Director Information
Tracey S. Hodges, Ph.D.
Director, UA Writing Project
Assistant Professor, Elementary Literacy Education
Associate Director, Belser Parton Literacy Center
Assistant Professor, Elementary Literacy Education
Associate Director, Belser Parton Literacy Center
Departments and Programs
Elementary Education Program
Reading Specialist Master’s Program
Reading Specialist Master’s Program
Education
Ph.D. Texas A&M University, 2015
Areas of Research
- Writing instruction, motivation, achievement, and assessment
- Teacher knowledge of writing instruction
- Writing self-efficacy
- Reading comprehension interventions
- Integrating empathy, social-emotional learning, and comprehension instruction
- Preservice teacher literacy development
- Content area and disciplinary literacy
Biography
Dr. Tracey S. Hodges is an assistant professor of Literacy Education at the University of Alabama. She earned her Ph.D. in 2015 from Texas A&M University, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction with a literacy emphasis and Advanced Research Methods certificate. She is a former middle grade language arts teacher, which influenced her interest in developing high quality literacy teachers. Her current research interests include developing methods, strategies, and interventions for improving writing instruction in grades K-8 and integrating children’s literature in content area and literacy instruction. She integrates high-quality literature with science, social studies, mathematics, and other content areas to improve reading and writing outcomes. She is also interested in studying how children develop empathy through reading multicultural literature and engaging in thoughtful discussions.
Dr. Hodges is on the editorial review board for the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Assessing Writing. She presents annually at the International Literacy Association, American Educational Research Association, and Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers conferences. She is also active in the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers where she serves as the Research Committee Co-Chair. She is committed to outreach with local schools, where she works with K-8 students and provides professional development for local schools.
Dr. Hodges is on the editorial review board for the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Assessing Writing. She presents annually at the International Literacy Association, American Educational Research Association, and Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers conferences. She is also active in the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers where she serves as the Research Committee Co-Chair. She is committed to outreach with local schools, where she works with K-8 students and provides professional development for local schools.
Carol Donovan, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Writing Project
Professor, Literacy Education
Director, Belser-Parton Literacy Center
Professor, Literacy Education
Director, Belser-Parton Literacy Center
Departments
Multiple Abilities Program
Special Education and Multiple Abilities
Reading Specialist Master’s Program
Special Education and Multiple Abilities
Reading Specialist Master’s Program
Education
Ph.D. University of New Mexico, 1997
Areas of Research
- Children’s Genre Knowledge Development
- Children’s Writing Development in Different Genre
- Writing Instruction
- Teachers’ and Children’s Selections and Use of Different Types of Texts
Biography
Carol Donovan is a Professor of Literacy Education who received her Ph.D. in Multicultural Teacher and Child Education with an emphasis in reading and writing from the University of New Mexico in 1997. In addition to serving as Director of the Literacy Center, she teaches courses in the undergraduate Multiple Abilities Program (MAP), an elementary level general and special education dual-licensure program in the department of Special Education and Multiple Abilities. In addition to teaching literacy methods courses in MAP, she teaches graduate literacy courses for the Reading Specialist Program, an online master’s degree and certification and provides professional development for teachers. Her research interests include children's and teachers' selections and uses of books for science, children's genre knowledge development, and children's writing development in different genre. She has published her work in journals including Reading Research Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, The Reading Teacher, Elementary School Journal, and Language Arts.