Focus on Teacher Education:
Recommended Reading

Books

Click on a title to find a detailed description, and to browse contents and sample chapters.

Teachers Taking Action: A Comprehensive Guide to Teacher Research, edited by Cynthia A. Lassonde and Susan E. Israel

Beating the Odds: Getting Published in the Field of Literacy, edited by Shelley B. Wepner and Linda B. Gambrell

How We “Do” School: Poems to Encourage Teacher Reflection, Karen Morrow Durica

Learning to Be Literacy Teachers in Urban Schools: Stories of Growth and Change, Althier M. Lazar

Literacy Teacher Preparation: Ten Truths Teacher Educators Need to Know, edited by Susan Davis Lenski, Dana L. Grisham, and Linda S. Wold

Preparing Reading Professionals: A Collection From the International Reading Association

In addition to the preceding books about teacher education, IRA publishes numerous books appropriate for use as core and supplementary texts in teacher education programs. Browse the books area of this website, and then request an examination copy of a title of interest.

Articles

From recent issues of the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy:

“‘Walking the walk’ with teacher education candidates: Strategies for promoting active engagement with assigned readings,” by Susan K. L’Allier and Laurie Elish-Piper (Feb. 2007; vol. 50, no. 5)

“‘The teacher said my story was excellent’: Preservice teachers reflect on the role of the “external” in writing,” by Brandi Gribble Mathers, Susan Kushner Benson, and Evangeline Newton (Dec. 2006/Jan. 2007; vol. 50, no. 4)

“‘Trust the fungus’: Lessons in media literacy learned from the movies,” by Lori A. Norton-Meier (April 2005; vol. 48, no. 7)

“Strategies to support balanced literacy approaches in pre- and inservice teacher education,” by Rachel Heydon, Kathryn Hibbert, and Luigi Iannacci (Dec. 2004/Jan. 2005; vol. 48, no. 4)

“Looking for critical literacy with postbaccalaureate content area literacy students,” by Mellinee Lesley (Dec. 2004/Jan. 2005; vol. 48, no. 4)

“Multimodality of learning through anchored instruction,” by Mary Susan Love (Dec. 2004/Jan. 2005; vol. 48, no. 4)

“Literacy, literature, and diversity,” by KaaVonia Hinton and Theodorea Berry (Dec. 2004/Jan. 2005; vol. 48, no. 4)

Selected articles from Reading Research Quarterly, the field’s leading research journal:

“Dialogic narratives of literacy, teaching, and schooling: Preparing literacy teachers for diverse settings,” by Theresa Rogers, Elizabeth Marshall, and Cynthia A. Tyson (April/May/June 2006; vol. 41, no. 2)  FREE!

“International reports on literacy research: Teacher preparation,” (Jan./Feb./March 2006; vol. 41, no. 1)  FREE!

“Dialogue online: Prospective teachers’ discourse strategies in computer-mediated discussions,” by Suzanne E. Wade and Janice R. Fauske (April/May/June 2004; vol. 39, no. 2)

“Achieving the goal of a quality teacher of reading for every classroom: Divest, test, or invest?,” by James V. Hoffman (Jan./Feb./March 2004; vol. 39, no. 1)

“Reading teacher education in the next millennium: What your grandmother’s teacher didn’t know that your granddaughter’s teacher should,” by James V. Hoffman and P. David Pearson (Jan./Feb./March 2000; vol. 35, no. 1)

“‘What is this literachurch stuff anyway?’: Preservice teachers’ growth in understanding children’s literary response,” by Shelby A. Wolf, Angela A. Carey, and Erikka L. Mieras (April/May/June 1996; vol. 31, no. 2)

From The Reading Teacher, which focuses on primary and elementary instruction:

“Professional development for literacy—who’s in charge?,” by Charlene Cobb (Dec. 2005/Jan. 2006; vol. 59, no. 4)

“Using children’s literature to inspire K–8 preservice teachers’ future mathematics pedagogy,” by Robin A. Ward (Oct. 2005; vol. 59, no. 2)

“Correspondence journals: Talk that matters,” by Patrica L. Bloem (Sept. 2004; vol. 58, no. 1)

From Reading Online, IRA’s freely available e-journal, which focuses on technology and literacy, including distance learning:

“‘I know them better than students in my on-campus courses’: Exploring a personalized approach to online instruction,” by Joyce E. Many, Faith H. Wallace, Judy Stephenson, and Lisa Eickholdt (Sept. 2004; vol. 8, no. 2)

“Practice makes practice, or does it? The relationship between theory and practice in teacher education,” by Jerome C. Harste, Christine Leland, Kristina Schmidt, Vivian Vasquez and Anne Ociepka (Jan./Feb. 2004; vol. 7, no. 4)

“Technology for engaged learning in a literacy methods course,” by Denise A. Schmidt, Donna J. Merkley, Carol J. Fuhler and Sara J. Rinkleff-Frizelle (Jan./Feb. 2004; vol. 7, no. 4)

“Encouraging the use of technology in the classroom: The WebQuest connection,” by Anne D’Antonio Stinson (March 2003; vol. 6, no. 5)

“Preparing teachers of the 21st century: Creating technological literacy in a teacher education program,” by Sandra M. Stokes, Timothy U. Kaufman, and Arthur Lacey (Dec. 2002)

“Building cultural understanding and communication: A model in seven situations,” by Greta K. Nagel (Nov. 2002)

“Variations on a cybermentoring theme: Six literacy projects involving preservice teachers and students across grade levels,” by Gerald H. Maring, Erik W. Levy, and Jason A. Schmid (Nov. 2002)

“Exploring diversity issues in teacher education,” by Shelley Hong Xu (July 2001)

“Dilemmas in teacher education,” by Tara S. Azwell, Anne C. Hamilton, Delores E. Heiden, and Joyce K. McCauley (April 2000)

“Children’s literature in teacher-preparation programs,” by Allison K. Hoewish (Feb. 2000)

From Reading Today, the Association’s bimonthly newspaper:

“Shanahan speech spotlights why we teach reading,” (Aug/Sept 2007) FREE!

“Promoting pleasure reading: The role of models, mentors, and motivators,” (Aug/Sept 2007) FREE!

“National Writing Project’s time-tested approach evolves and adapts to a new millennium,” (June/July 2007) FREE!

“IRA offers Certificate of Distinction for teacher preparation programs in reading,” (April/May 2007) FREE!

“Reading specialists, reading teachers, reading coaches: A question of credentials,” by Richard L. Allington. (February/March 2006)  FREE!

“Growing readers and writers,” (February/March 2006)  FREE!