Teaching
Laura teaches undergraduate courses in educational studies and master’s level courses for future teachers in the urban education program.
Laura taught K-12 school for eight years. She taught in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Tennessee (including two years teaching kindergarten in Shelby County). She taught mostly elementary school, including teaching in a bilingual program, but she has also taught high school Spanish and community college ESL. Laura also taught future teachers at Arizona State University and at the Maricopa Community College District in Arizona.
Current Research
Her research addresses elementary literacy instruction and learning, bilingual and ESL education, and teacher preparation for teaching literacy to linguistically diverse students. She uses qualitative methods including discourse analysis, content analysis, case study, and thematic coding to understand classrooms, curricular materials, and policies. She also employs quantitative methods, specifically single case design, to study educational effectiveness. Her work takes an assets-based, sociocultural approach to support school literacy success for bilingual students.
In Memphis, most general teachers only speak English, so they need strategies that support at minimum English literacy, but ideally biliteracy though they themselves are not biliterate. She is interested in supporting teachers with curriculum materials, instructional practices, and family involvement.
Publications
Laura’s CV is available here.
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accepted |
Kelly, L. B. Draw a scientist: Uncovering students’ thinking about science and scientists. Science and Children. |
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accepted |
Kelly, L. B., Ogden, M., & Moses, L. Collaborative conversations: Supporting speaking and listening in the primary grades. Young Children. |
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2018 online first |
Kelly, L. B. An analysis of award-winning science trade books for children: Who are the scientists, and what is science? Journal of Research in Science Teaching.http://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21447 |
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2018 |
Moses, L. & Kelly, L. B. ‘We’re a little loud. That’s because we like to read.’: Developing positive views of reading in a diverse urban first grade. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 18(3), 307-337. http://doi.org/10.1177/1468798416662513 |
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2018 |
Kelly, L. B. & Moses, L. Children's literature that sparks inferential discussions. The Reading Teacher, 72(1), 21-29. http://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1675 |
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2018 |
Kelly, L. B. Compliance and resistance: Showing future teachers how to navigate curriculum.Studying Teacher Education, 14(1), 71-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2018.1428794
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2018 |
Kelly, L. B. Interest convergence and hegemony in dual language: Bilingual education, but for whom and why? Language Policy, 17(1), 1-21. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-016-9415-1 |
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2018 |
Kelly, L. B. Preservice teachers’ developing conceptions of teaching English learners. TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 110-136.http://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.375 (video abstract here) |
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2017 |
Moses, L. & Kelly, L. B. The development of positive literate identities among emerging bilingual and monolingual first graders. Journal of Literacy Research, 49(3), 393-423. http://doi.org/10.1177/1086296x17713291 |
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2017 |
Kelly, L. B. Welcoming counterstory in the primary classroom. Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 6(1), 38-52. |
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2017 |
Moses, L. & Kelly, L. B. Researching early literacy with a formative experiment. SAGE Research Methods Cases. http://doi.org/10.4135/9781526408723 |
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2016 |
Kelly, L. B. Supporting scientific vocabulary, language, and discussion in elementary science. Science & Children, 54(3), 52-57. |
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2015 |
Kelly, L. B. "You can't just write an essay in an hour": Supporting middle schoolers' peer feedback and revision process through online writing groups. Voices from the Middle, 23(2), 81-86. (podcast here) |
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2015 |
Moses, L., Ogden, M., & Kelly, L. B. Facilitating meaningful discussion groups in the primary grades. The Reading Teacher, 69(2), 233–237. http://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1392 |