Classroom Caffeine

Dr. Amélie Lemieux talks to us about authenticity and vulnerability, posthumanism, and the broad scope of literacies. Dr. Lemieux’s research interests include Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility policies as it relates to reading research, literature teaching, and multimodality, all informed by phenomenological and posthumanist perspectives.  Her most recent project includes investigating adolescents’ digital literacy pr...

Dr. Bradley Robinson talks to us about artificial intelligence technologies, including how we can critically approach possibilities for teaching and learning with AI, and the deeply human nature of the ways AI tools were built. Brad is known for his work focusing on the creative and critical capacities of digital technologies in literacy education. Specifically, he has examined topics like novice video game design, digital platform...

Dr. Hiller Spires talks to us about the PBI global framework, creating to learn, and how we can support students with a global village. Dr. Spires is known for her work in the areas of digital and disciplinary literacies and project-based inquiry (PBI) global for diverse learners. Hiller has conducted extensive research, teaching and engagement with teachers in China for which she received NC State’s Jackson A. Rigney International...

Dr. Michael Spikes talks to us about reliability, credibility, and relevance of news media, fundamentals of communication, and staying curious in a wide world of media. Dr. Spikes is known for his work in media literacy education, news media literacy, and youth media. He has more than a decade experience as a practitioner and scholar of news media literacy in previous positions with Stony Brook University, Washington DC Public Scho...

In this episode, Dr. Elena Forzani talks to us about reading as meaning making, multiple modes of communication, and literacy assessment. Dr. Forzani is known for her work centering on using multiple and mixed methods to understand and support digital literacies practices across the elementary and secondary levels. In particular, her work investigates the cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational dimensions of online reading, and ...

Dr. Pamela Mason is known for her work studying the role of culturally sustaining pedagogy in promoting literacy achievement, the interaction of text complexity and background knowledge, qualitative and quantitative literacy assessment, and the efficacy of the roles of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches. Dr. Mason collaborates with colleagues nationally and globally on preparing reading specialist teachers and literacy coache...

Dr. Compton-Lilly is known for her work in the areas of early reading and writing, Reading Recovery, and family literacy practices in local and global contexts, particularly with families from underserved communities. Her current interests include examining how time operates as a contextual factor in children’s lives as they progress through school and construct their identities as students and readers. She is engaged in longitudin...

Dr. Robert Petrone talks to us about reconsidering structures of schools, valuing the expertise of young people, and how he learned about these ideas in a seemingly unlikely place, the skatepark. Dr. Petrone is known for his interdisciplinary work, particularly as he examines the cultural production of ideas of “age,” “youth” and “adolescence,” explores youth cultural, learning, and literacy practices beyond school contexts, and co...

Dr. Stephanie Lemley talks to us about agriculture literacies and connecting with our communities. Stephanie is known for her work in the areas of disciplinary literacies and specifically agricultural education. Dr. Lemley recently served as a Mississippi Education Policy Fellow. She is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education at Mississippi State University.

Resources from this episode:

• Mississippi Blues Trail Curr...

Bethlene Ferdinand is known for her work in the areas of educational leadership and health and wellness. Ms. Ferdinand is from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island west of Barbados. She holds a BA in Linguistics, a Postgraduate Diploma in the Teaching of English and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. Bethlene has worked for eight years as a secondary school Educa...

Dr. Erin Mahon and Judy-Ann Allison Auld talk to us about special education in the Caribbean context, the prime positioning of the Eastern Caribbean islands for growth in inclusive teaching practices, and research collaboration with teachers and school leaders. Erin is known for her work investigating special education and inclusive practices in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. Judy-Ann is best known for her work in the areas of...

Dr. Leacock is known for her work in the areas of literacy and numeracy, including the teaching and learning of mathematics, student achievement, technology use in education, democratizing classrooms, and literacy across the curriculum. Dr. Leacock is the Project Coordinator for the RISE Caribbean research team and a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education and Research Methods in the School of Education at the University of the We...

Dr. Skerrett is known for her work in the areas of secondary English and literacy education in urban contexts, including among transnational youth. Dr. Skerrett’s book, Teaching Transnational Youth: Literacy and Education in a Changing World published by Teachers College Press in 2015, is the first to examine the educational opportunities and challenges arising from increasing numbers of students living and attending school across ...

Dr. Dana Robertson talks to us about connections between conversation and music, the power of motivation and engagement, and opportunities for creating meaningful contexts for learning in schools. Dana is known for his work focused on classroom discussion and teachers’ talk, reading and writing challenges, and literacy professional learning through coaching and whole school literacy improvement. Through each of these projects, he h...

Drs. Amy Vetter and Melissa Schieble talk to us about teacher agency, community, and critical conversations. A third scholar, Kahdeidra Monét Martin, is also involved in their recent research. Amy is known for her work in understanding how classroom interactions impact developing reader and writer identities as well as teacher identities, the role of critical conversations in educational settings, and the impotence of learning from...

Dr. Shea Kerkhoff talks to us about literacies in the disciplines, an inquiry stance, and authentic learning. She is known for her work in disciplinary literacies, adolescent literacy instruction, and literacies in global contexts. She utilizes mixed methods to investigate critical, digital, and global literacies. Her research centers on integrating inquiry-based global learning with adolescent literacy instruction. She is co-autho...

Dr. Lakeya Afolalu talks to us about freedom, identity as an outcome of language and literacy, and arts as a key to communicating and expression. Dr. Afolalu is known for her work that explores the role of language and literacies in Black African immigrant youth identity constructions and negotiations across school, community, and digital spaces. As an artist and advocate, as well as a former middle school teacher, Lakeya pays part...

Dr. Jerome Harste talks to us about writing in early childhood, the inherent social risks in writing, Sketch to Stretch writing, arts-based ways of communicating, kids as curricular informants, teachers as intellectuals and philosophers, and schools as spaces of possibility. Dr. Harste is best known for his work exploring young children’s written language literacy learning, connecting arts and literacies, and critical literacies. A...