Education

Ph.D. , Curriculum and Instruction, Language Arts and Literacy, Kent State University

M.A. , English, University of Akron

B.S., Education, Language Arts, Auburn University

Expertise

Secondary English and Literacy

Background

Mary E. Styslinger is a professor of English and literacy education at the University of South Carolina where she directed the Midlands Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, from 2001-2018. She has served as the secondary program coordinator and currently advises students pursuing MT and Ph.D. degrees in secondary English and Literacy education. She taught high school English and theatre in Ohio for 12 years and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in English and literacy methods. She is a past president of the South Carolina Council of Teachers of English and currently co-edits South Carolina English Teacher.  Her interests include: interweaving literacy into the English curriculum, serving marginalized and at-risk youth, and workshopping content and pedagogy for democracy and justice.

Mary is the author of Workshopping the Canon and co-editor of Literacy Behind Bars: Successful Reading and Writing Strategies for Use with Incarcerated Youth and Adults. She has published articles in English Journal, Voices from the Middle, Language Arts, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, English Teaching: Practice and Critique, and Kappan and received grants to fund her research and professional development with teachers from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, South Carolina Reading Initiative, and the National Writing Project. She is currently writing a sequel to Workshopping the Canon.

Selected research studies

National Writing Project, Midlands Writing Project.

COE Research Grants, The “Hidden Literacies” of Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome Center for Teaching Excellence and Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning, Reading Behind the Fence.

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, Project RAISSE: Reading Assistance Initiative for Secondary School Educators.

Selected Publications

Books

Styslinger, M.E. (2017). Workshopping the canon. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Styslinger, M.E., Gavigan, K., & Albright, K. (Eds.). (2017). Literacy behind bars: Successful reading and writing strategies for use with Incarcerated youth and adults.  Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Articles

Styslinger, M.E. (2019). Just listen: Reading conversations with incarcerated youth. English Journal, 109(2), 23-31.

Styslinger, M.E., & Stowe, J. (2019). Becoming teachers for social justice: Raising critical consciousness. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 92(1-2), 9-14.
           
Doyle, J.L., Bemiss, E.M., & Styslinger, M.E. (2017). Learning from students behind the fence: A critical book club with incarcerated youth.  English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 16(2), 268-284.

Styslinger, M.E., Walker, N., & Lenker, T. (2014). Beyond the sticky note and Venn diagram: Comprehension strategies for 21^st century schools.  Voices from the Middle, 22(2), 13-20.

Styslinger, M.E., & Overstreet, J. (2014). Strengthening argumentative writing with speaking and listening (Socratic) circles. Voices from the Middle, 22(1), 58-62.

Styslinger, M. E., Ware, J. O., Bell, C., & Barrett, J. L. (2014).  What matters: Meeting content goals through teaching cognitive reading strategies with canonical texts.  English Journal, 103(4), 53-61.

Styslinger, M. E., Walker, N., & Eberlin, E.L. (2014). Teaching in third space: Understanding pre-service teachers’ reading with incarcerated teens. Journal of Reading Education, 39(2), 23-29.

Styslinger, M.E. (2012/2013). Making meaning: Strategies for literacy learning. Kappan, 94(4), 40-45.

Clary, D. M., Styslinger, M.E., with Oglan, V. (2012).  Literacy learning communities in partnership.  School-University Partnerships, 5(1), 28-37.

Styslinger, M.E., & Eberlin, E. (2012). Where we are: Responsive reading using Edmodo. Talking Points, 24(1), 23-28.

Styslinger, M.E., & Pollack, T.  (2010). The Chicken and the egg: Inviting response and talk through Socratic circles.  Voices from the Middle, 18(2), 36-45.

Book Chapters

Styslinger, M.E. (in press).  Behind the fence: A reading partnership with the department of juvenile justice. In L. Henry & N. Stahl (Eds.), Literacy across the community: Research, praxis, and trends. Routledge.

Styslinger, M.E., Walker, N., Byrd, A., & Hostetler, K. (2018).  Teaching critically for freedom with 1984. In M. Malcaluso (Ed.), Teaching the canon in 21^st century classrooms: Challenging genres.  Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Brill/Sense Publishers.

Styslinger, M.E. (2017). Preface. In M.E. Styslinger, K. Gavigan, & K. Albright, K. (Eds.), Literacy behind bars (pp. ix-xi). Lanham, ME: Rowman & Littlefield.       

Styslinger, M.E., & Bunch, T. R. (2017). Reading buddies: A school-university partnership. In M.E. Styslinger, K. Gavigan, & K. Albright, K. (Eds.), Literacy behind bars (pp. 71-77). Lanham, ME: Rowman & Littlefield.

Doyle, J.L., Bemiss, E.M., & Styslinger, M.E.  (2017). The places we can go: Book clubs for social justice. In M.E. Styslinger, K. Gavigan, & K. Albright, K. (Eds.), Literacy behind bars (pp. 55-60).  Lanham, ME: Rowman & Littlefield.

Selected presentations

Styslinger, M.E. (2020). OK Boomer: Reimagining What We Read and How We Teach. Presented at The South Carolina Council of Teachers of English (SCCTE) Conference, January 31, 2020, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Styslinger, M.E. (2019). Workshopping the Canon: Revitalizing the “Classics” with High Interest Text Sets, Workshop Structures, and Reading Strategies. Presented at the University of California Irvine (UCI) Writing Project Conference, December 5, Irvine, CA.

Styslinger, M.E. (2019). Becoming Teachers for Social Justice: Resources, Structures, Strategies for Engaging Literacy Learners in Critical Conversations around Issues of Diversity, Equity, and Justice. Presented at the University of California Irvine (UCI) Writing Project Conference, December 5, Irvine, CA.

Styslinger, M.E., Goodman, J., Long, H., Oglan, V., & Wyland, A. (2019). Collaborative Inquiry behind the Fence: Reflecting on our Literacy Processes and Practices with Incarcerated Youth. Presented at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference, November 24, Baltimore, MD.

Styslinger, M.E., Goodman, J., Oglan, V., Bunch, T. (2019). Reading, Writing, and Learning with Incarcerated Youth. Presented at the 2019 National Youth-At-Rick Conference, March 5, Savannah, GA.

Styslinger, M.E. (2018). Teaching for Social Justice: Critical Conversations and Resources. Presented at the American Middle Level Educators (AMLE) 2018 Conference, October 26, Orlando, FL.

Styslinger, M.E., & Walker, N. (2018). Becoming Teachers for Social Justice: Raising Critical Consciousness. Presented at the 2018 Conference on Critical Pedagogy and Paulo Freire, October 18, Columbia, SC.

Byrd, A., Hostetler, K.H., Styslinger, M.E., & Walker, N., (2017). Workshopping the Canon. Presented at the 2017 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference, November 16, St. Louis, MO.

Appleman, D., Gavigan, K., Goodman, J., Oglan, V., Styslinger, M.E., & Williamson, P. (2017). Challenging Deficit Perspectives: Reading and Writing behind Bars.  Presented at the 2017 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference, November 18, St. Louis, MO.