Past Conferences
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2016 Diverse Literacies Conference
The 2016 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at the Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie. The theme of the conference was Language as a Resource for Revaluing Diverse Learners. A Pre-conference Workshop on Analyzing Miscues to Better Understand Readers was on Friday, September 23, 2016 at the Melt Restaurant at the Promenade Center in Center Valley.
Our Keynote speaker was Yetta M. Goodman. Dr. Goodman is Regents Professor Emerita at the University of Arizona, College of Education, Program of Language, Reading and Culture. This means she is supposed to be retired but she calls her |
continuing professional experiences: reengagement. She continues to consult with education departments and speaks at conferences regarding issues of language, teaching and learning. Her many publications in support of students and teachers focus on early literacy, miscue analysis and reading and writing processes. Her most recent publication is coauthored with colleagues Prisca Martens and Alan Flurkey: The Essential RMA: A Window into Readers’ Thinking. She has popularized the term kidwatching, encouraging teachers to be professional observers of the language and learning of their students and she continues to demonstrate miscue analysis and RMA with readers from diverse backgrounds. She is a past president of NCTE, CELT, and has served on the IRA Board of Directors. She is a past president, co-historian and member of the Reading Hall of Fame. Her whole language philosophy and extensive writing is focused on classrooms, students and teachers
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2015 Diverse Literacies Conference
The 2015 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was Teaching them ALL to read and write: What we know about what works. A pre-conference workshop on Quality Writing took place on Friday, September 25, 2015 at the Melt Restaurant at the Center Valley Promenade Shops.
Our keynote speaker was Dr. Richard L. Allington is a Professor of Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee. He was an elementary school classroom teacher and a Title I director in a rural school district prior to beginning his career as a teacher educator and instructional researcher. His research interests include reading/learning disabilities and effective instruction, especially in classroom settings. His research has been funded by multiple grants from the U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement and the National Institutes of Health. His publications include over 150 articles, chapters, monographs, and books. He has served or serves onthe editorial advisory boards of Reading Research Quarterly, Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, Reading Teacher, Elementary School |
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Journal, Journal of Literacy Research, Language Arts, Journal of Disability Policy Studies, and Remedial and Special Education.
Dr. Allington has served as president of the National Reading Conference and the International Reading Association (IRA). He received the William S. Gray Citation of Merit from the IRA for his contributions to the organization and the profession. He has twice been corecipient (with Dr. Anne McGill-Franzen) of the Albert J. Harris Award for his contributions to improving professional understanding of reading/learning disabilities, and has been elected to the Reading Hall of Fame. In his keynote address, “We could teach them all to read but will we?,” Dr. Allington will explore the contrast between research-based practices that have virtually every child reading on level by the end of first grade and the reality of literacy practices in U.S. schools. Dr. Allington will outline the steps that researchers have taken and suggest that these steps should be the basis for emergent literacy program development.
Dr. Allington has served as president of the National Reading Conference and the International Reading Association (IRA). He received the William S. Gray Citation of Merit from the IRA for his contributions to the organization and the profession. He has twice been corecipient (with Dr. Anne McGill-Franzen) of the Albert J. Harris Award for his contributions to improving professional understanding of reading/learning disabilities, and has been elected to the Reading Hall of Fame. In his keynote address, “We could teach them all to read but will we?,” Dr. Allington will explore the contrast between research-based practices that have virtually every child reading on level by the end of first grade and the reality of literacy practices in U.S. schools. Dr. Allington will outline the steps that researchers have taken and suggest that these steps should be the basis for emergent literacy program development.
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2014 Diverse Literacies Conference
The 2014 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was Language as a Medium, a Tool and an Outcome. A pre-conference workshop on Quality Writing took place on Friday, September 26, 2014 at the Melt Restaurant at the Center Valley Promenade Shops.
Our keynote speaker for the 2014 Diverse Literacies Conference and the preconference workshop was Tom Romano. Dr. Romano is a renowned scholar of writing who is known for prompting teachers to reconsider traditional perceptions of writing, and for challenging us to venture beyond the safety zones of narrative and exposition and to fearlessly explore the possibilities of |
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multigenre writing. Dr. Romano has taught English methods and writing at Miami University since 1995. Before earning his Ph.D. at the University of New Hampshire, he taught high school students for 17 years, most of them at Edgewood High School in Trenton, Ohio. In addition to teaching at Miami, Dr. Romano speaks at National Writing Project sites, schools, and literacy conferences across the country. He also teaches in the New Hampshire Literacy Institutes at the University of New Hampshire.
Dr. Romano got the writing bug in seventh grade when he discovered that he could express his voice through words on paper. He’s been doing it ever since, writing mostly articles, essays, and poems about teaching. Over the past 26 years, he has published six books with Heinemann, the most recent Fearless Writing: Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire.
In his keynote address, “Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire,” Dr. Romano prompted the audience to reconsider traditional perceptions of writing, challenge us to venture beyond the safety zones of narrative and exposition, and to fearlessly explore the possibility of multigenre writing.
Dr. Romano got the writing bug in seventh grade when he discovered that he could express his voice through words on paper. He’s been doing it ever since, writing mostly articles, essays, and poems about teaching. Over the past 26 years, he has published six books with Heinemann, the most recent Fearless Writing: Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire.
In his keynote address, “Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire,” Dr. Romano prompted the audience to reconsider traditional perceptions of writing, challenge us to venture beyond the safety zones of narrative and exposition, and to fearlessly explore the possibility of multigenre writing.
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2013 Diverse Literacies Conference
The 2013 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 28, 2013 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was: Nurturing Diverse Learners through Student-Centered Instruction. The keynote speaker for the event was Yetta Goodman, a highly influential scholar in literacy education. Also led by Dr. Goodman was a pre-conference workshop on Friday September 27, 2013.
Yetta M. Goodman is Regents Professor Emerita at the University of Arizona College of Education in the Department of Language, Reading and Culture. She consults with education departments and speaks at conferences regarding issues of language, teaching and learning. Her many publications in support of students and teachers focus on early literacy, miscue analysis and reading and writing processes. She has popularized the term kidwatching encouraging teachers to be professional observers of the language and learning of their students. She is a past president of NCTE, CELT, and has served on the IRA Board of Directors. She is a past president and member of the Reading Hall of Fame. Her whole language philosophy and extensive writing is focused on classrooms, students and teachers.
Dr. Goodman's keynote speech was titled Revaluing Readers, Teachers and Reading during the conference on September 28th. She also lead a pre-conference workshop on Friday, September 27th titled: What are your major questions about how the learner's language influences learning to read and write in the classroom?
The 2013 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 28, 2013 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was: Nurturing Diverse Learners through Student-Centered Instruction. The keynote speaker for the event was Yetta Goodman, a highly influential scholar in literacy education. Also led by Dr. Goodman was a pre-conference workshop on Friday September 27, 2013.
Yetta M. Goodman is Regents Professor Emerita at the University of Arizona College of Education in the Department of Language, Reading and Culture. She consults with education departments and speaks at conferences regarding issues of language, teaching and learning. Her many publications in support of students and teachers focus on early literacy, miscue analysis and reading and writing processes. She has popularized the term kidwatching encouraging teachers to be professional observers of the language and learning of their students. She is a past president of NCTE, CELT, and has served on the IRA Board of Directors. She is a past president and member of the Reading Hall of Fame. Her whole language philosophy and extensive writing is focused on classrooms, students and teachers.
Dr. Goodman's keynote speech was titled Revaluing Readers, Teachers and Reading during the conference on September 28th. She also lead a pre-conference workshop on Friday, September 27th titled: What are your major questions about how the learner's language influences learning to read and write in the classroom?
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2012 Diverse Literacies Conference
Sonia Nieto
The 2012 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on September 29, 2012, at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was Promoting Literacy in a Diverse Society and it featured Sonia Nieto as keynote speaker. Dr. Nieto is Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a renowned second language learning scholar, whose research critically examines multicultural education, teacher education, and the education of Latinos and immigrants. Dr. Nieto is the author of several texts, including Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (with Patty Bode), The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities and What Keeps Teachers Going? (2003). The theme of this year’s conference will be Promoting Literacy in a Diverse Society.
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2011 Diverse Literacies Conference
Yvonne and David Freeman with members of the Conference Organizing Committee
The 2011 Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was Developing New Literacies: Capitalizing on Diverse Learners' Experiences and it featured Yvonne and David Freeman as keynote speakers.
Dr. David Freeman is a professor of reading and ESL and Dr. Yvonne Freeman is a professor of bilingual education at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Both are interested in effective education for emergent bilingual students and the development of academic language for English language learners. The Freemans have published books, articles, and book chapters jointly and separately on the topics of second language teaching, biliteracy, bilingual education, linguistics, and second language acquisition.
Dr. David Freeman is a professor of reading and ESL and Dr. Yvonne Freeman is a professor of bilingual education at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Both are interested in effective education for emergent bilingual students and the development of academic language for English language learners. The Freemans have published books, articles, and book chapters jointly and separately on the topics of second language teaching, biliteracy, bilingual education, linguistics, and second language acquisition.
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2010 Diverse Literacies Conference
Anne Haas Dyson
The 2010 Diverse Literacies Conference, organized by Penn State Lehigh Valley in collaboration with the Penn State Lehigh Valley Writing Project, was held on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was Multiple Literacies Development: Utilizing Learners’ Social, Cultural and Linguistic Funds of Knowledge and it featured Dr. Anne Haas Dyson as the keynote speaker.
Dr. Dyson is a noted literacy scholar whose work includes Social worlds of children learning to write in an urban primary school, Writing superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture, and classroom literacy and the need for story: Cultural diversity in the classroom and community (with C Genishi).
Dr. Dyson is a noted literacy scholar whose work includes Social worlds of children learning to write in an urban primary school, Writing superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture, and classroom literacy and the need for story: Cultural diversity in the classroom and community (with C Genishi).
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2009 Diverse Literacies Conference
Mary Kalantzis
The 2009 Diverse Literacies organized by Penn State Lehigh Valley in collaboration with the Penn State Lehigh Valley Writing Project, was held on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at the Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center in Macungie, PA. The theme of the conference was Differentiated Instructional Practices for 21st Century Teachers: The Merging of Context, Culture, and Curriculum. The event, which was attended by approximately 150 college students and local educators of various levels and specialities, featured Dr. Mary Kalantzis, a nationally and internationally known scholar of literacy, who has done pioneering work on the pedagogy of multiliteracies. In her keynote speech titled Multiliteracies in Practice, Dr. Kalantzis invited participants to rethink heritage conceptualizations of diversity and literacy, and provided recommendations for enhancing students’ communicative repertoires through the incorporation of multiliteracies practices in daily instruction. The conference program also included a diverse and exciting selection of other presentations, and several exhibitors of educational materials.
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2008 Diverse Literacies Conference
Patrick Shannon
The second annual installment of the Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, October 3, 2008. The conference featured Dr. Patrick Shannon as keynote speaker, as well as number of other presentations related to the conference theme. Teachers Teaching Teachers: Exemplary Practices in the Diverse Classroom.
Patrick Shannon is a former primary grade and preschool teacher and currently a Professor of Education at Penn State University. Dr. Shannon’s main area of research is in literacy policy and its effects on teachers, students, and society.
His work typically takes an historical view, and he sees literacy policy as tied to social theories and practices which influence lives inside and outside school walls. He considers recent policy as viewing literacy as accurate, quick renderings of printed text, the ability to answer multiple choice questions about passages, and the capacity to write-to-prompt quickly using standard forms. However, in the lives of children and youth, literacy is often the practice of using symbols (of whatever type) to make claims about one’s identity within a particular context for a particular audience. Dr. Shannon believes both these definitions and all that might be between or beyond them on a continuum are based on understandings of possibilities of literacy in our lives.
A noted author and scholar, Dr. Shannon is a member of the Reading Research Hall of Fame and the author of 15 books, including Heinemann books Text, Lies & Videotape (1995), Reading Poverty (1998) and Reading Against Democracy (2007).
Patrick Shannon is a former primary grade and preschool teacher and currently a Professor of Education at Penn State University. Dr. Shannon’s main area of research is in literacy policy and its effects on teachers, students, and society.
His work typically takes an historical view, and he sees literacy policy as tied to social theories and practices which influence lives inside and outside school walls. He considers recent policy as viewing literacy as accurate, quick renderings of printed text, the ability to answer multiple choice questions about passages, and the capacity to write-to-prompt quickly using standard forms. However, in the lives of children and youth, literacy is often the practice of using symbols (of whatever type) to make claims about one’s identity within a particular context for a particular audience. Dr. Shannon believes both these definitions and all that might be between or beyond them on a continuum are based on understandings of possibilities of literacy in our lives.
A noted author and scholar, Dr. Shannon is a member of the Reading Research Hall of Fame and the author of 15 books, including Heinemann books Text, Lies & Videotape (1995), Reading Poverty (1998) and Reading Against Democracy (2007).
| 2008 DLC Program |
2007 Diverse Literacies Conference
The inaugural installment of the Diverse Literacies Conference was held on Saturday, September 22, 1007. The keynote speaker was Dr. Danling Fu, a well-known scholar in the fields of literacy and ESL education. The conference also featured a number of other presentations related to the conference theme Finding our Voices: An ESOL Strategies Conference.
Danling Fu is a professor of literacy and language at the School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Florida. A former ESL teacher, she earned her Ph.D. in Reading and Writing from the University of New Hampshire, where she furthered her study on literacy education for English Language Learners (ELLs). In the past decade, she has been working with K-12 teachers and researching in New York City schools and communities. Currently, she works with 14 schools from lower Manhattan to the Bronx, which have large populations of new immigrant students. Her project, the Literacy Initiative for ELLs, is funded by the New York City Board of Education. Recently, she has focused her research on the writing development of ELLs from their native language to English in content areas. She consults and gives speeches on issues related to literacy education for ELLs across the United States. Her publications include An Island of English: Teaching ESL in Chinatown and My Trouble is My English: Asian Students and Their American Dreams (Heinemann)
Danling Fu is a professor of literacy and language at the School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Florida. A former ESL teacher, she earned her Ph.D. in Reading and Writing from the University of New Hampshire, where she furthered her study on literacy education for English Language Learners (ELLs). In the past decade, she has been working with K-12 teachers and researching in New York City schools and communities. Currently, she works with 14 schools from lower Manhattan to the Bronx, which have large populations of new immigrant students. Her project, the Literacy Initiative for ELLs, is funded by the New York City Board of Education. Recently, she has focused her research on the writing development of ELLs from their native language to English in content areas. She consults and gives speeches on issues related to literacy education for ELLs across the United States. Her publications include An Island of English: Teaching ESL in Chinatown and My Trouble is My English: Asian Students and Their American Dreams (Heinemann)
| 2007 Program |