Office Location:
308A ZankelOffice Hours:
Fall 2020Wednesday 10am - 11am ETThursday 3pm - 4:00pm ETScholarly Interests
Dr. Detra Price-Dennis is an Associate Professor of Education in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, in the Communications, Media, Learning Technologies, and Design program. Detra serves as Co-Director of the Reimagining Education Online Advanced Certificate Program, and is the founding director of #JustLit - a media based project that seeks to provide multimodal resources about literature, media, and social change in education. Her scholarship draws on ethnographic and sociocultural lenses to examine the intersections of literacy education, technology, and curriculum development as a means to identify and amplify equity-oriented pedagogies in K-8 classrooms. She sits on the board of directors for the Literacy Research Association, co-hosts the National Council of Teachers of English’s weekly Member Gatherings for literacy educators, and is the Chair of the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research. Her professional background includes work as an elementary school teacher, an administrator of a graduate teacher education program, and an Assistant Professor of Literacy Studies and Elementary Inclusive Education.
Educational Background
Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 2009
Selected Publications
Price-Dennis, D. (2020). Fostering critical inquiry about equity with children’s literature. NCTE Publications
Price-Dennis, D. (2019). “What happens here can change the world”: Preparing literacy teachers in the digital age. In V.Kinloch, T. Burkhard, & C. Penn (Eds.). Research on Race, Justice, and Activism in Literacy Teacher Education (pp. 23-34). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Price-Dennis, D., & Matthews, G. (2017). Preparing preservice teachers for 21st centuryclassrooms. English Journal, 106(5), 99-102.
Price-Dennis, D. (2016). Developing Curriculum to Support Black Girls' Literacies in Digital Spaces. EnglishEducation, 48(4), 337-361.
Haddix, M., Garcia, A., & Price-Dennis, D. (2016). Youth, popular culture, and the media: Examining race, class, gender, sexuality, and social histories. In D. Appleman & K. Hinchman (Eds.) Adolescent literacy handbook of practice-based research (pp. 21-37). New York, NY: Routledge.
Price-Dennis, D., Holmes, K., and Smith, E. (2015). Exploring digital literacy practices in an inclusive classroom. The Reading Teacher. 69(2), 195–205.
Roser, N., Mosley, M., Martinez, M., & Price-Dennis, D. (2015). A digital tool that grows and grows. Reading and Writing Quarterly. 31(2), 185–200.
Groenke, S., Haddix, M., Glenn, W., Kirkland, D, Price-Dennis, D., & Coleman-King, C. (2015). Disrupting and dismantling the dominant vision of youth of color. English Journal, 104(3), 35–40.
Price-Dennis, D., Fowler-Amato, M., & Wiebe, M. (2014). Developing an authentic writing curriculum: Pre-service teachers explore the use of writer’s notebooks and digital texts. Journal of Writing Teacher Education, 3(2), 46–77.
Haddix, M., & Price-Dennis, D. (2013). Urban fiction and multicultural literature as transformative tools for preparing English teachers for diverse classrooms. English Education, 45(3), 247– 283.
Active Professional Organizations
National Council of Teachers of English
Children's Literature Assembly
Literacy Research Association
Current Projects
In their Policy Research Briefs on 21st Century Learning and 21st Century Literacies, the National Council for Teachers of English (2007, 2009) makes a compelling argument for the need to engage students in 21st century literacy instruction. In addition to voicing the importance of designing classroom spaces in which students and teachers have access to current technologies, NCTE advocates for students to develop technological proficiency, understanding how to “access, evaluate, synthesize, and contribute to information” (NCTE, 2009, p. 5). In my current research project I examine the impact that a 21st century literacy curriculum and innovative pedagogy have on urban fifth grade students’ literacy development.
Honors and Awards
2020 Divergent Award for Excellence in 21st Century Literacies Research. Awarded by Initiative for 21st Century Literacies Research.
2017 Janet Emig Award for the publication ““Developing Curriculum to Support Black Girls’ Literacies in Digital Spaces” Published in English Education. The Conference on English Education sponsored by The National Council of Teachers of English.
2017 Early Career Award. Division K Teacher Education: The American Education
Research Association.
2015 Dean’s Faculty Diversity Research Award. Teachers College, Columbia University.
2014 Janet Emig Award for the publication “Urban Fiction and Multicultural Literature as
Transformative Tools for Preparing English Teachers for Diverse Classrooms.” Published in English Education. The Conference on English Education sponsored by The National Council of Teachers of English.
2013 Outstanding Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education Award for the publication “Critically redefining and repositioning media texts in early childhood teacher education: What if? And why?” Presented by the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Education.