Bruce Taylor

Bruce Taylor is Professor of Elementary Education and previous program director of graduate programs in reading education at UNC Charlotte. He is also the lead for the Center for Adolescent Literacies.

Areas of Interest

My research and teaching focus on literacy instruction and support in and out of classrooms including the social and cultural aspects of literacy – particularly how literacy practices are used by individuals including teachers and students. My work has also explored the role of diverse texts and technologies in content-area classroom and the community-based support for literacy. I teach graduate and undergraduate courses that focus on content area literacy, multiliteracies and sociocultural perspectives of language and literacy.

Teaching

Courses I regularly teach include:

• ELED 3226: Elementary Language Arts
• READ 6100 Trends & Issues in Literacy and Leadership
• READ 6252 K-12 Writing Instruction & Development

Research & Scholarship

Current Research Projects

1. Reader Experience Research (REX). This research project employs surveys and interviews to learn about how individuals have developed as readers. In particular, we focus on reader perceptions of learning to read (what they see as having helped and hindered their development as readers) and motivation to reader. 
2. Charlotte Core Undergraduate Education Research & Evaluation. I am a member of a team with colleagues in Academic Research & Assessment to learn about faculty and student experiences since the rollout of a new undergraduate general education curriculum at UNC Charlotte. Our research involves surveys of instructors and students of general education courses as well as focus group interviews. This research helps the campus community better understand the impact of these changes to general education on faculty and students. 
3. Adolescent Literacy Community Needs Assessment. I am working with others in the Center for Adolescent Literacies at UNC Charlotte to better understand the issues and concerns related to literacy and learning for educators and others working with students grade 4 through 12+. This work involves focus group interviews and development of a survey.