July 9, 2015

Rachel Pinnow

Rachel J. Pinnow is Associate Professor in the department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum at the University of Missouri. Dr. Pinnow is interested in the multimodal ways second language learners gain interactional competencies in academic contexts. Dr. Pinnow’s recent research draws on Systemic Functional Linguistics to examine the integration of language and content learning for second language learners in content classrooms. Nominated twice for the MU Presidential Cross-Cultural Engagement Award, Dr. Pinnow has conducted both national and international research studies to examine the integration of academic and content language in multilingual contexts such as South Africa, Cuba, and in elementary,…

July 7, 2015

Erica Lembke

Erica Lembke is a Professor in the Department of Special Education, a Senior Advisor for the National Center on Intensive Intervention, past-president of the national board of the Division for Learning Disabilities, and past editor of the journal Assessment for Effective Intervention. Recently she served as department chair for 5 years and interim dean for 1.5 years in the college. Her research interests include helping support teachers in data-based decision making through designing and implementing Curriculum-Based Measures in elementary and secondary grades and developing strategies to improve elementary students’ literacy and mathematics performance. She is Principal Investigator on…

July 7, 2015

Amy Lannin

Amy Lannin serves as Interim Director of the Teaching for Learning Center and Director of the Campus Writing Program at the University of Missouri. In addition, Lannin is an Associate Professor of English education in the College of Education & Human Development. Lannin has taught courses on the teaching of writing, literature and media. She has also taught graduate seminars and advises doctoral students. Lannin’s research includes the impact of professional development on teacher practice and student achievement and aspects of writing instruction and assessment. For several years, Amy has been involved with the National Writing Project, currently serving as director for the…

June 25, 2015

Betsy Baker

Elizabeth (Betsy) A. Baker’s research examines the nature of literacy in our digital world.  By examining literacy as a culturally negotiated activity, she considers how literacy has changed with the proliferation of digital communication.  In addition, she explores ways to harness to the affordances of technology to extend learning for K-12 children as well as university students.  Recently, she explored how speech recognition technologies (e.g., Siri, Alexa, Dragon) can support students who struggle to read and write and seeks to develop an app that allows users to “talk to read.”  This app will support struggling readers of all ages…

June 25, 2015

Nikki Ashcraft

Dr. Nikki Ashcraft holds an M.S. in Applied Linguistics/TESOL from Georgia State University and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from the University of Georgia. During her TESOL career, Dr. Ashcraft has taught English as a second/foreign language and trained teachers in the U.S., Mexico, Chile, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. She joined the University of Missouri in 2011 and currently teaches graduate courses through Mizzou Online to teachers working around the world. Dr. Ashcraft is the author of Lesson Planning (TESOL Press, 2014) and formerly served as Chair of the TESOL International Association’s Teacher Education Interest Section. In 2016, Dr.