Faculty Vita

Mitzi Lewison, Ph.D

Academic Degrees

Professional Experience

Faculty Teaching

Selected Publications

Lewison, M. & Leland, C. (in press). Critical Literacy. In B. Guzzetti (Ed.), Literacy in American: An encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Lewison, M. (in press). Teacher Inquiry. In E. P. St. John, S. A. Loescher, & J. S. Bardzell (Eds.), Improving early reading and literacy in grades 1-5: A resource guide for programs that work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Heffernan, L. & Lewison, M. (in press). Hey popular kid---It's opposite day: The impact of social narratives on writer's workshop. Language Arts.

Lewison, M., Leland, C., Flint, A. S., & Möller, K. J. (2002). Dangerous Discourses: Controversial Books to Support Engagement, Diversity, and Democracy. The New Advocate, 15(3).

Lewison, Flint, A. S., & Van Sluys, K. (2002). Taking on critical literacy: The journey of newcomers and novices. Language Arts, 79(5), 382-392.

Indiana Study Group. (2001). A critical commentary. In J. Cumming & C. M. Wyatt-Smith (Eds.), Literacy and the curriculum: Success in Senior Secondary School. Melbourne, Australia: The Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd. [Indiana Study Group members who authored this project (alphabetical order): Cynthia Brabson, Beth Berghoff, Pat Teft Cousin, Jerome Harste, Christine Leland, and Mitzi Lewison.],

Lewison, M., Leland, C., & Harste, J. (2000). “Not in my classroom!” The case for using multi-view social issues books with children. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 23 (1), 8-20 (lead article).

Leland, C., Harste, J. C., Oceipka, A., Lewison, M., & Vasquez, V. (2000). Reprint of 1999 article: Exploring critical literacy: You can hear a pin drop. In Kathy Egawa (Ed.), Trends and issues in the elementary language arts. Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 213-218. (This publication consists of 14 articles/chapters chosen from NCTE’s 14 journals and 25 books published in 1999.)

Heffernan, L. & Lewison, M. (2000) Making real world issues our business: Critical literacy in a third-grade classroom. Primary Voices, 9 (2), 15-21.

Lewison, M. with Holliday, S. (1999). Investigating a school-university partnership through the lenses of relationship, self-determination, reciprocal influence, and expanding power. In D. Byrd and D. J. McIntyre (Eds.) Research on professional development schools: Teacher education yearbook VII, (79-96), Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Leland, C., Harste, J. C., Oceipka, A., Lewison, M., & Vasquez, V. (1999). Exploring critical literacy: You can hear a pin drop. Language Arts, 77 (1) 70-77.

Lewison, M. (1999). Teacher inquiry, a review of the research base. In Improving early literacy: Designing research-based interventions. Bloomington, IN: The Indiana Policy Center.

Lewison, M. (1999). Why do we find writing so hard? Using journals to inquire into our teaching. The Reading Teacher, 52 (5), 522-526.

Lewison, M. (1997). Writing became a chore like the laundry: The problems and potential of using journals to encourage a reflective approach to teaching. The Professional Educator, 19, (2), 13-31.

Lewison, M. & Holliday, S. (1997). Control, trust, and rethinking traditional roles: Critical elements in creating a mutually beneficial university-school-partnership. Teacher Education Quarterly, 24, (1), 105-126.

Funded Projects

E339 Methods of Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School X460 Books for Reading Instruction L511 Advanced Study in the Teaching of Writing in the Elementary School L530 Workshop in Language Education: Best Practices in Language Arts L530 Workshop in Language Education: Literacy and Social Justice L530 Workshop in Language Education: Teachers as Inquirers L530 Workshop in Language Education: Inquiries into Reading and Writing L559 Trade Books in Elementary Classrooms L600 Issues in Language Education

Current Professional and Academic Association Memberships

American Educational Research Association

Center for the Expansion of Learning and Teaching

Indiana Study Group

National Reading Conference

International Reading Association

National Council of Teachers of English

Phi Delta Kappa

Teachers Applying Whole Language, Bloomington Chapter

Conference Presentations

2002 National Council of Teachers of English, Assembly on Research, Midwinter Conference, NY Research Roundtable Paper: Rethinking Writer’s Workshop, Third Graders’ Use of Social Narratives to Investigate Systems of Power

2001 V Congreso de las Amèricas sobre Lecto-Escritura, Quito, Ecuador Invited Institute Speaker: Critical Literacy, Critical Times

National Council of Teachers of English, Annual Convention, Baltimore Joint National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association Critical Perspectives in Literacy Task Force Workshop Keynote: Making Writer’s Workshop Critical

National Council of Teachers of English, Annual Convention, BaltimoreInvited Discussion Leader: Elementary Section Meeting

National Council of Teachers of English, Annual Convention, Baltimore Standing Committee on Research, Paper Presentation: Who’s Got the Power? Using Fiction as a Format for Filing Grievances in Third Grade

International Reading Association, Annual Convention, New Orleans Research Series Invited Speaker: Supporting Teaching as a Researching Profession

Spencer Foundation project, Literacy Instruction: What counts? A Qualitative Inquiry, St. Cloud State, Minnesota Keynote Speaker: The Four Dimensions of Critical Literacy, Interrogating Everyday Texts, Virtual School Bag, and Writing Teacher Research.

National Reading Conference, Annual Meeting, San Antonio Paper Presentation: Creating Critical Spaces in Classroom Practice

2000 American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, New Orleans Panel Speaker: Social Issues and Inquiry: Teacher Education Program Development and the Division K Equity Policy

Spencer Foundation project, Literacy Instruction: What counts? A Qualitative Inquiry, St. Cloud State, Minnesota Keynote Speaker: Conducting Teacher Research

Presenter: Two-day workshop on investigating reading and writing practices in critical literacy classrooms, learning about teacher research—coding & analyzing data, critical reading, and using the “Hypothesis Testing Procedure” as a form of research.

National Council of Teachers of English, Annual Convention, Milwaukee Joint NCTE/IRA Critical Perspectives in Literacy Task Force--Workshop Invited Speaker: Critical Conversations and Social Issues in the Elementary Classroom. Premiere showing of videotape commissioned by the task force

Mount Saint Vincent University, Visiting Instructor, Master’s Program, Toronto Keynote: Interrogating School Writing Workshop Presenter: Critical Writing--When School Failed, Powerful Writing, Interrogating Harry Potter, Social Justice Issues in the Elementary Classroom

International Reading Association, Annual Convention, Indianapolis Paper Presentation: Supporting Teacher Research in the Language Arts through Study Groups

International Reading Association, Annual Convention, Indianapolis Paper Presentation: Children’s Books with a Critical Edge and Culturally Responsive Schools: What’s the Connection?

International Reading Association, Annual Convention, Indianapolis Research Series Invited Speaker: Institutional Support for Teacher Research: Teacher Study Groups

Research Areas

Power relationships in school-university partnerships; the problems and benefits of using reflective journals with preservice and inservice teachers; alternative models for professional development and teacher education; discourse genres in teacher study groups; critical literacy in elementary classrooms.

Service/Outreach Projects

• Program Area Co-Chair, National Reading Conference, Area IV, Literacy Process: Focusing on Pre-School, Early Childhood, and Elementary Age Learners, 2001-2003 • Review Board Member, Language Arts, 2002-2005 • Review Board Member, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 2000-present • Revision and Professional Development Committee Member, National Council of Teachers of English, Reading Initiative program, 1999-2001 • International Reading Association, National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher Education, IU is one of eight research sites. Assisted Amy Flint in writing application, describing features of program, and coding first year teacher interviews, 1999-present • Committee Member, Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking Program Committee, 1999-Present • Program Chair, Literacy Across the Curriculum Strand for the Summer Language and Literacy Conference, Indiana Public School/University Partnership, 2000 • Speaker, Indiana Public School/University Partnership. Group of superintendents and Indiana University faculty whose aim is to provide more Indiana University involvement in professional development in Indiana school districts, 2000 • Teacher Study Group Leader, Monroe County Community School Corporation. Continue to administrate and lead monthly meetings on reflective language arts practice and teacher research with 56 teachers from seven local Elementary Schools. 1997-Present • Committee Member, Book Challenge Ad Hoc Committee, Monroe County Community School Corporation, 1999 • Co-Chair, Reading Minor Program, Language Education Department, Indiana University, 1997-Present • Program Area Co-Chair, Undergraduate Elementary Reading/Literacy Program, Department of Language Education, 2001-Present

Honors/Awards

2002 Trustee Teaching Award School of Education, Indiana University 2001 Trustee Teaching Award School of Education, Indiana University 2000 Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (TERA) School of Education, Indiana University 1999 Outstanding Program Award, School of Education Diversity Month Program Committee on Multicultural Understanding, Indiana University Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (TERA) School of Education, Indiana University