The
English education faculty
at Western Michigan University are committed to their teaching and
serving
the teachers of the Kalamazoo area. If you are interested in coming to
WMU as a graduate student or for your undergraduate studies, please
feel free to contact any of the faculty. We're happy to give advice and
answer questions.
Patricia Bills, Faculty Specialist (M.Ed,
University of Michigan)
Patti is closely
involved in the Third Coast Writing Project's New Teacher Initiative.
She formerly taught at Washington Writers' Academy, a magnet school
within Kalamazoo Public Schools. Her interests included encouraging new
teachers to conduct teacher
research and school-university partnerships and issues in urban
education. She is a frequent
presenter at National Writing Project conferences.
Ellen
Brinkley, Professor (Ph.D.
Michigan State University)
Ellen is the founder and director
of the Third
Coast
Writing Project. She is the author of Caught Off Guard: Teachers
Rethinking
Censorship and Controversy and publications that focus on teaching
reading and writing, MEAP writing assessment, censorship, and school
reform. Ellen is the outgoing chair of the National Writing Project's
Rural Site Network. Ellen is a former president of the Michigan Council
of Teachers of English (MCTE) and has recently worked with the College Board to
revise writing curricula and standards. Ellen recently received the
Charles Carpenter Fries Award from MCTE for her contributions to the
teaching of language and literacy in Michigan.
Jonathan
Bush, Assistant Professor (Ph.D.
Purdue University)
Jonathan specializes in
composition studies.
He is also co-director of the Third Coast Writing Project. He has also
published But Will it Work with Real
Students?: Scenarios for Teaching Secondary English Language Arts
(NCTE, 2003) with co-author Janet Alsup. His research interests include
the building of partnerships between composition studies and English
education
and the support of new teachers. He is also co-editor of the Language Arts Journal of Michigan
(LAJM) and a public-affairs officer in the US Navy Reserve.
Karen
Vocke, Assistant Professor (Ph.D,
University of Toledo)
Karen specializes in literacy and
critical
pedagogy. She has conducted research on Cuba and second-language
acquisition. She teaches reading, writing, second-language acquisition,
and children's literature and teaching methods K-12.
Her interest in global literacy is reflected in her research on
literacy
initiatives in Cuba. Karen is currently working on a book on migrant
education.
Constance
Weaver, Professor Emeritus (Ph.D.
Michigan State University)
Connie is an international
authority on reading, whole language, and
teaching grammar. Her many books include Teaching Grammar in Context,
Lessons
to Share on Teaching Grammar in Context and Reading Process
and
Practice. She is currently working on Grammar to Enhance and Enrich Student
Writing (with co-author Jonathan Bush).
Allen
Webb, Professor (Ph.D. University
of Oregon)
Allen specializes in teaching
literature. He is a well-known leader in the integration of technology
in the English classroom. He is also on the Conference on English
Education (CEE) Executive Board. He
is also a scholar of postcolonial literature and a specialist in
technology. He
has recently published Literature and Lives: A Response-Based
Cultural
Studies Approach to Teaching English. His current research involves
the structuring of doctoral programs in English education. He is also co-editor of the Language Arts Journal of Michigan
(LAJM). Allen is on sabbatical for the 2005-2006 school-year.
Other
important English Education faculty members and instructors
include
- Beth Amidon, who
teaches elementary English education, in addition to her regular
appointment in children's literature.
- Georgina Hill, the
director of our first-year writing program.
