EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY

Laura Pardo
Associate Professor of Education
Elementary/Secondary Education

Email: pardo@hope.edu

B.S., Elementary Education – Central Michigan University 1982
M.A., Reading Instruction – Michigan State University 1990
Ph.D., Curriculum, Teaching, & Educational Policy – Michigan State University 2005

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES

ED 282 Literacy II: Reading and the Language Arts, Grades 4-8
ED 283 Literacy II Field Placement
ED. 282/283 - Literacy II: Reading & Language Arts, Grade 4–8 (Liverpool, England)
ED 285 Secondary Reading/Language Arts Across Disciplines
ED 286 Secondary Reading/Adolescent Design Field Placement
ED 287 Instructional Design for Adolescents
ED 360 Secondary Principles
ED 361 Field Placement for Secondary Principles
IDS100 Beetles and Angels: Understanding Ourselves through Experiences with Others

PRIOR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

Prior to joining the Hope Education faculty, I taught undergraduate and graduate level methods courses at Michigan State University. I also supervised student teachers. Before going to MSU in 1999, I was an educational consultant for a major textbook publisher, working primarily in the mid-western US. Prior to that work I was an elementary and middle school teacher in Saginaw and then in Lansing. I spent six years teaching middle school and eight years in elementary classrooms (grades 2 through 5).

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Pardo, L.S. (under review). Examining the Long-Term Value of a Case Study Assignment in Inside Literacy Teacher Education: Lessons from the Field, F. Pomerantz & M. Pierce (editors). Christopher Gordon.

Pardo, L.S., Field, H., & Guzdziol, G. (under review). Keeping Kids on the Edge of Their Seats during Book Club. Michigan Reading Journal.

Pardo, L.S. (in press). Question Answer Relationships: Comprehension Strategy Lessons for Grades 4 and 5. Scholastic.

Pardo, L.S., Highfield, K., Florio-Ruane, S. (editors) (in press). Standing for Powerful Literacy: Teaching in the Context of Change. Hampton Press.

Bates, A.J., & Pardo, L.S. (in press). Action Research: Can it be a Means for Helping Teacher Candidates Learn about Student Diversity?" i.e.: Inquiry in Education.

Pardo, L.S. (2010). What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Comprehension in R. Allington (Ed.) Essential Readings on Struggling Learners. International Reading Association Publications.

Pardo, L.S. (2010). “Preparing students for the test is not necessarily preparing them to be good writers”: One urban teacher’s dilemma in Research on Urban Teacher Learning: The Role of Contextual Factors Across the Professional Continuum, A.J. Stairs & K. Donnell (Editors). Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Pardo, L.S., Highfield, K., Florio-Ruane, S. (under development). Standing for Powerful Literacy: Teaching in the Context of Change.

Bates, A.J., & Pardo, L.S. (under review). Enacting action research: Meeting diverse learning needs in the classroom. AR Expeditions.

Pardo, L.S. (in press). “Preparing students for the test is not necessarily preparing them to be good writers”: One urban teacher’s dilemma in Research on Urban Teacher Learning: The Role of Contextual Factors Across the Professional Continuum, A.J. Stairs & K. Donnell (Editors). Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Pardo, L., & Kersten, J. (2008). Challenges and Solutions: Children’s Literature in Today’s K-12 Classrooms. Language Arts, 85(3), 242-245.

Kersten, J., & Pardo, L.S. (2007). Finessing and hybridizing: Innovative Literacy Practices in Reading First Classrooms. The Reading Teacher 61(2), 146-154.

Pardo, L.S. (2007). Students can take risks here: A first grade teacher learns to teach writing”. Michigan Reading Journal, 39(3), 26-33.

Kersten, J., & Pardo, L.S. (2007). Finessing and hybridizing: Innovative Literacy Practices in Reading First Classrooms. The Reading Teacher (61(2), 146-154.

Bates, A.J & Pardo, L.S. (2006). Learning to do action research in teacher education. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 10(3), 250-254.

Pardo, L.S. (2006). The role of context in learning to teach writing: What teacher educators need to know to support beginning urban teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(4), 378-394.

Pardo, L.S., & Raphael, T.E. (2006). Classroom organization for instruction in content areas. In R.D. Robinson (Ed.), Issues and innovations in literacy education: Readings from the Reading Teacher. International Reading Association, Newark, DE.

Pardo, L.S. (2005). Beginning teachers learn to teach writing: Finessing teaching context shapes evolving practice. An unpublished doctoral dissertation. East Lansing, MI.

Pardo, L.S. (2004). What every teacher should know about comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58(3), 272-280.

Pardo, L.S. (2002). Book Club for the twenty-first century. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 30(4), 14-23.

Raphael, T.E., Au, K.H. (eds.), Pardo, L.S., Scheu, J., Kehus, M., & Carroll, J. (2002). Super QAR for the Test-Wise Student. Complete test preparation program for grades 1-8. Bothell, WA: The Wright Group.

Raphael, T.E., Pardo, L.S., & Highfield, K. (2002). Book Club: A Literature-based Curriculum. Second Edition. Small Planet Communications, Lawrence, MA.

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

Pardo, L.S., Nees, A., & Field, H. (2010). Fourth Grade Book Club: On the Edge of their Seats! A paper session at Michigan Reading Association. Detroit, MI.

Pardo, L.S. (2009). Standing for Literacy: Teaching in the Context of Change. An roundtable in an Alternative Format at the National Reading Association’s annual conference, Albuquerque, NM.

Pardo, L.S. (2009). Examining the Long-Term Value of a Case Study Assignment. A paper presented in the symposium “Inside Literacy Teacher Education: Lessons From the Field” at the National Reading Association’s annual conference, Albuquerque, NM.

Kersten, J., & Pardo, L.S. (2009). Dialogue, Scaffolding, and Technology: Drawing on “Old” Vygotskian Approaches to Learning for “New” Approaches to Writing and Book Club Discussions in Elementary Classrooms. A Paper Session at the International Reading Association’s annual conference, Minneapolis, MN.

Pardo, L.S., Guzdziol, G., & Son, A. (2009). Learning to Teach Book Club. A paper session at Michigan Reading Association. Grand Rapids, MI.

Highfield, K., & Pardo L. (2009). Building Bridges of Knowledge. The Preservice and Begining Teacher Pizza Luncheon at the Michigan Reading Conference’s Annual Convention, March, Grand Rapids, MI.

Pardo, L.S. & Highfield, K. (2009). Composing a Life in Literacy: Research-Based Practices in the Reading/Writing Connection in Memoir/Autobiography. A breakout session at the MRA Research Pre-Conference, Grand Rapids, MI.

Kersten, J., & Pardo, L.S. (2009). Dialogue, Scaffolding, and Technology: Drawing on “Old” Vygotskian Approaches to Learning for “New” Approaches to Writing and Book Club Discussions in Elementary Classrooms. A Paper Session at the International Reading Association’s annual conference, Phoenix, AZ.

Pardo, L.S. & Rykse, J. (2008). Book Clubs Work! Fourth and Fifth Graders Talk about Books. Michigan Reading, Association. Detroit, MI.

Pardo, L.S. (2008). Learning to Teach in a Time of Reform: How One Teacher Candidate Found His Way. A paper presented in “Becoming a Teacher: Developing Preservice Teachers’ Identities” L. Pardo, chair. A Paper Session at the National Reading Conference, Orlando, FL.

Pardo, L.S. (2007). What effect does Book Club have on students’ literacy achievement? A paper presented in “Examinations of Student Reading Achievement in Varied Settings” P. Semingson, chair. A Paper Session at the National Reading Conference, Austin, TX.

Pardo, L.S. (2007). Book Club supports students’ literacy achievement. A paper presented in “Beyond test scores and despite policy: Effective literacy practices in diverse K-12 contexts” J. Kersten, chair. A symposium at the National Reading Conference, Austin, TX.

Pardo, L.S. (2007). Writing improvement in the Book Club Plus classroom. A paper presented in “Focus on Writing: Teenage Vernacular, Multimodal/multimedia communication and emergent literacy” L. Pardo, chair. A Practitioner Research session at the 28th Annual Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA.

Pardo, L.S., & Mezeske, R.J. (2006). Old eyes, new eyes: Professors collaborating to understand the literacy knowledge of pre-service teachers through metaphorical concept mapping. A paper presented in “Preservice teacher knowledge and beliefs” L. Pardo, chair. A paper session at National Reading Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

Pardo, L.S. (2006). A beginning teacher’s journey toward completeness. A paper presented in "Research Roundtables”, L. Rex, Chair. National Council of Teachers of English, Nashville, TN.

Pardo, L.S. (2006). We begin writing in the ninety-first minute. A paper presented in “Innovative elementary literacy pedagogy in the context of NCLB and Reading First” J. Kersten and L. Pardo, chairs. A symposium at the International Reading Association, Chicago, IL.

Pardo, L.S. (2006). Beginning teachers finesse teaching context: Learning to shape effective literacy practices for writing instruction. A Research Poster Session “Teaching preschoolers and beginning readers” L.M. Morrow, chair. International Reading Association, Chicago, IL, May.

Pardo, L.S. & Kersten, J.M. (2006). “Implications from research: Using classroom teachers’ responses to policy to inform teacher education”. A paper presented at American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, San Diego, CA, January.

Bates, A.J. & Pardo, L.S. (2006). “Learning to do action research: Helping preservice teachers develop strategies to meet diverse learning needs”. A paper presented at American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, San Diego, CA, January.

Pardo, L.S. (2005). “Beginning teachers learn to teaching writing: Finessing teaching context shapes evolving practice”. In Still point in the turning world: Literacy teaching in the context of reform, (S. Florio-Ruane, chair). A symposium at the National Reading Conference, Miami, FL, December.

Pardo, L.S. (2005). “We begin writing in the ninety-first minute”: Examining how beginning teachers learn to finesse their teaching contexts in order to develop writing practice. A paper presented at National Council of Teachers of English, Pittsburg, PA.

Pardo, L.S. (2005). Case study and practitioner research. A roundable in S. Florio-Ruane’s National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy Presidential Session; Writing the Knowledge of our Field: Emergent rhetoric and genre(s) in research by and about teachers of literacy. National Council of Teachers of English, Pittsburg, PA.

Pardo, L.S. (2005). “We begin writing in the ninety-first minute”: Examining stories of how beginning teachers learn to finesse their teaching contexts. In The Classroom as Still Point in the Turning World of Literacy Education Reform, S. Florio-Ruane (chair). An Interactive session at the 26th Annual Penn Ethnography in Education Research Forum. Philadelphia, PA.

Pardo, L.S. & Petrone, R. (2005). Knowing my Students as Literacy Learners: Engaging in Discussions. A workshop at the MSU/TNE 2005 Induction Institute. June 16, 2005; Lansing, MI.

Rosaen, C., Bates, A., Pardo, L.S., & Boling, E. (2004). Preparing teachers for diverse classrooms: Using evidence of quality to co-construct and redesign a language arts practicum. An Interactive Dialogue at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s annual meeting. Chicago, IL.

Rosaen, C., Pardo, L.S., Bates, A. & Boling, E. (2003). Collaborative partnerships for preparing teachers for diverse classrooms. In Fostering University-School Partnerships (C. Roberts, chair). A Colloquia at the National Council of Teachers of English’s annual meeting. San Francisco, CA.

Pardo, L.S. (2002, August). Integrating Investigations with Traditional Mathematics. Lansing Schools Summer Institute, Lansing, MI.

Pardo, L.S. (2002, April). The Latest and Greatest Information about Book Clubs. “Bright Ideas” Spring Conference on the English Language Arts. MSU Department of English and Michigan Council of Teachers of English, East Lansing, MI.

Pardo, L.S., Rosaen, C., & Lantz, T. (2002). Preparing educators for diverse classrooms: Teacher candidates explore difference from multiple perspectives. In C. Rosaen (chair), Preparing Educators for Diverse Classrooms. A symposium at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, New York City.

Rosaen, C.R., & Pardo, L.S. (2002). Learning to teach literacy together: Co-constructing a language arts practicum. Paper presented at an Interactive Symposium: Learning to teach literacy together: Developing collaborative mentoring practices. Annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

Rosaen, C., Pardo, L.S., & Boling, E. (2002). Facing challenges in preparing teachers for diverse classrooms. A panel at the National Council of Teachers of English’s annual meeting. Atlanta, Georgia.

Pardo, L.S. (2001, April). Learning to teach: How does the new teacher learn to use content standards to plan and assess instruction? In S. McMahon & V. Goatley (co-chairs), The Relationship among Literacy, Content Standards, and Student Achievement. An institute at the International Reading Association, New Orleans, Louisiana.

PERSONAL

My husband, Jack, and I will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary in December 2010. Our son Chad, and his wife, Jenny, live and work in Livonia. They are expecting our first grandchild in February of 2011. Our daughter, Megan and her husband, Shane, live in Bloomington, Illinois. , We reside in Caledonia where we enjoy watching the deer, turkey, birds, and small critters in our back yard. I am an avid reader, take a kickboxing class, and I am beginning to enjoy my empty nest.