Gender Labels in Young Adult Literature with Drs. Rachelle Savitz and Vanessa Irvin

In today’s episode host Matt Sroka chats with Drs. Rachelle Savitz and Vanessa Irvin about using Young Adult Literature to critically examine issues around gender. This conversation centers around their article for JAAL titled: Developing an empathic analysis: Using critical literacy, dialogue, and inquiry with literature to explore the issues with gender labels

Rachelle S. Savitz is an associate professor of reading/literacy at East Carolina University. She was previously a K-12 literacy coach/interventionist and high school reading teacher. She values working with graduate students and teachers and learning with and from them. She has served on the board of directors for numerous national and state literacy organizations – wanting to be a part of the learning and collaboration pushing thinking in the realm of literacy. Dr. Savitz spotlights the necessity of teacher collaborators in her co-edited book, Teaching the "taboo": Diverse and inclusive literature is the way, with Routledge, where teachers highlight their classroom practices. She emphasizes teacher instruction with over 15 snapshots in the book with Teachers College Press, Trauma-sensitive literacy instruction: Building student resilience in English language arts classrooms. This book extends learning shared in Teaching Hope and Resilience for Students Experiencing Trauma: Creating Safe and Nurturing Classrooms for Learning, coauthored with Drs. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. She received the East Carolina University College of Education 2023-2024 Profiles in Diversity Award, the 2019 Association of Literacy Educators and Researcher’s Jerry Johns Promising Researcher Award, and the 2018 Early Career Literacy Scholar Award from the American Reading Forum.

Dr. Vanessa Irvin is an associate professor with the Master of Library Science Program at East Carolina University (USA). Dr. Irvin has authored three books and 35 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. V has led grant-funded research projects that explore ways in which heritage-based knowledge systems impact our information-seeking behaviors and literacy practices in daily life. Irvin's work investigates libraries as collaborative communities of literacy practices and platforms for literacy justice for diverse and local/Indigenous communities. Dr. V is equally interested in the social informatics of informal learning and the evolution of librarian professional practices with reference services under the influence of emerging technologies. Irvin serves as Co-Editor of the open-access peer-reviewed journal, The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, where she manages an editorial team of 20 librarians and an editorial board of 35 LIS scholars. Dr. Irvin is President-Elect of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). 

Resources:

Developing an empathic analysis: Using critical literacy, dialogue, and inquiry with literature to explore the issues with gender labels

Gender Equality in Education Multi-Journal Special Issue

Text Reformulation with Drs. Michael DiCicco and Eileen Shanahan

In today’s episode host Matt Sroka chats with Drs. Michael DiCicco and Eileen Shannaon about a literacy strategy that can help students to become better readers and better writers. The strategy is called text reformulation. This conversation centers around their article for JAAL titled: Dr. Seuss, police reports, and lamb recipes: Examining text reformulation as a literacy strategy. 

Dr. Eileen Shanahan is an associate professor at Northern Kentucky University. She began her career as an eighth-grade language arts teacher and then served as a middle school curriculum and literacy coordinator. Her interests include writing and grammar instruction, discourse and teacher learning, and teaching English from a social justice perspective.

Dr. Michael DiCicco is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education at Northern Kentucky University. A former middle school teacher. Dr. DiCicco has been an educator for 16 years. His research focuses on literacy teacher preparation and development and middle level literacy. 

Resource:

Dr. Seuss, police reports, and lamb recipes: Examining text reformulation as a literacy strategy

Reading Intervention for Adolescent Readers with Dr. Margaret Opatz and Sara Kocherhans

How can secondary educators support adolescent readers to become strong readers of complex texts? In today's episode, Matt Sroka talks with Dr. Margaret Opatz and Sara Kocherhans about their work investigating multicomponent reading intervention in order to improve adolescents reading achievement. This conversation stems from their article “Using a supplemental, multicomponent reading intervention to increase adolescent readers' achievement”. 

Margaret Opatz, Ph.D., is a Reading Research Scientist at Capti, an edtech company, where she leads literacy initiatives. Margaret is a former K-12 teacher, reading interventionist, and Equity Coach. She specializes in foundational reading skills, covering the developmental stages of both young and adolescent readers, as well as effective teaching methods and strategies for addressing reading difficulties. Margaret is dedicated to advancing reading interventions and assessments to support learners of all backgrounds. 

Sarah Kocherhans is a PhD student in the Literacy, Language, and Learning program at the University of Utah. She works as a reading interventionist at the University of Utah Reading Clinic, where she researches and implements reading interventions for elementary and secondary students. Sarah's background is in the elementary classroom as a 3rd-grade teacher, where she first discovered her passion for remediating reading difficulties in developing readers. Through her work, she is dedicated to improving reading instruction for students of all ages.

Resource:

“Using a supplemental, multicomponent reading intervention to increase adolescent readers' achievement”. 

Vocabulary and High-Stakes Testing with Beverley Jennings 

In today's episode, Matt Sroka chats with Beverely Jennings about high-stakes testing? How much should our instruction be geared towards preparing students for high-stakes testing? How do we know if what we’re teaching and what we are having students read is preparing them for high-stakes tests? What if preparing students for a high-stakes test is at odds with our goals and objectives for the class? Matt and Beverely explore these questions as they talk the article “A Corpus Study of English Language Exam Texts: Vocabulary Difficulty and the Impact on Students' Wider Reading (or Should Students be Reading More Texts by Dead White Men?)” by Beverley Jennings, Daisy Powell, Sylvia Jaworska, and Holly Joseph.

Beverley Jennings is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Education at the University of Reading in England. Her research is on adolescent reading comprehension, with particular focus on assessment and vocabulary. She has also been an English teacher in secondary (high) schools in England for 20 years. 

Resources:

A Corpus Study of English Language Exam Texts: Vocabulary Difficulty and the Impact on Students' Wider Reading (or Should Students be Reading More Texts by Dead White Men?)

Digital Literacies Framework with Drs. Katrina Tour and Ed Creely

In today's episode, Matt Sroka talks with Katrina Tour and Ed Creely about a framework they developed with colleagues for teaching Digital literacies to adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds. This framework is interesting and important in its own right, but their work also offers valuable tools and guidance for literacy teachers and scholars across various fields.. In our conversation we discuss the four key principles that guide their framework (Authentic Learning Contexts, Problem-Based Learning, Strength-Based Approach, and Multiple Dimensional Practices). And how each of these principles were or were not enacted by teachers in this study. This conversation stems from their article in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy  titled:  “Investigating the efficacy of the AMEP Digital Literacies Framework and Guide for adult EAL settings” by Ekaterina Tour, Edwin Creely, Peter Waterhouse, and Michael Henderson. 

Dr Katrina Tour is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. Her research focuses on the digital literacies of children and adults from refugee and migrant backgrounds. It investigates the ways in which these groups use digital technologies in English as an Additional Language (EAL) for life, learning and employment, and explores how these experiences can be used to enhance educational policies and pedagogies for digital literacies in EAL/TESOL settings

Dr Edwin Creely is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. He is a strong contributor to international conferences and is widely published. His research interests include digital literacies and pedagogies, computers in education, creativity, critical thinking, literacies across the years, and artificial intelligence and language learning. He has also developed a strong interest in adult learning and especially involving adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds.

Also, as mentioned in the opening, the latest Literacy Insights is now available: Guiding and Assessing Student Writing

Resources:

“Investigating the efficacy of the AMEP Digital Literacies Framework and Guide for adult EAL settings”

AMEP Digital Literacies Framework and Guide 

AMEP Digital Literacies: Teaching Resources 

Designing Text Use for Science Teachers with Drs. Cynthia Greenleaf, Kathleen Hinchman, and Willard Brown

In today's episode, Matt Sroka talks with Drs. Cynthia Greenleaf, Kathleen Hinchman, and Willard Brown about using and selecting texts in Science classrooms. They discuss why teachers should go beyond just teaching the textbook, and how teachers can find authentic, engaging, and appropriately challenging multimodal texts for their classrooms. They also discuss how teachers can go about teaching these multimodal texts to their students, so they can be accessible for all students. This conversation centers on their article: Science teachers designing text use for equitable Next Generation Science instruction.

Cynthia Greenleaf, Senior Research Scientist (emerita) in Literacy at WestEd, is a passionate advocate for high-quality literacy education for all. Dr. Greenleaf leads collaborative, design-based research supporting the ongoing development of Reading Apprenticeship and its inquiry-based professional learning model and contributes to national and international efforts to advance academic and disciplinary literacies. Her work to design, develop, and bring Reading Apprenticeship to scale has improved teaching and learning for hundreds of thousands of secondary and college students and their teachers, nationally and internationally. A member of the Reading Hall of Fame and recipient of several awards and honors, Dr. Greenleaf received her doctorate in language and literacy education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Kathleen A. Hinchman, PhD., is a literacy education Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University. She has taught, coached, and conducted research in elementary, secondary, adult literacy, and literacy teacher education settings. She has published numerous articles, chapters, and texts and served on local, state, and national literacy-related boards of directors. Her participation in this science and literacy collaborative design study stemmed from her lifelong interest in studying approaches that optimize disciplinary teachers’ support of students’ literacies. She can be reached at kahinchm@syr.edu.

Willard Brown is STEM instructional coach for Envision Schools. Dr. Brown leverages his passion for literacy to support learning outcomes in STEM education and support the Envision Schools vision for pro-Black education. Previously, Willard worked at WestEd providing Reading Apprenticeship professional development and researching disciplinary literacy and science instruction. Earlier, he taught high school science in the Oakland Public Schools. His classes appear in multiple publications and instructional videos. Willard holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Resources:

Science teachers designing text use for equitable Next Generation Science instruction.

https://readingapprenticeship.org/resources/

Scroll down to select from a list of resource types linking to classroom resources, classroom videos, and curriculum. Open source curriculum units developed during this project are housed on this website, along with instructional support for teachers, videos of classroom instruction, and resources for school teams. 

Adult and Digital Literacy with Dr. Jennifer Kobrin

In today's episode, Matt Sroka talks with Dr. Jennifer Kobrin about adult and digital literacies. They cover topics from critical media literacy to navigating digital platforms, exploring how past experiences and identities influence our interactions, and discussing ways to have agency in this digital landscape. 

This conversation centers on Dr. Kobrin’s article, Identity, positioning, and platforms: A case study of an older job seeker in a community technology center. 

Dr. Jennifer D’haem Kobrin is an Assistant Professor of Adult and Continuing Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. She received an Ed.D. in Literacy Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023. Prior to this, Dr. Kobrin also worked for decades as a practitioner in education and in adult education, most recently as Director of Digital Inclusion at the Office of Adult Education, City of Philadelphia. She is passionate about bridging theory and research with practice, especially as it pertains to adults’ learning and literacy practices in the digital world.

Resources:

Identity, positioning, and platforms: A case study of an older job seeker in a community technology center. 

Disciplinary Literacy With Dr. Thomas DeVere Wolsey 

In today’s episode Matt Sroka chats with Dr. Thomas DeVere Wolsey about disciplinary literacy. They discuss what disciplinary literacy is and how it can be applied in today’s classrooms. They also explore some perceived limitations of disciplinary literacy and how educators should react to those limitations. Their conversation stems from the article Intersections of Literacy and Teaching With the Disciplines and Professions: We Asked Some Experts by Thomas DeVere Wolsey, Diane Lapp, Maria C. Grant, and Ibrahim M. Karkouti. 

Thomas DeVere Wolsey, EdD, teaches graduate courses in research and literacy. He leads professional development for teachers in Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico, China, on the Hopi Reservation and throughout the United States, among other places. He is the author or co-author of 12 books for teachers and teacher educators with two more in development. Dr. Wolsey has developed training materials for the California Department of Education, TextProject, San Diego State University, and North County (San Diego) Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. His specialties include exploring intersections of literacy and technology, middle grades and secondary literacy practices, teacher preparation, and green school design. 

Resources

Intersections of Literacy and Teaching With the Disciplines and Professions: We Asked Some Experts

Do you struggle to teach your students to be better writers in your classroom? Do you find yourself giving general feedback and a letter grade, but not having a clear understanding if the students are really improving in their writing? In this episode, I chat with Dr. Sarah Beck about using “dialogic writing assessments” to help students become better writers. This conversation centers on Dr. Beck’s article Scaffolding Students’ Writing Processes Through Dialogic Assessment.

Dr. Sarah Beck is a teacher educator and literacy researcher on the faculty at New York University. In addition to an article and book chapter on dialogic assessment in Social Studies classrooms with Andrew O. del Calvo, her publications include  A Think Aloud Approach to Writing Assessment (2018) Teachers College Press, an analysis, with Amanda Godley, of features of exemplary college application essays.  

Related Article:

Beck, S. W., Jones, K., Storm, S., & Smith, H. (2020). Scaffolding students’ writing processes through dialogic assessment. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 63(6), 651-660.

Other Resources:

Beck, S. & del Calvo, A. (2023) Using dialogic writing assessment to support historical literacy. Literacy, 57,1, 61-71. 10.1111/lit.12309 del Calvo, A. O. & Beck, S. (2023). 

del Calvo, A. O., & Beck, S. W. (2023). Dialogic Writing Assessment in the History Classroom. In Assessing Disciplinary Writing in Both Research and Practice (pp. 227-251). IGI Global.

Reynolds, D. (2017). Interactional scaffolding for reading comprehension: A systematic review. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 66(1), 135-156.

Sports Culture and Literacy with Dr. Luke Rodesiler

How do we as educators go about connecting our academic work in ways that are challenging, relevant, engaging, and meaningful to our students? One way to achieve this is by tapping into students’ (and our culture at large) love of sports. In this episode, I chat with Dr. Luke Rodesiler about his article, “Controversies, Rivalries, and Representation: Sports Culture as a Site for Research and Inquiry”.

Luke Rodesiler, a former high school English teacher, works as an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Purdue University Fort Wayne. His research interests include the role popular cultural texts play in literacy teaching and learning, non-traditional forms of teacher professional development, and English education. He is a co-editor (with Alan Brown) of Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports (NCTE, 2016), the author of Bringing Sports Culture to the English Classroom (Teachers College Press, 2022), and a co-author (with Mark A. Lewis and Alan Brown) of Reading the World through Sports and Young Adult Literature (NCTE, forthcoming in 2024).

Related Article:

Rodesiler, L. (2021). Controversies, rivalries, and representation: sports culture as a site for research and inquiry. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 65(1), 55-63.

Other Resources:

Rodesiler, L. (2022). Bringing Sports Culture to the English Classroom: An Interest-Driven Approach to Literacy Instruction. Teachers College Press.

Connective Literacies with Dr. Jocelyn Washburn and Dr. Suzanne Myers

As technology becomes more and more interwoven into educational spaces, how do we as educators utilize digital tools in ways that are effective and beneficial for ourselves and for our students? In this episode I talk with Dr. Jocelyn Washburn and Dr. Suzy Myers about the term “connective literacies” in their article titled “Adolescents' perspectives about their digital and connective literacies”

In this episode we explore what are connective literacies and what is the Connective Literacies Framework. We investigate what we can learn from adolescents and their experiences and perceptions toward technology use in the classroom. And we close by discussing how educators can help students navigate these connective and digital literacies in the classroom. 

Resources:

 “Adolescents' perspectives about their digital and connective literacies”

Literacy Insights

Connecting Disciplinary and Digital Tools with Ms. Johanna Keene and Dr. Mellinee Lesley 

In today's digital age, the classroom is undergoing a transformation. Teachers and students are navigating a world filled with digital tools and platforms. But how do we go about using these tools effectively? How do we leverage digital tools to support discipline specific ways of thinking, reading, and writing? In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Ms Johanna Keene and Dr. Mellinee Lesley about their article “Exploring the connections between disciplinary and digital literacies in history”. We discuss how teachers combine disciplinary literacy with digital tools and all the challenges and opportunities that this presents in the classroom. 

Johanna Keene is a doctoral student at Texas Tech University. She previously taught and was a literacy coach. Her research interests lie at the intersection of literacy, teacher development, and play. Currently she is a lecturer in the Teacher Education Department at Texas Tech University. 

Dr. Mellinee Lesley is a Professor in the Language, Diversity & Literacy Studies program in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. She has previously worked as a high school English teacher and served as the director for a developmental reading program. Dr. Lesley has earned several teaching awards at the secondary and university level, is a fellow of the National Writing Project, and recently received the Community Engagement Scholarship Award for Exemplary Projects from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. 

Throughout her scholarship and teaching, Dr. Lesley has been committed to fostering agentic identities and literacy skills for historically marginalized adolescent and adult learners. A significant part of this work has focused on disciplinary literacies and its role in advancing academic opportunities for underrepresented populations of students. Dr. Lesley is also pursuing a line of inquiry around pairing engaged scholarship with literacy reform in K-12 settings.

Related Article:

“Exploring the connections between disciplinary and digital literacies in history”

Check out a new resource from JAAL: Literacy Insights 

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Dr. Richard Beach as we explore critical inquiry and literacy as it relates to climate change. Join us as we discuss what we as teachers can do to adopt roles and employ tools to help our students meaningful engage with this issue. This conversation stems from Dr. Richard Beach’s article Teachers and students use of systems thinking about their participation in school environmental clubs

Richard Beach is Professor Emeritus of Literacy Education, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has conducted research and published books in response to literature, composition instruction, use of digital media, and teaching about climate change for supporting English language arts instruction.

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Round-table sessions at the NCTE conference 

Interdisciplinary chapter Teaching Climate Change to Adolescents

Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice

Teaching Climate Justice Curriculum 

InTeGrate Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future

Lists of YA Cli-Fi texts

Resources on Teaching Cli-Fi

Youth Created Media for Addressing the Climate Crisis: Hear Our Voices 

Teaching Adolescents about Climate Change

Addressing the Challenges of Preparing Teachers to Teach about the Climate Crisis

Richard Beach’s  Publications

Resources on Teaching Climate Change in ELA/Literacy Classrooms

Beach, R. (2015). Imagining a future for the planet through literature, writing, images, and drama. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 59(1), 7-13. DOI:10.1002/jaal.412

Beach, R., Share, J., & Webb, A. (2017). Teaching climate change to adolescents: Reading, writing, and making a difference. Routledge. http://climatechangeela.pbworks.com

Polk, E., Beach, R., & Webb, A. (2023). Fostering climate crisis global literacies in the classroom. In S. N. Kerkhoff & H. A. Spires (Eds.). Critical perspectives on global literacies: bridging research and practice (pp. 230-246). Routledge. http://t.ly/3wlGG

Beach, R. (2023). Addressing the challenges of preparing teachers to teach about the climate crisis. The Teacher Educator, 58, 507-522. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08878730.2023.2175401

Beach, R. (2023). Literacy research, systems thinking, and climate change. Research in the Teaching of English, 58(1), 105-122. https://t.ly/xCAVt

Using Digital Tools/Media for Teaching Climate Change in ELA/Literacy Classrooms

Castek, J., & Beach, R. (2013). Using apps to support disciplinary literacy and science learning. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(7), 554-564. https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.180

Castek, J., Beach, R., Cotanch, H., & Scott, J. (2014). Examining middle-school students' uses of Diigo annotations to engage in collaborative argumentative writing. In R. S. Anderson & C. Mims (Eds), Handbook of research on digital tools for writing instruction in K-12 settings, IGI Global.

Beach, R., & Smith, B. E. (2019). Using digital tools for studying about and addressing climate change. In P. M. Sullivan, J. L. Lantz, & B. A. Sullivan (Eds.), Handbook of research on integrating digital technology with literacy pedagogies (pp. 346-370). IGI Global.

Beach, R., Boggs, G., Castek, J., Damico, J., Pano, A., Spellman, R., & Wilson, N. (2020) Fostering preservice and in-service ELA teachers’ digital practices for addressing climate change. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 20(1). http://t.ly/eFhJw

Share, J., & Beach, R. (2022). Critical media literacy analysis and production for systems thinking about climate change. The Journal of Media Literacy—Research Symposium Issue. http://t.ly/ueE6Z

Beach, R., & Smith, B. (2022). Using digital tools for studying about and addressing climate 

      change. In M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed.), Research anthology on environmental and societal 

      impacts of climate change (pp. 724-747). IGI Global.

Share, J., & Beach, R. (2022). Critical media literacy analysis and production for  

      systems thinking about climate change. Journal of Media Literacy. http://t.ly/je0HZ

Beach, R., & Smith, B. (Eds.) (2023). Youth created media on the climate crisis: Hear our 

      voices. Routledge. http://youthclimatecrisismedia.pbworks.com

Beach, R., & Smith, B. (2023). Youth production of digital media to address the climate  crisis. Journal of Climate Literacy, 1(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/cle.v1i2.5349

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Doug Friesen and Dr. Rob Simon as we explore the role of sound in the classroom and in the world around us. Join us as we explore how we can help our students be more attune with these sounds and the bodies that produce them. This conversation stems from Doug Friesen and Dr. Rob Simon’s article, “Making Fahrenheit 451 ‘Come to Life’: Sound Inquiries with Youth and Teachers”. 

Rob Simon is associate professor and Associate Chair of Student Experience in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, and has been a teacher educator since 2003.  At OISE, Rob teaches courses in critical literacy and practitioner research. He is also academic director of the Centre for Urban Schooling (https://cus.oise.utoronto.ca) and director of the Toronto Writing Project (https://www.torontowritingproject.com). Rob began his career in education in 1998 as a founding teacher of Life Learning Academy (http://www.lifelearningacademysf.org), a high school for youth who experienced struggles in traditional school settings. Rob’s current research explores how teachers and students inquire into and co-research issues of social justice, and how they use the arts, film, writing, and other creative mediums to share their findings with the world.

Doug Friesen is a teacher and musician based in Toronto and has worked as a classroom teacher and consultant in public schools since 2002. During this time, he has also taught a number of post-secondary and additional qualification courses for teachers. He is currently an adjunct professor at Queen's University and is finishing a PhD on sound and listening pedagogies with a focus on critical practitioner research and collaborative inquiry. 

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Dr. Heather Pule (pule@uhcl.edu) about young adult literature and the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework. Join us as we discuss the role of young adult literature in the classroom and how to use the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework to approach our teaching of young adult literature effectively. This conversation centers on Dr. Heather Pule’s article, “Exploring young adult texts within the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework with preservice teachers.” 

During her 15 years in education, Heather Pule has taught middle and high school English Language Arts, worked as a secondary ELA district coordinator and is now an Assistant Professor in the Literacy, Language Arts, and Literature Program in the College of Education at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She specializes in English Language Arts Education and Secondary Literacy. Her research centers on exploring preservice teacher’s identities through authentic literacy and antiracist teaching practices.

Related Article:

“Exploring young adult texts within the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework with preservice teachers”

In this episode, Matt Sroka chats with Natalie Martinez (nataliecmtz@gmail.com) about Indigenous literacies. Join us as we delve into the critical aspects of Indigenous literacies, current policies surrounding them, and their implications for educators, students, and policy-makers. This conversation centers on Natalie Martinez's article Indigenous literacies: A look at pedagogies and policy in the Southwest United States.

Natalie Martinez, Ph.D. (K’awaika-meh, Laguna Pueblo) is a professional educator. She was a principal and teacher at her Pueblo Nation, and taught middle schoolers and high schoolers at other schools in New Mexico. Dr. Martinez’s collaborations on Indigenous-centered curriculum projects include: Indigenous Wisdom; Indigenous New Mexico; the curriculum guide for An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People; and the teacher guide for Indigenous Ingenuity. Her chapters appear in Luminous Literacies and The Yazzie Case: Interrogating the Yazzie/Martinez Lawsuit. Dr. Martinez most recently completed a Visiting Lecturer appointment at the University of New Mexico and is starting a full-time faculty position at Central NM Community College in teacher preparation this fall. Her research focus is education for Indigenous youth, professional curriculum development, and education policy.

Related Article:

Indigenous literacies: A look at pedagogies and policy in the Southwest United States.

Other Resources:

Debbie Reese: American Indians in Childrens' Literature blog, 

American Indian Library Association

In today's episode, we plunge into the ever-evolving world of social media and its personalized content. Do you know how social media algorithms shape your online experience? Many of us scroll through our feeds without realizing the powerful role algorithms play in tailoring what we see. In an article titled, Exploring the role of social media literacy in adolescents' experiences with personalization: A Norwegian qualitative study researchers Ashley Rebecca Bell, Merete Kolberg Tennfjord, Miroslava Tokovska, and Ragnhild Eg investigate adolescents' encounters with personalization on social media. Today, Matthew Sroka chats with two of the co-authors of that article, Merete Kolberg Tennfjord and Ragnhild Eg.

Merete Kolberg Tennfjord is an associate professor with research interests within the field of adolescents and health, with special interest in how social media may impact on their quality of life, body image and general health. 

Ragnhild Eg is a senior scientist at the department of innovation, sensory and consumer sciences at Nofima. With a background in psychology, she has a great interest in human perception and behaviour, including multisensory experiences and interplays with digital technology.

Related article:

Exploring the role of social media literacy in adolescents' experiences with personalization: A Norwegian qualitative study

Guiding and Assessing Student Writing with Dr. Erika Bass 

What does effective feedback on writing look like? How do we prepare others to give feedback in a way that is useful for the writer and values our own time?This episode, Matthew Sroka chats with Erika Bass about her article "Using university–school partnerships to facilitate preservice teachers' reading and responding to student writing. We discuss challenges with providing feedback and how these challenges impact pre-service teachers. We then explore the power of authentic feedback opportunities through a local school partnership. 

Erika L. Bass is an Assistant Professor of English Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research focuses on writing instruction, rural education, and teacher preparation; often those areas converge. She is currently working on a book manuscript on critically placed writing with rural high school students, conducting rural-focused book studies with secondary English teachers in her state, and writing feedback partnership to help preservice teachers engage in providing writing feedback to high school students. She is also a member of the Whippoorwill Award Committee for rural Young Adult novels and serves as the academic advisor for the English Teaching program at UNI. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dogs for walks and playing slow-pitch softball. 

Related Article:

Using university–school partnerships to facilitate preservice teachers' reading and responding to student writing.

What can teachers learn from video games? This episode, Matthew Sroka chats with Sam von Gillern about his article "Accessibility in video gaming: An overview and implications for English language arts education". We discuss how video games have been making strides to be more accessible for their users, and how teachers can learn from this to make their classrooms more accessible for all students. 

Sam von Gillern is an assistant professor of literacy education in the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum at the University of Missouri. His primary research interests include video game literacies and digital citizenship.

Related Article:

"Accessibility in video gaming: An overview and implications for English language arts education"

Poem of the Day with Meg Davis 

Have you ever found yourself dreading the teaching of poetry? Whether it’s because of your own personal feelings towards poetry or how you fear students will react to poetry? 

This episode, Matthew Sroka chats with Meg Davis about her article “Every day do something that won't compute”: Student perceptions of daily poetry practice. We discuss the poetry baggage that teachers tend to carry around and students' negative feelings towards poetry and what we as teachers can do about it.

Meg Davis is an adjunct instructor and doctoral student in English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She began teaching high school English in 2015. Meg’s classrooms focus on creative writing, contemporary poetry, and dialogic processes of learning. Meg is interested in poetry pedagogy, poetic inquiry, and practices that invite poetics more effectively and wholeheartedly into classroom spaces.

Related Article:

“Every day do something that won't compute”: Student perceptions of daily poetry practice