HLGU professor publishes chapter on teacher education in digital age

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Melanie Smith, an education professor at Hannibal-LaGrange University, recently published a chapter in the Handbook of Research on Advancing Teaching and Teacher Education in the Context of a Virtual Age.

Her chapter, titled “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding How Early Career Literacy Teachers Curate a Lesson Plan in a Digital Age,” focuses on the challenges that early career literacy teachers face when planning small group reading lessons, particularly in the primary grades.

According to Smith, early career teachers often struggle with knowing how to meet the diverse needs of their developing readers. To alleviate this challenge, they seek support from their social environment —including online sources — in today’s digital age. However, due to their lack of experience, they may not always know how to determine quality when curating lessons from various sources.

Smith’s chapter supports the idea that early career literacy teachers need support in determining quality when curating lessons from various sources. Her conceptual framework enhances knowledge of the curation process for early career literacy teachers and highlights possible sources that they may utilize when planning small guided reading group instruction in the primary grades. Furthermore, the chapter highlights how these teachers select sources from the internet and use a research-based literacy framework to discern quality in their selection.

The Handbook of Research on Advancing Teaching and Teacher Education in the Context of a Virtual Age is a comprehensive resource for educators seeking to navigate the challenges of teaching in the digital age. The book includes contributions from leading scholars in the field and covers topics such as online learning, blended teaching models, and teacher preparation for virtual instruction.

Dr. Smith’s chapter makes an important contribution to the book by highlighting the challenges that early career literacy teachers face in the digital age and proposing a framework for addressing those challenges. Her research will be of interest to educators, researchers, and policymakers seeking to improve teacher preparation and support in the digital age.

The Handbook of Research on Advancing Teaching and Teacher Education in the Context of a Virtual Age is available from IGI Global, a leading publisher of scholarly books and journals.