Updated 9/01

Susan Florio-Ruane

 

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

 

Michigan State University                                                         200 Riverfront Drive #20K

College of Education                                                                Detroit, MI 48226

305 Erickson Hall                                                                     Office 313-393-3012

East Lansing, MI 48824                                                           Residence /FAX 313-259-1776

Tel: 517-353-3887                                                                   Email: susanfr@msu.edu

EDUCATION

 

Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Doctorate in Education, June 1978

            Thesis: Learning How to Go to School: An Ethnography of Interaction in a Kindergarten/First Grade Classroom.  Concentration in Learning Environments with emphasis on ethnographic and sociolinguistic research in classroom settings and application of such research to teacher education.

 

Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Masters in Education, June, 1974

            Concentration in Human Development with emphasis on psychological aspects of language and the acquisition of language by children as well as on the organization of communication in social interaction.

 

Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, Special Student, 1971

            Concentration in sociology of small group interaction.

 

Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts Bachelor of Science in Education, June 1970

            Majored in English/Secondary Education with emphasis on literary criticism and work in all genres.  Minor in social science.  (Cum Laude)

 

New York University, New York, New York Special Student, summer 1968

            Concentration in Victorian literature.

 

College of Mount Saint Vincent, Riverdale, New York, 1966-67

            Concentration in French and Spanish (Dean's List).

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

Funded Research

 

Seeing Worlds in Grains of Sand: Cases, Complexity, and Cognitive Flexibility in the Teachers Learning Collaborative (00-01) (with K. Au, T.E. Raphael, & R. Spiro). Continuation Grant Funded by the Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Research and Improvement

 

Professional Development as a Tool for Re-Engaging Low Achieving Readers (98-00) (with T. E. Raphael).  Funded by U. S. Department of Education, Office of Research and Improvement

 

Teachers-in-Residence Program (99-00) (with T.E. Raphael, N. Pinkard, and N. Yochum) Funded by Walgreen Foundation and the University of Michigan.

 

Reading Culture in Autobiography: The Education of Literacy Teachers  (97-98) (with T.E. Raphael).  Funded by the National Council of Teachers of English Grants-in-Aid Foundation

 

Exploring the Concepts of Culture, Social Identity and Schooling in Beginning Teachers' Discussions of Ethnic Autobiography (95-96) (with J. deTar).  Funded by The Spencer Foundation Small Grants Program

 

A Collaborative Study of Conversation and Teacher Learning in an Autobiography Book Club (93-94). Funded by Michigan State All-University Research Grant

 

Autobiographies of Education and Cultural Identity: Preparing Teachers to Support Literacy Learning in Diverse Classrooms (92-93).  Funded by Michigan State University All-University Research Grant

 

Transforming Future Teachers' Ideas about Writing Instruction  (88-89).  Funded by Michigan State University All-College Research Grant 

 

The Written Literacy Forum of the Institute for Research on Teaching (81-86) (with C.M. Clark).  Funded by the National Institute of Education

 

Continued Support of the Written Literacy Study: Teacher Collaboration (80) (with C. M. Clark). Funded by Michigan State University All-College Research Grant

 

Schooling and the Acquisition of Written Literacy: A Descriptive Case Study (79-81) (with C.M. Clark).  Funded by the National Institute of Education

 

Author Team Member /Researcher:

 

The Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (97-present) Funded by US Department of Education

 

The Middle Years: Re conceptualizing the Transition from Student to Researcher (97-98), Funded by the Spencer Foundation (Project Directors, S. Wilson; David Labaree)

 

Preparing teachers and administrators to use computers in schools: Research the integration of computers into the Learning Community Teacher Education Program (89-92), Funded by the Apple Foundation (Project Director, P. Dickson)

 

Additional Research Experience

 

Visiting Scholar, Harvard Graduate School of Education (84-85)

            Research on writing including theories of its development, issues of curriculum and teaching, applications of computer technology to writing instruction and research.  Study of the relation between theory and practice in education and the ways researchers and practitioners represent their knowledge about practice.

 

Research Assistant, Harvard Graduate School of Education (73-76)

            Research examining cultural differences in the early school experiences of children and the relationship between family and school life.  Collaborated with an experienced elementary school teacher in applying research techniques and findings to the continuing education of teachers (funded by grants to the principal investigators from the Spencer Foundation and the National Science Foundation) (Professor, Frederick Erickson).

 

Practitioner/Researcher Classroom Interaction, Harvard Graduate School of Education (73-74)

            Research on classroom interaction at North Reading Junior High School, North Reading, Massachusetts to document and assess curriculum and program innovations (Professor, Courtney Cazden).

 

Researcher, Psycholinguistics, Harvard Graduate School of Education (74)

            Pilot research on acquisition of complex syntax by pre-school children (Professor, Roger Brown).

 

Teaching

Professor, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, (Professor, 90 – present; Associate Professor, 81- 90; Assistant Professor, 77-81)

            Teach doctoral courses on topics including: "Analysis of Educational Discourse,"  "Qualitative Methods in Educational Research," “Language, Literacy and Policy," and “Language, Literacy, and Learning;" teach Masters courses on “Culture, Literacy and Autobiography,” “Practitioner Research,” “Theory and Research on the Teaching of Writing,” and the Pro seminar for Literacy Masters Candidates; teach undergraduate courses in "Exploring Teaching, " Learning and Learning in Context, “ and “Methods of Teaching Language Arts,” and teacher candidates in MSU’s Detroit-Area Internship Program in the area of Literacy Education.

 

Instructor, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts (75-77)

            Planned and implemented pro-seminar for experienced teachers who were candidates for the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study.

 

Teaching Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts (76-77)

            Supervised field research practicum by graduate students working in school and community settings as part of their research training.

 

Teacher, North Reading Junior High School, North Reading, Massachusetts (70-73)

            Taught sixth and seventh grade language arts, reading and social studies; planned and implemented curricular and organizational innovations in open education in the areas of language arts and aesthetic education.

Administration

 

Site Coordinator, Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), Michigan State University (01-present).  Administer sub-contract funded by U.S. Office of Education.  Oversight of MSU- CIERA projects, deliverables, and budget.

 

Coordinator, Masters in Literacy Instruction Program, Michigan State University (96-98)

            Administer an inter-departmental, interdisciplinary program for experienced teachers pursuing certification as specialists in reading and learning to conduct research into their own practice.  Oversee all aspects of program planning and implementation.

 

Associate Editor, Anthropology and Education Quarterly (96-98)

            Edit the leading journal in the field of Educational Anthropology, including research articles, book reviews and letters and columns.  Oversee entire editorial process including peer review, revision of articles, assembling the journal, and serving as a liaison between the journal and the Council on Anthropology and Education of the American Anthropological Association.

 

Co-Director  (97-98), Michigan State University/Spencer Foundation Research Training Program for Graduate Students in Education. MSU/Spencer Research Training Fellowship Program for Graduate Students in Education

 

President, Council on Anthropology and Education (94-96) (President-elect and Program Chair (92-94)

            Led a professional unit of the American Anthropological Association comprised of nearly 900 professional and student members; chair the organization's Board of Directors; represent the organization on the Section Assembly of the American Anthropological Association; guide development of the academic program for the Council's annual meeting; maintain communication among the organization's nine standing committees and elected officers; oversee the budget, recruitment, nominations, long-range--planning, communications, awards, and publications .

 

Coordinator, Learning Community Elementary Teacher Education Program, Michigan State University (79-80; 87-93)

            Led the development of an innovative two-year alternative pre-service teacher education program serving approximately fifty-five students and involving a staff of approximately fifteen; Coordinated all program activities including recruitment and admissions; staffing and staff development; curriculum development and evaluation; field experiences and community relations; remedial programs for students; outreach; supervision of graduate teaching assistants; and integration of practice and research.

 

Awards and Honors

 

     Visiting Fellow, College of Education and Human Services, George Mason University (1991)

     Division K Award for Excellence in Research on Teaching and Teacher Education, American Educational Research Association (1990)

     Eminent Scholar, The Ohio State University Martha L. King Literacy Center (1989)

     Fellow, National Conference of Research on English (Appointed 1989)

     Michigan State University College of Education Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award (1982); Distinguished Faculty Award Finalist (1999)

     Fellow, American Anthropological Association (Appointed 1980)

     Pi Lambda Theta Education Honor Society (Inducted 1970)

     Phi Delta Kappa Education Honor Society (Inducted 1978)

     Awarded "Distinction" for Special Qualifying Paper, "Issues in the Analysis of Classroom Interaction," Harvard Graduate School of Education (1976)

     Graduated cum laude, Boston University School of Education (1970)

 

Selected Professional Memberships and Consultations

 

Council of Chief State School Officers (2000--resent) Development of Literacy Standards for Beginning Teachers (K-5).

Delegation Leader (2001). People to People Mission of US Literacy Educators to Cuba.

Advisory Board, Technical Support Consortium, Schools of the Twenty-First Century Initiative, Detroit, Michigan (98-01)

Selected Editorial Consultation

 

Book Review: Ablex Press, Cambridge University Press, Longman Publishers, Dorsey Press; Teachers College Press; St. Martin's Press

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Books

 

Florio-Ruane, S. with deTar, J. (2001). Teacher Education and the cultural Imagination: Autobiography, Conversation, and Narrative.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

 

Selected Articles in Refereed Journals

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (in press). More light: An argument for complexity in research in teaching and teacher education.  Journal of Teacher Education.

 

Raphael, T.E., Florio-Ruane, S. & George, M. (in press). Book Club Plus: A conceptual framework to organize for literacy instruction. Language Arts

 

Raphael, T.E., Florio-Ruane, S., Kehus, M., George, M., Hasty, N. & Highfield, K. (2000). Thinking for ourselves: Literacy learning in a diverse teacher inquiry network.  The Reading Teacher, vol. 54, No. 6, pp. 596-607. (Also Online@CIERA #00-07).

 

Florio, S. (1979/2000).  The problem of dead letters: Social perspectives on the teaching of writing.  The Elementary School Journal, September, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 1-7 (re-published in Good, T. and Brophy, J. (2000) Looking in Classrooms (Eighth edition), NY: Longman.

 

The Book Club Plus Group* (1999).  What counts as teacher research?  Language Arts. (*Reflects collaborative authorship including Eisele, K.; Florio-Ruane, S.; George, M.; Grattan, K., Hasty, N., Heitman, A., Highfield, K., Kehus, M., Raphael, T.E., Reed, M., & Szlachta, J.). (Also Online@CIERA #99-05.)

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1997).  To tell a new story: Reinventing narratives of culture, identity, and education.  Anthropology and Education Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 1 (also presented as the Presidential Address to the Council on Anthropology ad Education, San Francisco, CA, November 1996 and translated in Florio-Ruane, S. (2000). In Kashmanova, T. and Clark, C.M. (Eds.).  Culture and community in learning to teach.  Ukraine: Litopys Publishing House.)

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1995).  Captive leaders: The paradoxical relationship of teachers' classroom authority and institutional power in the reform of literacy education, The Michigan Reading Journal, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 6-14. (Also presented as an invited paper and appears in the Proceedings of the Third Annual Forum of the Association of Independent Liberal Arts College for Teacher Education, Indianapolis, June, 1989).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and deTar, J. (1995). Conflict and consensus in teacher candidates' discussion of ethnic autobiography. English Education, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 11-39.

 

Denyer, J. and Florio-Ruane, S. (1995).  Mixed messages and missed opportunities: Moments of transformation in writing conferences and teacher education. International Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 539-551 (also presented at the meetings of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago, November 1991).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1994) The Future Teachers' Autobiography Club: Preparing educators to support literacy learning in culturally diverse classrooms, English Education, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 52-66 (also presented at the Winter Research Forum of the National Conference of Research on English, Chicago, January, 1993).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1990).  The Written Literacy Forum: An analysis of teacher/researcher collaboration. The Journal Curriculum Studies, 1990, vol. 22, pp. 313-328 (also presented at the meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April 1983).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and Lensmire, T. (1990). Transforming future teachers' ideas about writing instruction.  The Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 277-289 (also presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, March, 1989, and published as National Center for Research on Teacher Education, Craft Paper No. 90-1.  East Lansing, MI, College of Education, 1990.)

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1990).  Creating your own case studies.  Teacher Education Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 29-42.

 Florio-Ruane, S. and Clark, C.M. (1990).  Using case studies to enrich field experience. Teacher Education Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 17-28 (also presented at the meeting of the American Association of College of Teacher Education, Detroit, February 1983).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1987).  Sociolinguistics for educational researchers American Educational Research Journal, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 185-197.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1985).  Learning about language in classrooms. Volta Review, vol. 87, no. 5, pp. 47-56.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and Dohanich, J.B. (1984).  Communicating the findings: Teacher/researcher deliberations. Language Arts, vol. 61, no. 7, pp. 724-730 (also Research Series No. 151. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Research on Teaching, 1984).

 

Clark, C.M. and Florio, S.  (1983).  The Written Literacy Forum: Combining research and practice. Teacher Education Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 57-87 (also published as Research Series No. 138.  East Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Research on Teaching, 1984).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1983).  What's so hard about writing? The issues for teachers and students. The Elementary School Journal, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 93-99.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and Clark, C.M.  (1982). The functions of writing in an elementary classroom.  Research in the Teaching of English, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 115-130

 

Florio, S. and Shultz, J.  (1978).  Social competence at home and at school. Theory into Practice, October, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 234-243

 

Shultz, J. and Florio, S.  (1979).  Stop and freeze: The negotiation of social and physical space in a kindergarten/first grade classroom.  Anthropology and Education Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 166-181 (also Occasional Paper No. 26. (East Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Research on Teaching).

 

 

Selected Refereed Book Chapters

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (2001).  Culture in education: Thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird. Fiftieth yearbook of the National Reading Conference.  Chicago: NRC.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and McVee, M.  (2000). Ethnographic research.  In Kamil, M., P.D. Pearson, R. Barr & P. Mosenthal (Eds.)  Handbook of Reading Research (4th Edition). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum and (2002) Methods of literacy research: The methodology chapters from the Handbook of Reading Research. Mahwah: Erlbaum.

 

Florio-Ruane, S., Raphael, T., Glazier, J., McVee, M. & Wallace, S. (1997).  Discovering culture in discussions of autobiographical literature: Transforming the education of literacy teachers.  In C. Kinzer, D. Leu, & K. Hinchman (Eds.), Inquiries in literacy theory and practice: Forty-eighth yearbook of the National Reading Conference.  Chicago: NRC.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1994).  Anthropological study of classroom culture and social organization.  In Husen, T. and T.N. Postlethwaite (Eds.)  The International Encyclopedia of Education  (Second edition).  Oxford: Pergamon.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. Social organization of classes and schools (1989).  In M. Reynolds (Ed.), Knowledge Base for the Beginning Teacher.  Oxford, UK: Pergamon (winner of the Division K Award for Excellence in Research on Teaching and Teacher Education, American Educational Research Association, 1990)

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1988).  How ethnographers of communication study writing in school. Dialogues in Literacy Research: 37th Yearbook of the National Reading Conference. Chicago: NRC (Also Plenary Address to the National Reading Conference, St. Petersburg, December 1987).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and Dunn, S. (1987).  Teaching writing: Some perennial questions and some possible answers.  In V. Koehler (Ed.), The educators' handbook. NY: Longman).

 

Florio, S. and Clark, C.M. (1984).  Pen pals: Describing an occasion for writing in the classroom. In J.L. Vacca and H.A. Johnson (Eds.). Qualitative research in education: Selected papers from the Midwest Regional Conference. Kent, OH: Kent State University.

 

Shultz, J., Florio, S. and Erickson, F. (1982).  Where's the floor?  Aspects of the cultural organization of social relationships in communication at home and at school. In P. Gilmore and A. Glatthorn (Eds.).  Children in and out of school: Ethnography and education. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Selected Articles and Chapters (1980-present)

 

Florio-Ruane, S., Berne, J., & Raphael, T.E. (2001). Teaching literature and literacy in the eye of reform: A dilemma in three acts.  The New Advocate, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 197-210. .

 

Florio-Ruane, S. & Raphael, T.E. (2001). Reading lives: Creating and sustaining learning about culture and literacy education in teacher study groups.  In Clark, C.M. (Ed.). Talking Shop: Authentic Conversation and Teacher Learning. NY: Teachers College Press. (Also Online@CIERA #00-08).

 

Clark, C.M. & Florio-Ruane, S. (2001). Conversation as support for teaching in new ways.  In Clark, C.M. (Ed.). Talking Shop: Authentic Conversation and Teacher Learning. NY: Teachers College Press.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (2001). How culture matters: Introduction to Anderson-Levitt, K. (2001). Teaching cultures: Knowledge of teaching first grade in France and the U.S. Cresskill: Hampton Press.

 

 

 

Raphael, T.E., Damphousse, K., Highfield, K. & Florio-Ruane, S. (2001). Understanding culture in our lives and work: Teachers’ literature study in the Book Club Program. In P.R. Schmidt and P.B. Mosenthal (Eds.). Advances in Reading/Language Arts (Volume 9): Literacy in the New Age of Pluralism and Multiculturalism. Greenwich: JAI Press. (Also Online@CIERA #00-02).

 

Glazier, J., McVee, M., Wallace-Cowell, Shellhorn, B., Florio-Ruane, S. & Raphael, T.E. (2000). Teacher learning in response to autobiographical literature.  In Karolides, N. (Ed.) Reader Response in Secondary and College Classrooms (second edition). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1999).  Fieldwork in pre-service teachers' learning: Revisiting "Creating your own case studies."  In Lundeberg, M., Levin, B., & Harrington, H. (Eds.) Who learns from cases and how? The research base for teaching with cases. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

 

Denyer, J. and Florio-Ruane, S. (1997).  Contributions of literature study to the teaching and learning of writing.  In Raphael, T.E. and Au, K.H. (Eds.)  Literature-based instruction: Reshaping the curriculum.  Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.

 

Clark, C.M. and Florio-Ruane, S. (1996).  Mixed messages about diary time. In C.M. Clark, Thoughtful teaching.  NY: Teachers College Press.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1991).  Conversation and narrative in collaborative research. In Witherell, C. and Noddings, N. (Eds.).  Stories lives tell: Narrative and dialogue in education. NY: Teachers College Press.  (Also Occasional Paper No. 102. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Research on Teaching).

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1991).  Instructional conversations in learning to write and learning to teach. In L. Idol and B. Jones (Eds.).  Educational values and cognitive instruction: Implications for reform (Vol. 2).  NY: Erlbaum.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. and Lensmire, T. (1989).  The role of instruction in learning to write.  In J. Brophy (Ed.), Advances in research on teaching (vol. 1).  Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1989). Research, recalibration, and conversation: A response to Cazden, Diamondstone, and Naso. In The Quarterly of the National Writing Project and the Center for the Study of Writing, vol. 11, no. 3.

 

Dunn, S., Florio-Ruane, S. and Clark, C.M. (1986). The teacher as respondent to the high school writer. In S.W. Freedman (Ed.).  The acquisition of written language: Revision and response. NY: Ablex (also Research Series No. 152.  East Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Research on Teaching, 1984).

 

Florio, S. and Clark, C.M (1984).  The environment of instruction: The forms and functions of writing in a teacher-developed curriculum.  In G. Duffy, L. Roehler, and J. Mason (Eds.). Comprehension instruction: Perspectives and suggestions.  NY: Longman.

 

Clark, C.M. and Florio, S. with Elmore, J., Martin, R. and Maxwell, R. Understanding writing instruction: Issues of theory and method (1983).  In P. Mosenthal, L. Tamor, and S. Walmsley (Eds.).  Research on writing: Principles and methods.  NY: Longman.

 

Florio, S. and Clark, C.M.  What is writing for?  Writing in the first weeks of school in a second/third grade classroom (1982).  In L.C. Wilkinson (Ed.). Communicating in the classroom.  NY: Academic Press.

 

Florio, S. and Walsh, M. The teacher as colleague in classroom research (1981).  In H.T. Trueba, G.P. Guthrie, and K.H. Au (Eds.).  Culture and the bilingual classroom.  Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

 

Selected Book Reviews

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (2000).  What makes these conversations so difficult? Review of Chavez Chavez, R. & O’Donnell, J. (Eds.) (1998). Speaking the Unpleasant: The Politics of (non) Engagement in the Multicultural Education Terrain.  In Anthropology and Education Quarterly.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. Review of Sociolinguistic perspectives on bilingual education, by Christina Bratt Paulston, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 1993, vol. 2, no. 2.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. The eye of the beholder: Problems of the diary as a report of descriptive research. The Elementary School Journal, 1984, vol. 84, no. 3, pp. 345-349.

 

 

Other Scholarly Products  (1985-present)

 

Raphael, T.E. & Florio-Ruane, S. (Eds.)  (2001). Touching minds and hearts: Learning about ourselves and others through the first US-Cuban Exchange on Language, Literacy, and Literacy Education.  Spokane: People-to-People Ambassador Program.

 

Denyer, J., Florio-Ruane, S. & Raphael, T.E. (2001). Improving teaching through the analysis of classroom interaction: An observation and analysis handbook.  Technical Report. Ann Arbor: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement.

 

Florio-Ruane, S. (1985).  Thinking about teaching writing: An instructional guide for pre-service teachers. East Lansing: Michigan State University.

 

Selected Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers and Presentations (1985-present)

 

Florio-Ruane, S. & McVee, M. (2000). Culture: An emergent concept in research on teaching. American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April.

 

Berne, J., Florio-Ruane, S. & Raphael, T.E. & Diamond, B. (2000).  Developing professional standards.  Paper presented at the annual meetings of the International Reading Association, Indianapolis, April.

 

Raphael, T.E., Florio-Ruane, S., Kehus, M., George, M., Hasty, N., & Highfield, K. (2000). Thinking for ourselves: Literacy learning in a diverse teacher inquiry network.  Invited Research