Michael J. Kieffer

Degrees

• Ed.D., Language & Literacy, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Ed.M., Quantitative Methods in Developmental Research, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• B.A. in English, with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford University

Background

• TESOL teacher, department chair, and new teacher coach in an urban middle school in Long Beach, California

Research

• Thesis: “The Development of Morphological Awareness and Vocabulary Knowledge in Adolescent Language Minority Learners and their Classmates”
• Research Area: Second-language literacy in K-12 Schools
• Specific Interests:
• Reading comprehension difficulties of adolescent English language learners
• Developmental relationships among morphology, vocabulary, and reading
• Instructional approaches to accelerate word learning for ELLs
• Role of academic language skills in content-area learning
• Has published research on literacy and academic development of ELLs in elementary and middle schools in Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, American Educational Research Journal, Reading and Writing, and The Reading Teacher.

Courses

• Pedagogical Approaches in the Content Areas for K-12 TESOL
• TESOL Methods for Grades 7-12
• Advanced Topics: Second-language Literacy Development

Fun Facts

• While in CA, he lived in the most racially balanced zip code in the U.S.
• He loves to sing karaoke, but only with other tone-deaf friends. What he lacks in pitch, he tries to make up for in enthusiasm and volume.