College of Education and Human Development

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Richard Beach

  • Professor Emeritus, Literacy

  • Office Hours

    Tues., 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.; Thurs., 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Richard Beach

Areas of interest

Student response to multicultural literature and media, composition, inquiry-based approach to teaching English, digital literacies

Degrees

PhD, University of Illinois
literacy education

Biography

My primary research interest is in understanding secondary students’ responses to literature and the media, particularly multicultural literature. I focus on how students’ cultural beliefs and attitudes, as well as their participation in certain activities, influences their interpretations of literary texts. Understanding how students apply their own beliefs and attitudes to responding to literature and the media helps teachers assist students in defining their beliefs and values. It may also assist teachers in fostering students’ critical interpretation of literature and the media through writing or discussion.

I am also interested in inquiry-based/critical literacy approaches to teaching English, with a particular focus on media literacy. In an inquiry-based approach, teachers organize their curriculum and instruction around issues of concern to students and then help students learn to investigate those issues through observation and interviewing. This leads students to study of media representations of issues, as well as critique of the value assumptions inherent in those representations.

I’m also interested in the ways in which students are acquiring a whole new set of digital literacies through the uses of digital media and tools, particularly in terms of learning to create hypermedia texts.

Publications

Beach, R., Appleman, D., Hynds, S., & Wilhelm, J. (2010).  Teaching 
Literature to Adolescents, 2nd revised edition.  New York: Routledge.

Beach, R., Campano, G., Edmiston, B.,& Borgmann, M.  (2010).  Literacy Tools in the Classroom: Teaching Through Critical Inquiry, Grades 5-12.  New York: Teachers College Press. http://literacytooluses.pbworks.com

Beach, R., & Doerr-Stevens, C. (2009).  Learning argument practices through online role-play: Toward a rhetoric of significance and transformation. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(6), 460-468http://tinyurl.com/y8orntp

Beach, R., Anson, C, Breuch, L. A., & Swiss, T. (2008). Engaging Students in Digital Writing. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon. Website: http://digitalwriting.pbwiki.com.

Beach, R., Thein, A., & Parks, D. (2007). High School Students' Competing Social Worlds: Negotiating Identities and Allegiances through Responding to Multicultural Literature. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum

Beach, R. (2006). Teachingmedialiteracy.com: A Resource Guide to Links and Activities. New York: Teachers College Press. Website: http://teachingmedialiteracy.com

Beach, R., Appleman, D., Hynds, S., & Wilhelm, J. (2006). Teaching Literature to Adolescents. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Website: Teaching Literature to Adolescents http://www.teachingliterature.org

Beach, R., Green, J., Michael, M., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2005). Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Literacy Research, 2nd ed. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Beach, R., & Friedrich, T. (2005). Response to Writing. In C.A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald. (Eds.). Handbook of Writing Research. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Beach, R. (2004). Researching Response to Literature and the Media. In A Goodwyn & A. Stables (Eds.).Learning to Read Critically in Language and Literacy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2004.

Myers, J. & Beach, R. (2004). Constructing critical literacy practices through technology tools and inquiry.Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education 4 (3). Available: 
http://www.citejournal.org/vol4/iss3/languagearts/article1.cfm

Beach, R., & Myers, J. (2001). Inquiry-based English instruction: Engaging students in life and literature. New York: Teachers’ College Press.

Beach, R., & Myers, J. (2001). Hypermedia authoring as critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 44(6), 2001, 538-565

Beach, R. (2000). Reading and responding at the level of activity, Journal of Literacy Research, 32(2), 237-252.