Georgia Garcia

Activities & Honors

• Member of Senior ETS Senior Advisory English Language Learner Panel, Educational Testing Service, 2011- present
• Associate Editor, AERJ-TLHD section, AERJ-TLHD section, American Educational Research Association, 2010-2012
• Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, College of Education, 2010-
• University Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003-2006
• Member, National Literacy Panel on language minority students, Institute of Education Sciences, 2002-2004
• Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching, Honorable Mention, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000-
• Member, Reading Study Group on Skillful Reading, RAND, 2000-
• Elected Member, Board of Directors, National Reading Conference, 1998-2000
• Distinguished Scholar Award, College of Education, 1997-
• Editorial Board Member, International Reading Association, 1994- present

Research Statement

My past research projects have focused on the literacy instruction, assessment, and development of students (preschool-8) from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, with a special interest in bilingual students' reading.

My current research interests include investigating cross-linguistic transfer in bilingual students' reading and writing (Spanish-English speakers and Chinese-English speakers) and the literacy engagement, motivation, and instruction of bilingual students. I also am interested in studying how assessment and instructional reform efforts affect the reading instruction and performance of students from diverse backgrounds. Recently, I have begun to investigate pre-service and in-service teachers' responses to course information on linguistic and cultural diversity.

Grants

• Principal Investigator, A Comprehensive Approach to Improve the Preparation of University Faculty, Pre-service and In-service Teachers to Effectively Teach Limited English Proficient Students, U.S. Department of Education, 2007-2013
• Principal Investigator, Instruction of Reading Comprehension: Cognitive Strategies or Cognitive Engagement, Institute of Education Sciences, 2003-2007
• Co-Principal Investigator, Teachers for the 21st Century: Recruiting, Mentoring & Placing Culturally Diverse Teachers, U.S. Department of Education, 1996-1999

Publications

• Bezdicek, J., and García, G. E. (2012). Working with preschool English language learners: A sociocultural approach. In B. Yoon and H-K Kim (Eds.), Teachers’ roles in second language learning: Classroom applications of sociocultural theory (pp. 171-188). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Camlibel, Z., & Garcia, G. E. (2012). Zehra's story: Becoming biliterate in Turkish and English. In E. B. Bauer & M. Gort (Eds.), Early biliteracy development: Exploring young learners' use of their linguistic resources (pp. 111-131). New York: NY: Routledge.
• García, G. E., Pearson, P. D., Taylor, B. T., Bauer, E. B., & Stahl, K. A. D. (2011). Socio-constructivist and political views on teachers’ implementation of two types of reading comprehension approaches in low-income schools. Theory into Practice, 50(2), 149-156.
• Garcia, G. E. & Bauer, E. B. (2009). Assessing student progress in the time of No Child Left Behind. In L. Mandel Morrow, R. Rueda, & D. Lapp (Eds.) Handbook of research on literacy and diversity (pp. 233-253). NY: Guilford Publications.
• García, G. E., McKoon, G., & August, D. (2008). Language and literacy assessment. In D. August & T. Shanahan (Eds.), Developing reading and writing in second language learners: Lessons from the report of the National Literacy Panel on language minority Children and youth (pp. 251-274). NY: Routledge, Center for Applied Linguistics, and the International Reading Association.
• García, G. E., McKoon, G., & August, D. (2006). Language and literacy assessment of language-minority students. In D. August & T. Shanahan (Eds.), Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the national literacy panel on language-minority children and youth (pp. 597-630). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Garcia, G. E., Bray, T. M., Mora, R. A., Primeaux, J., Ricklef, M. A., Engel, L. C., et al. (2006). Working with teachers to change the literacy instruction of Latino students in urban schools. National Reading Conference Yearbook, 55, 155-170.
• McCarthey, S. J., & Garcia, G. E. (2005). English language learners' writing practices and attitudes. Written Communication, 22(1), 36-75.
• Willis, A. I., García, G. E., Barrera, R., & Harris, V. J. (Eds.). (2003). Multicultural issues in literacy research and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• García, G. E. (2003). Introduction: Giving voice to multicultural literacy research and practice. In A. I. Willis, G. E. García, V. J. Harris, & R. Barrera (Eds.), Multicultural issues in literacy research and practice (pp. 1-10). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Bauer, E. B., & García, G. E. (2002). Lessons from a classroom teacher's use of alternative literacy assessment. Research in the Teaching of English, 36(4), 462-494.
• García, G. E. (2001). A theoretical discussion of young bilingual children's reading (Preschool - Grade 3). National Reading Conference Yearbook, 50.
• García, G. E. & Willis, A. I. (2001). Frameworks for understanding multicultural literacies. In P. R. Schmidt and P. B. Mosenthal (Eds.), Reconceptualizing literacy in the age of pluralism and multi-culturalism (pp. 3-31). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• García, G. E. (2000). Bilingual children's reading. In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, 3, 813-834. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Tsai, M. L., & García, G. E. (2000). Who's the boss: How communicative competence is defined in a multilingual, preschool classroom. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 31(2), 230-252.
• García, G. E. (1998). Mexican-American bilingual students' metacognitive reading strategies: What's transferred, unique, problematic? National Reading Conference Yearbook, 47, 253-263.