Routledge Handbook of Instructional Practices for Literacy Teacher-educators: Examples and Reflections From the Teaching Lives of Literacy Scholars

This volume offers a unique glimpse into the teaching approaches and thinking of a wide range of well-known literacy researchers, and the lessons they have learned from their own teaching lives. The contributors teach in a variety of universities, programs, and settings. Each shares an approach he or she has used in a course, and introduces the syllabus for this course through personal reflections that give the reader a sense of the theories, prior experiences, and influential authors that have shaped their own thoughts and approaches. In addition to describing the nature of their students and the program in which the course is taught, many authors also share key issues with which they have grappled over the years while teaching their course; others discuss considerations that were relevant during the preparation of this particular syllabus or describe how it evolved in light of student input. The book is organized by areas within literacy education: reading; English/language arts; literature; emergent literacy; content-area literacy; literacy assessment and instruction; literacy and technology; and inquiries into literacy, theory, and classroom practice. It is accompanied by an interactive Web site: http://msit.gsu.edu/handbook. This online resource provides additional information about the authors' courses including complete syllabi, recommended readings, grading rubrics, and sample assignments. Readers are invited to respond and contribute their own syllabi and teaching experiences to the discourse generated by the volume. Review "Provides a glimpse into the teaching approaches and thinking of some well-known literacy teacher educators....The choice of contributors is impressive....I need this book for my personal library."—Janet RichardsUniversity of Southern Mississippi "A valuable resource tool for both the novice and experienced literacy educator....When the contributors talk about the way they organize and teach their classes, develop goals for their students, and describe the problems they struggle with, they provide a more complete picture of the professor at work. Teaching excellence doesn't happen overnight. The accounts describe the process by which professors grow and learn through continuous evaluation of their instruction."—Marcia PoppSouthern Illinois University-Edwardsville "All literacy scholars will want to purchase this book. It will serve as a guide for new instructors, a tool for self-reflection and revision for established instructors, and an excellent resource book for doctoral literacy courses."—Elizabeth K. WilsonUniversity of Alabama