|
| |
 |  | Michael W. Smith is a professor at Temple University’s College of Education. He joined the ranks of college teachers after 11 years of teaching high school. In his research he analyzes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
experienced readers and writers need as well as what motivates adolescents’ reading and writing outside school. He uses these analyses to think about how to design more effective curricula and instruction. He has been Chair of
the Literature Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association, co-Chair of the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research, and co-editor of Research in the Teaching of English. He was recently elected as a Fellow of the National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy. He received the 2003
David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the
Teaching of English for his book "Reading Don't Fix No
Chevys"; Literacy in the Lives of Young Men. |
Michael W. Smith's Selected Presentations
National and International Presentations
| Michael’s recent presentations have focused on ways to prepare students to be successful in their reading and writing through meaningful social activity and how the insights he gained from his study of the literate lives of young men shed light on how to increase the motivation and achievement of all students. |
Comments From Participants
| Michael has worked with teachers from Maine to California in interactive and thought-provoking workshops. Here are some comments on his work: “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. At lunch everyone was talking about how we could center our four year writing plan around the methods you presented.” And “Thank you so much for keynoting and teaching. Were your ears burning? The comments on the evaluations were terrific. I can’t thank you enough.” |
|
Published Works by Michael W. Smith
Going With the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and Girls) in Their Literacy Learning
|  Michael Smith and Jeffrey Wilhelm share new and powerful ways to build strong literacy habits in adolescent boys—and girls. |
"Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys”: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men
|  Smith and Wilhelm's book has the potential to inspire rich inquiry into boys’ experiences, to challenge common stereotypes, and to cultivate connections between nonschool literacies and productive textual engagement in classroom—work to which all teachers need to attend. |
Language of Interpretation, The: Patterns of Discourse in Discussions of Literature
|  In this book Michael and his co-authors analyze the patterns of discourse that characterize discussions of literature and explore why these patterns persist despite efforts at reform. Included is an in-depth analysis of adult book club discussions that provides an alternative model of discussion to which teachers can aspire. |
Additional Books and Upcoming Publications
| Michael and co-author Jeff Wilhelm recently completed Going with the Flow: Making Literacy Learning Like Life. He was also a part of the authorship team for Hampton-Brown's Edge, an antholgy series designed for struggling and ELL adolescent readers. In addition Michael has written two monographs in NCTE’s Research and Theory into Practice series and (with Peter Rabinowitz) Authorizing Readers: Resistance and Respect in the Teaching of Literature. |
|
Related Resources
Education and Professional Experiences
| Currently Michael is a professor at Temple University, but prior to that he spent a decade at Rutgers University as a professor in the department of teaching and learning. He also was a professor in curriculum and instruction at UW-Madison, and before that he spent ten years as a high school English teacher in a Chicago suburb. |
Honors and Awards
| He is an award recipient of the NCTE David H. Russell for Research in the Teaching of English. In addition he is a fellow of the National Conference on the Research in Language and Literacy and the recipient of graduate school and high school teaching awards. |
Reading PowerPoint Presentation
| Come inside a PowerPoint presentation from Michael W. Smith entitled, "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys”: Motivating and Assisting the Reading and Writing of Boys (and Girls Too!). |
Writing PowerPoint Presentation
| Go inside another of Michael's presentations, this time the PowerPoint is entitled, "Going with the Flow: Making Learning to Write Like Learning in Life." |
|
|
