Assessing Disciplinary Writing in Both Research and Practice

Katherine Landau Wright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Literacy, Language and Culture at Boise State University, and director of the Boise State University Literacy Lab. She started in 2016 after completing her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University. Her dissertation research, funded by the International Literacy Association’s Steven A. Stahl Research Grant, developed writing-to-learn practices for middle and high school classes and won the Association of Literacy Educators and Researcher’s 2016 Dissertation Award. She has published in educational research journals (e.g., International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education; Journal of Curriculum & Instruction) as well as pieces for science and literacy practitioners (i.e., The Reading Teacher; The Science Teacher). She serves as a reviewer for Literacy Research and Instruction. Prior to entering academia, she was a middle school English and Social Studies teacher. Her experiences working with both native speaking and language-learning students in the classroom motivate her research focused on developing strategies for engaging and supporting middle and high school readers and writers. Tracey S. Hodges is the Owner and Chief Creative Officer of The Empowering Advocate LLC, an educational research and coaching company, as well as a Grant Manager for the Lee Pesky Learning Center. She is a former Assistant Professor of Literacy, Director of a National Writing Project site, Associate Director for a university Literacy Center, and a former middle grade English teacher. Dr. Hodges’ research focuses on writing instruction, youth literature, and instrument development in literacy education. She also provides mentorship and coaching on academic writing, productivity, time management, and best practices for collaboration. She is the editor of three research handbooks on writing instruction and more than 50 scholarly articles. Enhancing her scholarly writing, Dr. Hodges is an aspiring novelist working on her first work of fiction.