About the Book
Teaching Young Adult Literature is a middle and secondary school methods text designed to introduce pre-service teachers in teacher credential programs and in-service teachers pursuing a Masters degree in Education to the field of young adult literature for use in contemporary contexts. The text introduces teachers to current research on adolescent life and literacy; the new and expanding genres of young adult literature; teaching approaches and practical strategies for using young adult literature in English and Language Arts secondary classrooms and in Content Area Subjects (e. g. History) and ongoing social, political and pedagogical issues of English and Language Arts classrooms in relation to contemporary young adult literature. Teaching Young Adult Literature prepares teachers to: engage with student populations that exhibit greater social, cultural and linguistic diversity than ever before, including minority students, second language learners and new immigrants, as well as the increasing visible gay, lesbian and transgender students and their families, students with disabilities, spiritually committed teens and students living in poverty. It helps create learning environments through its focus on practical examples of activity-based teaching approaches and strategies that are built on an assumption of diversity among students and texts and that offer sufficient sophistication and complexity to meet this diversity without overwhelming the physical, emotional and intellectual resources of teachers incorporate discussions and strategies related to dynamic new literacies, including the digitally mediated texts and multimedia compositions that are now interleaved in young adult literature and in students' creative and critical responses to this genre.
About the Author
Thomas W. Bean, Ph.D., is a Professor of Literacy and Reading in the Teaching and Learning Department, College of Education, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Tom earned his Ph.D. at Arizona State University and is considered a leading scholar in content area literacy and the infusion of multicultural and global young adult literature in the classroom. His work has been published in the ALAN Review, Reading Research Quarterly and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Along with Co-Author Dr. Judith Dunkerly-Bean, he served as co-editor of the International Reading Association’s Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Tom is senior author of the widely used text, Content Area Literacy: An Integrated Approach (10th ed.).
Judith Dunkerly-Bean, Ph.D. is a literacy specialist and award-winning classroom teacher. Judith has served as a faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she taught university courses in literacy methods including children’s and young adult literature. Her research focuses on the intersection of human rights, social justice and critical literacy through a cosmopolitan framework. Her work has been published in several journals including Current Issues in Comparative Education and Language and Literacy. Along with Co-Author Dr. Thomas Bean, Dr. Dunkerly-Bean served as the associate editor for the International Reading Association’s Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. She currently teaches literacy courses at Innovations International Charter School of Nevada.
Helen Harper, Ph.D. (deceased) was a Professor of Cultural Studies and English Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her research explored the intersection of social justice and cosmopolitan theory informed by a critical pedagogy stance. She is the co-author of books on advocacy and literacy, young adult literature and numerous articles on adolescent literacy, democracy and freedom. She served as co-editor of the International Reading Association’s Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.
