Information
Student Profiles
The Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Concentration in Literacy Studies prepares individuals who aspire to become university professors and this requires research training and theory exploration. Our doctoral students have diverse backgrounds and experiences, but they share a common interest in one or more of the following aspects of literacy studies: literacy theoretical models and processes, struggling students, literature and content texts, critical literacy, multi-media literacies, literacy teacher education. Below, we have included brief biographic sketches of some of our current students.
Diedre Allen
Diedre taught elementary school for 7 years, was a K-3 Reading Coach for 2 years and a Literacy Staff Developer for 1 year prior to entering the doctoral program as a full-time graduate assistant. Her research interests include independent reading and media literacy.
Kathleen Alley
Kathleen Alley is a library media specialist and TV Production teacher. Her research interests focus on digital media literacy and adolescents, exploring how, and to what extent, digital technologies are changing the way adolescents learn, socialize, and are motivated to participate in formal and informal learning experiences.
Anne Anderson
Anne comes to this program as a journalist and as an author of children’s stories, church dramas, and a travel guide to the Tampa Bay area. Additionally, she has background in the support services side of education and in financial administration. Her research interests include the literary aspects of children’s literature and of the relationships between children and the news media.
Stephanie Bennett
Stephanie M. Bennett taught Social Studies for three years and one year of Intensive Reading before becoming a full time doctoral student. Her research focuses on media literacy, participatory culture, civic engagement of youth, text readability, and content area reading.
Matthew Blankenship
Matthew was a high school reading, English and AP Human Geography teacher before becoming a full time graduate assistant. In 2010 Matthew was recognized by his peers and the community as a Polk County Teacher of the Year Finalist. Matthew's research interests include Education Policy, Teacher Professional Development and Adolescent Literacy.
Margaret Branscombe
Margaret taught at the elementary level for 20 years - 10 years in the UK and 10 years in Florida. Her field of interest lies in the role that Process Drama can play in the elementary curriculum and in particular literacy development.
Colleen Dipasquale
As a doctoral student, Colleen’s interests lie in the areas of young children’s response to literature and multimodal representations of learning produced by children engaged in inquiry-based project work. Colleen has taught in elementary classrooms for five years and currently teaches third grade.
Melissa Freeman-Gray
Melissa Freeman-Gray is an adjunct instructor at Hillsborough Community College teaching Reading Prep courses. Her research areas are in resilience of students and struggling readers.
Andrea Gelfuso
Andrea Gelfuso served Polk County Schools as an elementary school teacher for six years. She taught second through fifth grade. After her work in the classroom, she became a Reading Coach, providing professional development for three years. She is currently a full-time Graduate Assistant. Her research interests include preservice teacher education, reflection, and arts integration.
Betty Herzhauser
Betty Herzhauser is an English II Honors and AP Language and Composition teacher in Pinellas County. Her research interests include adolescent literacy and literature.
Christine Joseph
Christine Joseph is a staff developer in math/science for Pinellas County Schools. Her research focuses on the role of children’s literature in elementary mathematics instruction.
Margaret Krause
Prior to becoming a resident doctoral student at USF, Margaret was an instructor at the first school in the state of Florida designed to specifically teach talented students struggling with dyslexia. Her research interests include evaluating strategies that impact the attitudes and performance of struggling readers, including the use of technology and human movement and performance.
Erin E. Margarella
Erin taught High School English and Reading in Pinellas County before becoming a full time graduate student. Erin's research interests include literacy leadership, literacy policy, and the infusion of technology into the secondary reading classroom.
Lindsay Persohn
Before entering the doctoral program full time, Lindsay Persohn worked as a school librarian with pre-k through fifth grade students. She is also a former teacher of kindergarten and third grade. Her research interests include reading aloud, technology in schools, and ebooks.
Barbara Peterson
Barbara Peterson was a speech/language pathologist in school and clinical settings prior to full-time study in the doctoral program. Her research focuses on language and literacy development in early childhood.
Virginia Schreier
Virginia Schreier taught fourth grade for nine years before becoming a doctoral student at USF. Her research interests focus on early childhood literacies and science information text. She is also a Graduate Assistant and teaches courses in the elementary education program.
Patriann Smith
Patriann is from the island of St. Lucia. She completed her undergraduate degree in Trinidad, taught fifth-grade for five years and is currently a full-time doctoral student and graduate assistant at USF. Her research focuses on language and literacy development in multicultural and multilingual contexts.
James Welsh
James Welsh is a former elementary school teacher and a current doctoral student at USF in Childhood Education and Literacy Studies, examining critical media literacy in elementary education.