Jennifer Powers Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Dunton Hall 229
One Brennan Circle
Poultney, VT 05764-1199
Email Address: powersj@greenmtn.edu
802-287-8297; Fax: 802-287-8080
Jennifer Powers completed her B.A. in Theatre Arts at Kent State University in 1990, and lived in New York City for four years studying, performing, and producing Shakespeare’s plays under the auspices of the National Shakespeare Conservatory in Manhattan. She eventually left NY and completed her M.A.T. in Language Arts back in Ohio at Kent State University in 2001. She was a Language Arts teacher at Crestwood High School in Mantua, Ohio for five years, where she taught English 10, Drama/Speech, and was the Yearbook advisor. She completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction at Kent State University in 2007, and her dissertation investigated her tenth-grade English students’ processes and activities in multi-modal composition. She is a member of NCTE’s (National Council of Teachers of English) Commission on Media, and as such served to assist in creating and hosting this past November’s first Media Gallery at the National Convention in New York, NY. Prof. Powers came to Green Mountain College in Fall, 2007 where she is a member of the Education Department. She is currently working on articles outlining the use of graphic novels and video production in the English classroom, and hopes to begin a longitudinal study following first-year teachers into their first years within the secondary classroom.
I cannot imagine myself dedicated to a career in which I did no teaching; the contact we have with our students connects us deeply to the questions we ask ourselves about how to make teacher education better. The classes I have taught at the university/college level have been perhaps even more satisfying than those taught in my high school, because I have a sense of having a direct effect on the students my teacher-education candidates are working with now, and will teach in the future. I know the value these future teachers will have in the lives of their students. My commitment to teacher education is strong because my commitment to teaching is strong; they cannot be separated.
Education
Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction, Kent State University, 2007
MAT, Secondary Language Arts Education, Kent State University, 2001
BA, Theatre Arts, Kent State University, 1990
Licensed: Secondary Language Arts in Ohio
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor of Education, Green Mountain College (2007- )
Education Teaching Fellow, Kent State University (2006-7)
Language Arts/Yearbook/Drama and Speech Teacher, Crestwood High School, Mantua, OH (2001-2006)
Recent Publications
Powers, J. (2006). Curriculum theorizing for multiliteraces: A rebel with a cause. New England Reading Association Journal, 42 (1), 13-18.
Powers, J. (2006). The birthday dress. Ohio Teachers Write vol. 11, 24-5.
Presentations/Workshops
Media Counts: Assessing Multi-Modal Texts in the English Classroom. Presentation on panel session. NCTE National Conference, New York, NY. November 2007.
Playwriting 101: From Story to Stage. Presentation on panel session. NCTE National Conference, Nashville. November 2006.
Playwriting 101: From Story to Stage. Individual Presentation. Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA) Conference, Columbus. March-April 2006.
The Doctoral Student Experience. Presentation at Roundtable. AERA National Annual Meeting, Montreal. April 2005.
Technology and the Writing Process: Two Case Studies. Presentation on Panel Session, Technologies, Pedagogies, and Politics. Computers and Writing National Conference, Honolulu. June 2004.
An Exploration of the Doctoral Experience. Paper Presentation Symposium. Educational Research Exchange (ERE) Annual Meeting, Kent. March 2003.
Meeting the Reading and Writing Standards with..ta-da—Playwriting. Presenter of Workshop atNWP Write Here; Write Now Conference, Kent State University. July 2005.
Affiliations and Offices
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) (2003-present)
NCTE Commission on Media Member (2006-2009)
CEE Commission on Technology and Teacher Education (2006-present)
Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (2005-2006)
American Educational Research Association (2004-present)
Phi Delta Kappa (2006-present)
Association for the Supervision and Development of Curriculum (ASCD) (2008-present)
Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences Board of Trustees (2008-present)
