Leigh A. Hall, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Literacy Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a former middle school English and social studies teacher who worked in Houston, Texas. Dr. Hall is the recipient of the Early Career Achievement Award from the National Reading Conference/Literacy Research Association. Her research addresses issues relevant to adolescent literacy, struggling readers, middle school education, and teacher education. Leslie D. Burns, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of Kentucky and a former English language arts teacher who worked in rural Kansas schools. Dr. Burns focuses his studies on research-based standards for literacy and teacher education. He chaired the Conference on English Education’s (CEE) Task Force for Political Action in Education Reform, serves on the CEE’s Standards Task Force, and chairs the English Education Program at the University of Kentucky. Elizabeth Carr Edwards, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Literacy in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading at Georgia Southern University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. Previously, she taught elementary school for 7 years. Dr. Edwards's research and publications focus on elementary and middle grades vocabulary development and sociocultural pedagogical theory.
