[275] Registration deadline nears for Jan. 30 MTSU Literacy Research Conference

Fourth annual event targets researchers, practitioners

MURFREESBORO — Researchers and others interested in literacy education are again invited to attend the Literacy Research Conference set for Jan. 30 at Middle Tennessee State University.

The deadline to register for the fourth annual conference is Jan. 15. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the College of Education Building. The cost is $10. Participants can register and learn more at www.mtsu.edu/literacy/conference.php.

Hosted by MTSU’s Literacy Studies Ph.D. Program, the conference provides a venue for students and established scholars to present research related to literacy. Organizers invite researchers and practitioners from various disciplines such as education, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience to attend and participate.

“We encourage presentations of original literacy research, as well as research in progress,” said Dr. Amy Elleman, an assistant professor in the literacy program. “We are especially interested in literacy research that helps bridge the research to practice gap in education.”

Keynote speaker for the conference will be Doug Fuchs, Ph.D., professor and Nicholas Hobbs Chair in Special Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. Fuchs has been a principal investigator on 35 federally funded literacy grants, has published more than 200 peer-reviewed studies and has been named one of the most highly cited researchers in the social sciences.

The conference will showcase more than 30 spoken and poster presentations on current literacy research topics, including vocabulary acquisition, writing strategy instruction for ESL learners, fluency instruction and assessment, and others.

Those interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in literacy can learn more about MTSU’s program at http://www.mtsu.edu/literacy. The interdisciplinary program draws on faculty from the College of Education, the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts. It offers flexible courses, field experiences as well as teaching and research opportunities.

Graduate students and practitioners who attend the conference will have the opportunity to meet faculty members and students in MTSU’s doctoral program.