
27. Dr. P David Pearson -- Developing a Research-Informed Reading Curriculum and Literacy Block
11/20/23 • 75 min
Today's guest is none other than THE Dr. P David Pearson. Usually I approach guests with a topic in mind, but because Dr. Pearson had just written on just about every topic there is to write about in the field of literacy education, I asked him what he wanted to discuss. He said: "how to design an ideal literacy block aligned to research." I love the topic and I hope you will too. As always, I'm joined by colleagues in the second half of the episode today. It's Gina Dignon and Macie Kerbs to talk about practical takeaways for the classroom. It's a long episode, but worth every minute.****
Click to read a full transcript of this episode, and learn more about the show, and Jennifer Serravallo.
****
P. David Pearson is an emeritus faculty member in the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Dean from 2001-2010. His current research focuses on literacy history and policy. He also holds an appointment as a Professor of the Graduate School and is the Evelyn Lois Corey Emeritus Chair in Instructional Science.
Prior to coming to Berkeley in 2001, he served as the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Education in the College of Education at Michigan State and as Co-Director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Even earlier, he was Dean of the College of Education, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Reading, and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois. His initial professorial appointment was at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis from 1969-1978.
He has been active in professional organizations, serving ILA and NCTE in many capacities (including the IRA Board of Directors and currently Chair of the Research Panel), both the NRC and NCRE as President, and the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education as a member of the Board.
Awards include the 1989 Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research from the NRC and the 1990 William S.Gray Citation of Merit. for his contributions to theory, research, and practice from the IRA. In 2004, he received the Alan Purves Award from NCTE for the Research in Teaching Englisharticle most likely to influence practice, and in 2005, the Albert J. Harris Award from IRA for scholarship on reading difficulties. In 2006, the University of Minnesota honored him with the Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, the highest non-academic award given at the University, for his contributions to educational research and practice. In 2010, he received the AERA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. In 2003, he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Education (NAE) and in 2009 to membership as a Fellow of the AERA. In 2012, the Literacy Research Association (formerly the NRC) created the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award to honor scholarship that impacts literacy practice.
His 300+ books, articles and chapters, written with over 300 co-authors, appear in a range of outlets for a wide range of audiences—teachers, scholars, and policy makers.
Professor Pearson received his B.A. in History from the UCBerkeley, after which he taught elementary school in California and went on to complete his Ph.D. in Reading Education at the U of Minnesota. He completed post-doctoral study at the U of Texas, Austin and Stanford University.
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.
Support this show
Today's guest is none other than THE Dr. P David Pearson. Usually I approach guests with a topic in mind, but because Dr. Pearson had just written on just about every topic there is to write about in the field of literacy education, I asked him what he wanted to discuss. He said: "how to design an ideal literacy block aligned to research." I love the topic and I hope you will too. As always, I'm joined by colleagues in the second half of the episode today. It's Gina Dignon and Macie Kerbs to talk about practical takeaways for the classroom. It's a long episode, but worth every minute.****
Click to read a full transcript of this episode, and learn more about the show, and Jennifer Serravallo.
****
P. David Pearson is an emeritus faculty member in the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Dean from 2001-2010. His current research focuses on literacy history and policy. He also holds an appointment as a Professor of the Graduate School and is the Evelyn Lois Corey Emeritus Chair in Instructional Science.
Prior to coming to Berkeley in 2001, he served as the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Education in the College of Education at Michigan State and as Co-Director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Even earlier, he was Dean of the College of Education, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Reading, and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois. His initial professorial appointment was at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis from 1969-1978.
He has been active in professional organizations, serving ILA and NCTE in many capacities (including the IRA Board of Directors and currently Chair of the Research Panel), both the NRC and NCRE as President, and the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education as a member of the Board.
Awards include the 1989 Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research from the NRC and the 1990 William S.Gray Citation of Merit. for his contributions to theory, research, and practice from the IRA. In 2004, he received the Alan Purves Award from NCTE for the Research in Teaching Englisharticle most likely to influence practice, and in 2005, the Albert J. Harris Award from IRA for scholarship on reading difficulties. In 2006, the University of Minnesota honored him with the Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, the highest non-academic award given at the University, for his contributions to educational research and practice. In 2010, he received the AERA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. In 2003, he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Education (NAE) and in 2009 to membership as a Fellow of the AERA. In 2012, the Literacy Research Association (formerly the NRC) created the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award to honor scholarship that impacts literacy practice.
His 300+ books, articles and chapters, written with over 300 co-authors, appear in a range of outlets for a wide range of audiences—teachers, scholars, and policy makers.
Professor Pearson received his B.A. in History from the UCBerkeley, after which he taught elementary school in California and went on to complete his Ph.D. in Reading Education at the U of Minnesota. He completed post-doctoral study at the U of Texas, Austin and Stanford University.
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.
Support this show
Previous Episode

26. Dr. H. Richard Milner -- Multiple Literacies, Including A Wider Scope of Research in SoR Conversations, Effective Leadership
My guest today is Dr. H. Richard Milner, author of the recent Reading Research Quarterly article titled “Disrupting Racism and Whiteness in Researching a Science of Reading” and the new book The Race Card. We talk about the importance of drawing from a wide range of types of research in designing our literacy classrooms, the multiple literacies we should be developing in young people, and what effective leadership looks like in this time.
****
Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show here
Follow Dr. H. Richard Milner on Twitter @MilnerHRich
The Race Card: Leading the Fight for Truth in America’s Schools
****
More about this episode’s guest:
H. Richard Milner IV is currently, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education and Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Professor Milner spent five years as Helen Faison Endowed Chair of Urban Education, Professor of Education, and by courtesy Professor of Sociology, Professor of Social Work, and Professor of Africana Studies as well as Director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Milner began his career at Vanderbilt University where, in 2008, he became the first Black person to earn promotion and tenure in the entire College of Education’s history. His research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. In particular, Professor Milner’s research examines practices and policies that support teacher effectiveness in urban schools.
Professor Milner’s work has appeared in numerous journals, and he has published seven books. His book, published in 2010 by Harvard Education Press, is: Start where you are but don’t stay there: Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in today’s classrooms, which represents years of research and development effort. The book is widely read in teacher education programs and school districts across the United States of America. This book has been recognized with two major awards: (1) the 2012 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Outstanding Book Award, and (2) a 2011 American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Book Award. He is also author of The Race Card in 2023 by Corwin Press.. In 2017, Professor Milner became the founding Series Editor of the Harvard Education Press Series on Race and Education.
In 2006, Professor Milner received an Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association. Over the last five years, Professor Milner has appeared on the top 200 Edu-Scholar Public Presence Ranking, published by Education Week.
Currently, he is Editor-in-chief of Urban Education and co-editor of the Handbook of Urban Education, published with Routledge Press in 2014. In the fall of 2015, the Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education assigned his book, Rac(e)ing to Class, to all incoming graduate students and invited alumni across the world to read the book. He was then invited to deliver a prestigious Askwith Lecture at Harvard University, where he discussed research and findings from his book.
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.
Support this show
Next Episode

28. Dr. Steve Graham -- Reading and Writing Reciprocity, and Writing Instruction Best Practices Based on 40 Years of Research
My guest today is Dr. Steve Graham, who has, for over 40 years, studied how writing develops, how to teach it effectively, and how writing can be used to support reading and learning. We'll discuss some of his research around reading and writing reciprocity, and we'll learn about writing instructional practices that have the strongest evidence, as published in his lES practice guides, available on What Works Clearinghouse.
Transcript & More about the show: https://www.jenniferserravallo.com/podcast
****
Steve Graham's research involves typically developing writers and students with special needs in both elementary and secondary schools, with much of occurring in classrooms in urban schools.
Graham is the former editor of Exceptional Children, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Journal of Writing Research, Focus on Exceptional Children, and Journal of Educational Psychology. He is the co-author of the "Handbook of Writing Research," "Handbook of Learning Disabilities," "APA Handbook of Educational Psychology," "Writing Better," "Powerful Writing Strategies for all Students" and "Making the Writing Process Work." He is also the author of three influential Carnegie Corporation reports: Writing Next , Writing to Read , and Informing Writing.
Graham has served as an advisor to a variety of organization, including UNESCO, National Institute of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Zuckerberg Initiative, National Writing Project, Institute of Educational Sciences, the College Board, and the What Works Clearinghouse. He was the chair of the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guides for both elementary as well as secondary writing. Steve was a member of the National Research Conference committee on adolescent and adult literacy. He has provided background information for a wide variety of magazine, newspaper, television, and radio reports including National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, La Monde, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Moring News, and NBC Today Show.
He is the recipient of the Thorndike Career Award from Division 15 of the American Psychological Association, Sylvia Scribner Award from Division C of the American Educational Research Association, William S. Gray citation of merit from the International Literacy Association, John S. Nesbit Fellowship from the British Educational Research Association, Exemplary Research in Teaching and Teacher Education from Division K of the American Educational Research Award, Career Research Award from the International Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the Kauffman-Hallahan Distinguished Researcher Award from the Division of Research (CEC), Jeannette Fleischner Career Leadership Award from the Division of Learning Disabilities (CEC), Samual A. Kirk Award from the Division of Learning Disabilities (CEC), Distinguished Researcher Award from the Special Education Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association, J. Lee Weiderhot Lecture Award from the Council of Learning Disabilities, and the Don Johnston Literacy Lectureship Award for career contributions to literacy. He was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame for 2018.
Graham is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association, Division 15 of the American Psychological Association, as well as a fellow of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities.
Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for audio editing this episode.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/to-the-classroom-conversations-with-researchers-and-educators-298205/27-dr-p-david-pearson-developing-a-research-informed-reading-curriculu-39796612"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 27. dr. p david pearson -- developing a research-informed reading curriculum and literacy block on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy