ES3119
Biography
I am a former elementary teacher, literacy coach and curriculum designer. I taught middle school literacy and social studies in Chicago Public Schools for seven years. From this experience, I developed a research interest in culturally sustaining writing instruction /assessment enacted by teachers of color for students of color. I consider myself to be a public intellectual committed to analyzing and exploring issues pertaining to social justice, oppression and equity in education.
Much of my research revolves around the enactment of culturally sustaining theory through written and spoken feedback as well as culturally sustaining writing and assessments providing healing spaces for students to write themselves in the world.
Education:
- Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction with Language, Literacy and Culture as specialization, University of Illinois at Chicago (2018)
- M.A. Roosevelt University, Elementary Education, (2012)
- MFA Chicago State University, Creative Writing- African American Diaspora/Fiction Writing, (2012)
- B.A. University of Illinois at Chicago, English, (2010)
Courses:
- EDUC-E340 Methods of Teaching Reading
Interests:
- Culturally Sustaining Literacy Instruction and Assessments/Feedback
- Wounded Healing
- Urban Education
Recent Publications:
- Woodard, R., Vaughn, A., Phillips, N., & Taylor, K. (2018). Cultivating urban literacies through a pedagogy of spatial justice. Voices from the Middle, 25(3), 28-31.