Teaching Experience

Because I primarily teach courses preparing students to become English teachers, I see outcomes in terms of attitudes and practices that will benefit my students future students. So, we try to experience the instructional practices teachers might consider and reflect on their challenges and benefits so that we can learn to adapt instruction for the students’ best learning. I want my students to have the best research and experience to ground their future teaching practices.

Research

I am interested in helping teachers become the best teachers of writing and language that they can be. To that end, I study research and theory, and translate it into classroom practices for teachers who don’t have the luxury of reading and synthesizing all that background. I like to try out practices in classrooms when I can to make sure I am still grounded in the reality of classrooms.

Selected Publications

• What Works in Writing Instruction: Research and Practice, 2nd edition. National Council of Teachers of English, 2021.
• Teaching Grammar in the Secondary Classroom, Quick Reference Guide. National Council of Teachers of English, 2020.
• Teaching Secondary Writing, Quick Reference Guide. National Council of Teachers of English, 2019.
• Strategic Writing: The Writing Process and Beyond in Secondary Schools, 2nd edition. National Council of Teachers of English, 2017.
• Revision Decisions: Talking through Sentences and Beyond (with Jeff Anderson). Stenhouse, 2014.
• Genre Theory: Teaching, Writing, Being. National Council of Teachers of English, 2008.

Service

I want to be a positive contributor to my department and to the university. Beyond that, I hope to serve my profession by contributing positively to teachers and helping them develop themselves as teachers through professional opportunities.

Citizenship assignments

Director of Central Utah Writing Project
Director of English teaching program
Chair of rank and status committee
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education
Associate Chair, English Department