Reading Department Website

The University at Albany's Teacher Education Program is designed to prepare responsive and reflective teachers framed by three key areas of educational research and instruction: (a) research informed practice, (b) teacher sensitivity to human diversity and the contexts in which learning occurs, and (c) professionalism associated with learning to learn. This program is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for a period of 5 years, from April 30, 2006 to April 30, 2011. In the Reading Department, this includes the MS in Literacy, MS in Special Education and Literacy (1 and 2), and MS in Early Childhood/Childhood (Literacy).

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
--Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963), "Music at Night", 1931

Jennifer Maestre--Sea Urchin (current exhibit at Albany International Airport)

Last Updated: July 4, 2009

Recent Publications, Presentations, Awards, Grants

Sheehy, M. (2009). Can the literacy practices of an after-school programme be be practised in school? A study of literacies from a spatial perspective. Pedagogy, culture, and society, 17 (2), 141-160.

Wissman, K. (2009, April). "Travels with teachers, texts, and triangulation: Exploring the LitScapes of adolescents in a teacher inquiry community." Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.

Wissman, K. (2009, April). "³Today I am a poem²: Exploring the literacy practices of urban adolescents in two novels for young adults." Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.

Anderson, K. (2009) "Supporting Struggling Readers in the Development of Word Solving Skill." A presentation at the New York State Reading Association, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Carr, L., Jensen, P., & Yanoff, E. (2009, March 30). "Response to Intervention: Supporting Readers through Assessment and Instructional Planning." Paper presented at the New York State Reading Association Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Rosenthal, I., Mahar, D., Cohen, S., & Goatley, V. (2009, March). "College reading educators present: Literacy online - templates for success." A presentation at the New York State Reading Association,Saratoga Springs, NY.

Sandoval, P., Curran, J., Bell, K., & Goatley, V. (2009, February). "Building a state collaborative to track the impact of teacher education programs on P-12 student learning." A presentation at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education annual conference, Chicago, IL.

Sheehy, M. (2009)." Learning to grow: Literacy across the curriculum." Keynote address, Schenectady Public Schools Superintendent's Day Conference, March 27.

Yanoff, E., Gill, J., Hallenbeck, J., Jensen, P., MackNair, A., Novak, J.,and A. Roe (2009). Writing with young children: A review of Already Ready and Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for our Youngest Writers. Language and Literacy Spectrum, 19.

Dozier, C. (2009, March). Responsive Literacy Coaching: Developing Respectful, Caring Instructional Relationships.
Illinois Reading Council Conference. Powerpoint available--click here

Dozier, C. (2009, January). Creating a Learning Community through Responsive Literacy Coaching. Albany City Area Reading Council.

Wissman, K. (2009). Reading and becoming living authors: Urban girls pursuing a poetry of self-definition. English Journal, 98 (3), 39-45.

Hinchman, K. A., Malavasic, J. T., & Michel, P. A. (2009). Two important strategies for students who struggle. Educator's Voice, p. 22-27.

Sheehy, M. (2009). Response to Intervention: What does it mean for secondary schools? Featured speaker, International Reading Association, Annual Convention-West. Phoenix, AZ.

Wissman, K. (2009, February). Developing research pedagogies for literacies research with adolescents. Paper presented at the Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA.

Wissman, K., Aydinian, M., Costello, S., Hamilton, D., & Hushmendy, D. (2009, February). ³No more paperwork!²: Adolescents, multimodal literacies,and teacher inquiry. Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia,PA.

For archived publications, click here.

Comings, Goings and Promotions in the Reading Department..

Jolene Malavasic (PhD, Syracuse University). We welcome Jolene to the Department as our newest full-time faculty member. Dr. Malavasic received her Ph.D. from Syracuse University and spent the past two years as an Assistant Professor in the Literacy Department at SUNY Cortland. Prior to that she worked at the Baldwinsville School District as a middle school reading specialist. Her research interests include adolescent friendships and identity construction, along with the multiple ways they intersect with the literacies adolescents enact both in and outside of the school setting. Jolene will be teaching core master's courses at both the elementary and secondary levels. Her office is in ED 331.

Stephanie Affinito (CAS, University at Albany; doctoral candidate) . Stephanie has been teaching in the Department for several years both as a lecturer and online program manager. She now joins the full-time faculty in a new position. Stephanie is working on her PhD in the Reading Department; her dissertation will focus on literacy coaches.

Reading Department Honored...

The Reading Department has been ranked second in the United States for 2006-7 by Academics Analytics, in terms of productivity of faculty in the nation's doctoral programs in teacher education subject areas. Academic Analytics measures the annual productivity of faculty on several factors including:

Publications (books and journal articles)
Citations of journal publications
Federal Research Funding
Awards and Honors

For details, click here.

Changes to the number of courses you can take in the summer: We have changed the policy on the number of courses that can be taken in the summer, to accommodate students taking 12-week courses. (It doesn't affect 4-week and 6-week courses, that remains the same). For details, click here.

Important notice if you are graduating in August, 2009. You must apply for your degree on your MyUAlbany account. The deadline is July 1st.

Changes to Summer 09 Schedule:

ERDG625 (#2666) will now be taught by Stephanie Affinito

ERDG500 (#3715) will now be taught by Trudy Walp and will be totally taught oncampus on Tues and Thur from 2:00-5:30 pm in HU 32.

Courses with openings in Summer 09: The following courses have seats available to students who have it listed in their program plans:

ERDG504 (#3717)

ERDG625 (#3719) --but note that this course requires a cpn# (from Linda Papa); it can be taken as an elective for B-6 and 5-12 students, but for Childhood Ed/Early Childhood Ed it MUST be taken in your last semester..

Keep checking this Bulletin Board for announcements--other courses may have additional openings!

Advance Registration for Summer and Fall 2009 began March 31st. AVN's and CPNs have been available from advisors since March 10th. Check your program plan and course schedules and request an avn or cpn for courses you wish to take in Summer and Fall. Don't know the procedure? Check here. We strongly recommend registering as early as you possibly can, many core courses fill up very quickly.

Courses showing up as having seats available on MyUAlbany? Courses controlled by CPNs (including ALL Reading online courses) often show seats available, even though they are full. That's because students have been given their cpn but haven't yet registered.

Note Changes to Fall Schedule

In addition to the online section of ETAP612 (only for online RDG students), ETAP 612 is being offered on campus (T 4:15 - 7:05 pm), and is open to all reading students who have it listed in their program plan. This course was inadvertently omitted from our listing.

ERDG 600 (23820) will meet on Tuesdays from 5:45-8:35 in HU39, not 4:15-7:05 as was previously noted on the Fall Schedule.

ERDG 610 (23822) will now be an online course, and will not be taught on Wed 4:15-7:05 as was previously noted on the Fall Schedule.

Reminder: Dept policy forbids taking more than 6 credits in a given summer session:

Please read the notice at the top of the Summer Schedule before making your final selections for the summer. Click here for details.

Waitlists for Summer online courses, for on campus students You may contact Trudy Walp (trudy@chestercreekpress.com) to be placed on waitlists for online courses. Please read the waitlist policy before emailing Trudy (click here for details).

Important news for PhD candidates

The University no longer requires hardbound originals of your dissertation. It can be submitted electronically. This amounts to a substantial saving in costs and preparation time. For details, click here.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21st, 8AM was the first day to put your name on the waitlist for the following oncampus courses for Summer 2009: ERDG 600 and ERDG 620 and Fall 2009: ERDG 600, ERDG 620 and ERDG 623. Email Mary Unser (reading@csc.albany.edu)

CAS, PhD program updates

The Graduate Academic Council has recently approved substantial changes to our CAS program. If you are a current CAS student, you should consider taking advantage of the changes (click here for details). We have also updated the policies and procedures for assistantships and fellowships for both PhD and CAS students.

If you are in the MS in Literacy degree, you will need to pass the CST in Literacy to receive your teaching certificate in Literacy. Read details here for exam registration information and test booklet.