C&I PhD candidates in literacy education and Pearson Family Fellowship recipients,  Laura Lemanski and Yongjun Lee, had the opportunity to meet with fellowship donor David P. Pearson, at the Literacy Research Association conference in Tampa, Florida this December.

The Pearson Family Fellowship is awarded to literacy education doctoral students who conduct reading research in collaboration with the Minnesota Center for Reading Research. Pearson is one of the leading researchers in the field of reading education and has served on the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Reading Conference, and as an advisor to the National Academy of Science and he Children’s Television Network, among others.

Lemanski studies disciplinary literacy and children’s literature. Her research dissertation will focus on how grief and loss take shape in the classroom and how stories help people navigate those losses. She is advised by Marek Oziewicz and David O’Brien.

Lee studies content learning in academic disciplines and his dissertation will focus on how students monitor and control cognitive, affective, and motivational aspects to achieve their reading goals during a reading task. He is advised by David O’Brien.

Find out more about the PhD program in literacy education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.