Deborah R. Dillon
Professor
Guy Bond Chair in Reading
Ph. D., University of Georgia
Literacy education
330B Peik Hall
612-626-8271
dillon@umn.edu
Office hours: by appointment
I began my career as a classroom teacher in rural Nebraska working with students in grades 4-6. As a new teacher, I became interested in the intellectual and emotional development of adolescents who struggled with reading, especially those youth who lost their motivation to read and succeed in school. I pursued this interest by studying 9-12th grade students in several discipline area classrooms in Georgia and Indiana; this interest continues to guide my current research endeavors in Minnesota.
My scholarship focuses on the literacy practices of teachers and learners in K-12 schools; motivation and its role in literacy learning; and the sociocultural and historical contexts shaping literacy events and participants’ lives. I also research the preparation of preservice literacy teachers. I have published 4 books including Kids InSight: Reconsidering how to meet the literacy needs of all students, the foundation book for the International Reading Association’s (IRA) Kids InSight Series. I have published several articles in journals including the American Educational Research Journal, Reading Research Quarterly, National Reading Conference Yearbook, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Journal of Educational Research, Journal of Research in the Teaching of Science, Reading Teacher, and Journal of Reading. My research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Bush Foundation, and the U. S. Department of Education: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.
Outreach and service are key components of my professional life. I work with literacy colleagues at the state and local levels in Minnesota and nationally/internationally. I have served as president of the National Reading Conference, former vice chair of the English Language Arts Early and Middle Childhood Standards Committee of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and former editor of the IRA Kids InSight Series, Associate Editor of The Reading Teacher, and associate editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. I am currently the chair of IRA’s Studies and Research Subcommittee.
Teaching is an important part of my work. I enjoy teaching and involving graduate students in my research projects. I have been honored with two teaching awards, one at the university level for my work preparing preservice literacy teachers, and a second award at the departmental level for my work with graduate students in the area of qualitative research methodology (both awarded at Purdue). In 2004 I was awarded the College of Education Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award at the University of Georgia. Listed below are selected publications and courses I teach.
Selected publications
Vagle, M. D., Dillon, D. R., Davison-Jenkins, J. LaDuca, B., & Olson, V. (in press, 2006). Redesigning literacy preservice education at four institutions: A three-year collaborative project. Fifty-fifth yearbook of the national reading conference. Milwaukee, WI: The National Reading Conference.
Moje, E. B., & Dillon, D. R. (2006). Adolescent identities as mediated by science classroom discourse communities. In D. E. Alvermann, K. A. Hinchman, D. W. Moore, S. F. Phelps, & D. R. Waff (Eds.), Reconceptualizing adolescent literacy, 2nd edition (pp. 85-106). Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Dillon, D. R. (2005). There and back again: Qualitative research in literacy education. Reading Research Quarterly, 40, 106-110.
Dillon, D. R., O'Brien, D. G., & Heilman, E. (2004). Literacy research in the next millennium: From paradigms to pragmatism and practicality. In R. Ruddell & K. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading, 5th edition. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. [Reprinted from Reading Research Quarterly]
Dillon, D. R. (2003). In leaving no child behind have we forsaken individual learners, teachers, schools, and communities? Yearbook of the national reading conference (pp.1-31). Milwaukee, WI: The National Reading Conference.
Young, J. P. Y., Dillon, D. R., & Moje, E. (2002). Shape-shifting portfolios: Millennial youth, literacies, and the game of life. In D. E. Alvermann (Ed.). New literacies and digital technologies: A focus on adolescent learners (pp. 114-131). New York: Peter Lang. [Reviewed in Teachers College Record Vol. 106, No. 2, 2004; and JLR , Vol. 36, No. 4, Winter 2004/2005].
Selected courses taught
- CI 5434—Professional Development and Evolving Practice in K-12 Reading (a course in the K-12 Reading Licensure Program)
- CI 8148—Conducting Qualitative Studies in Educational Contexts
- CI 8470—The Role of Motivation in Engaged Reading and Writing
Featured research and outreach
Revised September 2009
