Anastasia Homer is a Ph.D. student with research interests in the areas of reading recovery and motivation to read. She currently serves as co-coordinator of America Reads at Clemson University, a federal work-study program that trains university students to tutor struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade. She is involved in research projects related to children’s reading proficiency and motivation to read. Currently, Anastasia is vice president of Alpha Epsilon Lambda, Clemson's graduate honors society and president of the graduate student organization, Carpe Diem Guild.
Emily Howell received her bachelor’s degree in English and government from Wofford College and a master’s degree in English Education from Georgia State University. She is an experienced English teacher who has taught multiple classroom levels, including middle school, high school and university. Her dissertation research is a formative experiment exploring improving students’ argument writing, both conventional and digital. Emily has spoken at both national and international conferences and has published her writing in Reading Matters and the Handbook of Research on Digital Tools for Writing Instruction in K-12 Settings.
Koti Hubbard is a doctoral student in literacy, language and culture, specializing in early literacy development. Prior to pursuing doctoral study, she received a degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in literacy education from Clemson University. Her background is in early childhood education, working in school settings with differing student demographics. Her research interests focus on early childhood writing development, struggling readers, and literature response and discussion.
Rachael Huber is a doctoral student in literacy, language and culture specializing in early literacy. Prior to attending Clemson, Rachael earned her master’s of education from Louisiana State University in curriculum and instruction. During her time in Baton Rouge, Rachael was a corps member with Teach For America, teaching in areas of high need in the capital city. She hopes her experiences will assist her as she researches social justice issues in education. Also among her research interests are early childhood literacy practices and the home/school connection.
Juan Li is a doctoral student in literacy, language and culture. She got her master’s degree in British and American Literature from Nankai University in China. She taught English in China at the university level for nine years before she decided to pursue her doctoral degree at Clemson University. Kathy’s background and teaching experiences in China have brought diversity and different perspectives to the College of Education. She is currently interested in research in early childhood reading motivation, creativity and digital literacy.
John McElroy received his Bachelor of Arts in English from San Diego Christian College and his master’s of education from Roberts Wesleyan College. His teaching experience includes middle school and high school English and social studies, as well as undergraduate composition and rhetoric. His dissertation research uses a multi-case study design to investigate how in-service teachers implement dialogic discussion in their classrooms.
Chris Massey is a former middle school and high school teacher. His areas of interest include adolescent content-area literacy, disciplinary literacy, and reading motivation and comprehension of lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and questioning adolescents. He has made research presentations at the International Reading Association, Literacy Research Association, Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers and the American Education Research Association.
Erin McClure is a doctoral student in the literacy, language and culture program at Clemson University. She earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education at Wake Forest University and master’s degree in literacy at Queens University of Charlotte. Erin has been a classroom teacher, school-based coach and K-8 Literacy Specialist for a large urban district. She has presented at numerous conferences and staff development opportunities, including the International Reading Association Conference, the Annual Four Blocks Literacy Conference and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards National Conference. Her research interests include the reading and writing connection, teacher professional development, differentiated reading instruction and reading motivation.
Sangho Pang is interested in literacy practices in an online environment. His dissertation research focuses on conducting a national survey of literacy faculty to characterize the type of literacy courses that are being offered online, what technological components and pedagogical approaches are being employed, and how online courses are different from conventional off-line courses and pedagogies. Sangho is originally from South Korea. He has a B.A. in Korean language education from Korea University in South Korea where he completed a thesis on the patterns between reading in traditional and Internet environments. He is a former high school teacher and online instructor teaching Korean language arts.
Deanna Ramey is a doctoral candidate specializing in early childhood and literacy education. She currently serves as co-coordinator of America Reads at Clemson University, a federal work-study program in which university students tutor struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade. Deanna has a keen interest in international education research. She is a member of a multi-national team investigating the trajectory of young children’s reading motivation across grade levels, and has served as an instructor on a study abroad trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy three times. Deanna is also interested in preschool teachers’ attitudes and dispositions regarding literacy and language development; self-regulation and executive function; and the role of formative experiments in education research.
