Adolescent Literacy & Professional Development Lab

News


 
January 2022

Jade Wexler & Research Partners Featured in Education Weekly Article

Dr. Wexler and one of our research partners are featured in  which discusses the impact of staffing shortages on struggling readers and the challenges teachers are facing as plans are continuously shifting. 

Photo of Education Weekly Article about Staffing Shortages Hurting Students who Need Reading Support
Photo of Dr. Wexler with the quote "the best way to keep kids engaged ? good instruction. If you are using data to drive instruction so that it's right in that sweet spot of meeting targeted needs those kids are going to be motivated. They want to learn.
November, 2021

to listen to Dr. Wexler discuss building adolescent literacy comprehension through content-area instruction. She brings up numerous important points and highlights some of our current research projects. 

Twitter post from UMD@ college of education showing the faces of two female researchers
September, 2021

The lab welcomed two new postdoctoral associates Robin Sayers and Kristabel Stark. Dr. Sayers joins us from The Ohio State University while Dr. Stark comes from Boston University. We are excited to have them on the team! 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
August, 2021

AIM Coaching has a new website! Please visit  to see more information about this project, the research team, and to access free resources

Cover of book titled Literacy Coaching in the Secondary Grades
july, 2021

 

The AIM Coaching team has a new publication

Dr. Wexler and Dr. Shelton's new book, written with Dr. Elizabeth Swanson from the University of Texas at Austin is available now! 

From the publisher: "Too many adolescent learners still struggle with reading. This much-needed guide shows how to support teachers in providing effective literacy instruction in the content areas, which can be intensified as needed within a multi-tiered framework. Adaptive Intervention Model (AIM) Coaching was created for grades 6鈥8, but is equally applicable in high school. The book gives instructional coaches an accessible blueprint for evaluating, developing, and reinforcing each teacher's capacity to implement evidence-based literacy practices. User-friendly features include case studies, end-of-chapter reflection questions and key terms, and  tools. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download and print the reproducible materials鈥攑lus supplemental lesson plans and other resources鈥攊n a convenient 8陆鈥 x 11鈥 size."

For more information and to purchase, please visit

June, 2021

Congratulations to lab members!

This spring brought much exciting news to the Adolescent Literacy and Professional Development Lab! Jade was awarded the College of Education's Excellence in Scholarship, Tenured Faculty Award, Alex won the Excellence in Scholarship, Professional Track Faculty Award, and Erin was Outstanding Doctoral Student. See the news release on the College of Education's website

The lab has also had tremendous professional accomplishments. Two members have decided to continue their education: Bailey was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of Oregon and Kailah is set to begin her Master's program at Baylor University. Two members have accepted new academic positions: Alex accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Special Education at Johns Hopkins University School of Education and Erin will begin a postdoc at the University of Texas at Austin in the coming weeks. Congratulations to all team members on these accomplishments!