Irving K. Zola Award for emerging scholars in disability studies[2]. In 2024, the University of Tennessee’s College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences presented him with the Helen B. Watson Award for Outstanding Research for his contributions to American Annals of the Deaf. In February 2025, he received the Dr. Jon Henner Memorial Early Career Award from the Association of College Educators – Deaf & Hard of Hearing (ACE-DHH), recognizing his national impact within five years of earning his doctorate[1][4].
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville. (n.d.). Michael Skyer, PhD – Theory & Practice in Teacher Education.
- Skyer, M. E. (n.d.). Curriculum Vitae.
- Skyer, M. E. (2021). Pupil [rightwards arrow over leftwards arrow] Pedagogue: Grounded Theories about Biosocial Interactions and Axiology for Deaf Educators. ProQuest LLC.
- Utterback, C. (2025, April 28). Michael Skyer Awarded with the Dr. Jon Henner Memorial Early Career Award. CEHHS News.
