Full Professor

About

Biography

Associate Professor, Chair of the English Education program. B.S., Secondary Language Arts Education, University of Oklahoma; M.S., Instructional Leadership & Academic Curriculum, emphasis: English Education, University of Oklahoma; Ph.D., Instructional Leadership & Academic Curriculum, emphasis: English Education, University of Oklahoma.

Professor O'Donnell-Allen teaches courses in literacy pedagogy and research in the English Department at Colorado State University, where she directs the CSU Writing Project and the English Education program. Her current work focuses on the ways in which youth and educators can use critical multiliteracies as instruments for identity development, meaning construction, and social action in order to achieve a more just and peaceful world. Her most recent book with Antero Garcia is Pose, Wobble, Flow: A Culturally Proactive Guide to Literacy Teaching. Earlier books include Tough Talk, Tough Texts: Teaching English to Change the World and The Book Club Companion. She is a co-curator on the book Teaching in the Connected Learning Classroom. She has published numerous articles, chapters, and digital resources on multiliteracies, digital learning, science literacy learning, preservice teacher development, teacher inquiry, and youth literacy learning inside and outside of school. She has held numerous leadership roles in the National Writing Project, including Connected Learning Ambassador, member of the Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of the Teacher Inquiry Network.

Courses

  • CO301D: Writing in the the Disciplines: Education

    Syllabus

    This course supports future English Language Arts teacher in developing expertise in current issues in the field of education (especially literacy education) that will inform their writing for public and practitioner audiences.

  • E322: English Language for Teachers

    Syllabus

    This course is designed to help preservice English Language Arts teachers understand the structural elements of language, the ways in which teachers’ beliefs and stances regarding language use influence what happens in schools, and research-based methods to help students gain access to the power of language and the languages of power in and outside of school.

  • E401: Teaching Reading

    Syllabus

    The course is designed to help preservice English Language Arts teachers develop a conceptual framework for critical reading instruction based on current theory and research.