Dr. Laurie M. MacGillivray has been nominated to serve as a Faculty Associate for Chapman University, California.
Dr MacGillivray will be conducting research into the nature of systems thinking, a pedagogy that develops critical thinking skills. The implementation of this pedagogy will take place in one high poverty, high performing school in the Los Angeles Unified School District and one independent school in the area. The study enables teachers to become experts through working with a consultant and their peers, they will become teacher leaders in their own schools. Within three years, there are plans for experienced teachers to lead professional development in schools across Southern California. Los Angeles United School District has approved the project and is exciting about the prospects. Dr MacGillivray will also take a formal role in the IRB process, grant procurement, and other research-related activities at Chapman University.
Dr. MacGillivray’s was chosen for her scholarship forefronting individuals’ cultural resources and social justice as well as her research into inquiry group with teachers working with scripted curricular programs, children’s classroom literacy experiences, Latino youth street taggers, and individuals who are homeless. The College of Educational Studies at Chapman also cited Dr. MacGillivray’s research supported by national grants from the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) and local grants including the Verizon Corporation and the John Randolph Haynes Foundation. Furthermore, her decade-long research into families who are homeless was noted for its unique exploration of the intersection between those precariously housed and their literacy practices. Finally, they listed her numerous peer-reviewed articles in top ranked literacy journals including Bilingual Research Journal, Curriculum Theory, Journal of Literacy Researcher, and Journal of Curriculum Theorizing; several book chapters, and an edited book.