Leading the Way in Teaching and Innovating Literacy Instruction

Faculty in the NC State College of Education are engaged in literacy research, teaching and outreach activities that help translate scientific evidence into high-quality teacher preparation and reading, writing, and English language arts instruction for children in grades K-12.

Meet Our Faculty

Sarah Cannon

Title: Assistant Teaching Professor
Ph.D.: NC State University
Sarah Cannon is interested in how to best support teacher candidates during a standardized performance-based assessment, the intersection of the standards movement with the critical need for multicultural education, and writing instruction as a tool for social justice.

Meet Dr. Cannon

Maria Coady

Title: Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Educational Equity
Ph.D.: University of Colorado, Boulder
Maria Coady focuses on rural multilingual (ML) students and the preparation of educators who work with them.

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Dennis Davis

Title: Associate Professor
Ph.D.: Vanderbilt University
Dennis Davis focuses on upper-elementary literacy instruction with an emphasis on reading comprehension, assessment and intervention support for students when they have difficulties in reading.

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Jill Grifenhagen

Title: Associate Professor
Ph.D.: Vanderbilt University
Jill Grifenhagen focuses on academic language and literacy learning in early childhood classrooms (PreK-3rd grade) and teacher development and supports increasing teacher efficacy in these areas.

Meet Dr. Grifenhagen

Jill Jones

Title: Assistant Teaching Professor
Ph.D.: NC State University
Jill Jones focuses on teacher scaffolding in small-group reading instruction, intervention for students needing more support in reading, and effective literacy instruction in elementary classrooms.

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Devin Kearns

Title: Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy
Ph.D.: Vanderbilt University
Devin Kearns studies the cognitive and neurobiological basis of reading and to help schools better implement multi-tiered systems of support to increase the literacy success of all students.

Meet Dr. Kearns

Crystal Chen Lee

Title: Assistant Professor
Ed.D.: Columbia University
Crystal Chen Lee focuses on literacy, teacher education, community engagement and marginalized youth. She examines how literacy, especially critical literacy, can lead to increased youth advocacy, leadership and community engagement for marginalized youth.

Meet Dr. Lee

Jackie Relyea

Title: Assistant Professor
Ph.D.: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jackie Relyea focuses on literacy development of K-6 multilingual students and literacy intervention that emphasizes academic vocabulary and content knowledge development and reading engagement.

Meet Dr. Relyea

Hiller Spires

Title: Professor Emerita
Ph.D.: University of South Carolina
Hiller Spires focuses on digital literacies and related theories and practices that are being prompted by emerging technologies, including project-based inquiry, game-based learning, video as textual production and teacher education.

Meet Dr. Spires

Angela Wiseman

Title: Associate Professor
Ph.D.: University of Pennsylvania
Angela Wiseman focuses on children’s literature and family literacy, with a specific focus on the use of picturebooks and trauma-informed literacy.

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Carl Young

Title: Associate Professor
Ph.D.: University of Virginia
Carl Young focuses on new literacies and related theories and practices that are motivated by emerging digital technologies including social media as a tool for enhancing ELA content knowledge and digital video as narrative text and project-based inquiry.

Meet Dr. Young

How the College of Education Became Literacy Leaders

NC State’s College of Education aligns coursework and field experiences to prepare effective elementary education teachers equipped to address early literacy needs.

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Literacy news

More literacy stories

Literacy and Community Initiative Shares Framework for Critical Literacy and Successes of Program in New Book

The success of the Literacy and Community Initiative and its critical literacy framework are outlined in a new book entitled Amplifying Youth Voices through Critical Literacy and Positive Youth Development: The Potential of University-Community Partnerships, which is written by Associate Professor Crystal Chen Lee, Professor and Friday Institute Deputy Director Jose Picart and recent College of Education graduate Jennifer C. Mann ’23PHD.

College of Education Scholars Set Record for Research Expenditures, Receive Multiple NSF CAREER Grants During 2023-2024 Fiscal Year

Researchers in the NC State College of Education, including the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, set a new college record for research expenditures during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with a total of $20,443,364 spent conducting research.

Meet Devin Kearns: ‘Literacy Success is Having the Skills to Advance Your Own Goals’

Devin Kearns is joining the NC State College of Education during the 2024-2025 academic year as the inaugural Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy, a professorship established by longtime NC State supporters Ann and Jim Goodnight to support the activities of a professor who focuses on teaching the science of reading in early literacy.

Literacy Courses

Our faculty offer innovative courses for pre-service and in-service teachers and emerging researchers across several program areas.

Browse Our Courses