Ph.D. candidate, Chris Kolb (Literacy Education) has been awarded the Robert Schreiner Reading Fellowship. The fellowship is designed to support a Ph.D. candidate’s dissertation research in reading education. Awardees are selected based on the importance of the research, the clarity with which it is described, and the potential the work has for making a significant contribution to the field. We recently interviewed Chris to learn a little bit more about his experiences and what he’s enjoying about his research.
What is most exciting about your work/research/studies?
For my current study, I spent about three months observing teaching and learning activities in a suburban high school English classroom. One of my main goals was to examine how classroom participants adopted or challenged dominant social and institutional beliefs about what it means to read and to be a reader, particularly in the context of a curriculum based on Common Core State Standards. This kind of research is exciting because it helps us understand not only how top-down standards initiatives and other institutional policies can constrain curricula and pedagogical practices, but also how these policies might ultimately influence how students perceive themselves as learners. Ultimately, I hope that my work contributes to efforts to develop literacy standards and curricula that encourage many kinds of literate identities among youth.
What really motivates you?
I have always approached my teaching and research as forms of social justice work. I am motivated by possibilities for improving literacy education for all youth, regardless of background or social identity. When I was a K-12 student, literacy and English education opened many doors for me. My goal is to help make the same possible for all students.
What have you most enjoyed about your experience in your program?
I’ve most enjoyed the opportunity to work with kind and insightful colleagues through every stage of my program — not only in different subfields of literacy education, but also in other fields across C&I. My teaching and scholarship have benefited (and changed) so much because of collaborations with graduate students and faculty in literacy education, social studies education, language education, and culture and teaching (to name just a few). I’d encourage all new students to reach across disciplinary boundaries in our department; they’re less solid than they sometimes seem.
Do you have hobbies or activities that you do outside of work?
It can be difficult to maintain space, both physical and intellectual, outside of academic work. Academic books tend to outnumber the leisurely ones, and it’s easy to spend each day thinking about writing and research questions. However, I do enjoy reading fiction, cooking and baking, enjoying Minnesota’s many lakes, and spending time with friends and family.
Do you have a book you would recommend to anyone?
One of my favorite books is The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I’d especially recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery novels (this was one of the first).
Visit the C&I website to learn more about the Literacy Education program area or the Ph.D. track in Literacy Education.
