Arizona State professors headline writing research mini-conference April 7-8 on East Campus


Steve Graham & Karen Harris

Arizona State professors headline writing research mini-conference April 7-8 on East Campus

08 Mar 2017     By Kelcey Buck

Steve Graham and Karen Harris, professors in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, will be the keynote speakers during a mini-conference on writing research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln April 7-8.

The first day of the conference will focus on research-oriented topics, and is open to all faculty and students at Nebraska. The second day will be a teacher- and practice-oriented day, and is open to all faculty and students at Nebraska, along with teachers from Lincoln Public Schools and other area schools.

The mini-conference, which is sponsored by funding from Nebraska’s Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, Department of Educational Psychology and the ASUN Graduate Student Assembly, is free to all attendees. Space is limited to 200 participants each day, and registration closes March 31.

Each day will feature a welcome, writing breakout sessions, and a keynote address by Graham and Harris. The keynote address April 7 will be “The State of Writing Research”, while the topic the next day will be writing instruction. In addition, there will be a graduate student luncheon and roundtable discussion April 7, during which Graham and Harris will discuss publishing in high-quality journals. The luncheon is limited to 35 individuals. 

Graham has more than 30 years of experience studying how writing develops, how to teach it effectively, and how writing can be used to support reading and learning. His research involves typically developing writers and students with special needs in both elementary and secondary schools, including extensive research in classrooms.

Harris has worked in the field of education for more than 40 years, initially as a general education teacher, then as a special education teacher. Her research focuses on informing and improving theory, research, and practice related to writing development among students with high-incidence disabilities, students who struggle with writing, and normally achieving students.

Any questions or requests for more information about the writing research mini-conference may be directed to professor Michael Hebert at michael.hebert@unl.edu or Pam Bazis at pbazis@huskers.unl.edu.

Complete schedules for each day, as well as online registration, are available at the following links:
April 7 conference, research-oriented day
April 7 graduate luncheon
April 8 conference, teacher- and practitioner-oriented day


Special Education and Communication Disorders
College of Education and Human Sciences