Kelly Roberts

Profile

About Me

I am privileged to advise and teach students in a field that I love and at an institution whose values, mission, and goals embrace three of my professional passions: academic excellence in English and education, study abroad and service.  Whether it is through Socratic method, through experiential learning, through undergraduate research, or through innovative ways to support literacy, I hope to help students journey with me toward more connectedness, toward reciprocal acts of uplifting others and as a result being uplifted, and toward inquiry into what it means to be in this world instead of merely to do.

To that end, my current research projects—sometimes involving students and definitely open to offshoot projects for undergraduate research—involve three studies with IRB consent.  These are

1. A continuing study examining how intentional incorporation of autobiographical tools into written reflection affects students’ ability to reflect on content, critical thinking and goal-setting
2. A continuing study examining how incorporation of coding feedback on writing assignments with low tech spreadsheets and survey tools affects students’ ability to decipher written feedback and revise in subsequent writing assignments
3. A beginning study on the lived experience of students with international backgrounds  as examined through written reflection and autobiographical lenses

Meredith is a vibrant community of teachers, students, and scholars; teaching and learning here provide a myriad of opportunities.  If you read something about which you have an interest, I hope you will contact me or stop into Lux Hall any time to chat.

My Teaching

In my teaching at Meredith, I have willing and capable students—students full of potential—who want to develop their strengths and who are just as intellectually curious as I am.  Through my love for reading great books that shape our humanity and my interest in social justice issues surrounding education, I teach for exploration, critical and creative thinking, and students’ involvement with their own world and in their own terms.

Although I consider myself a generalist in English, most of my preparation and experience involves American literature, the teaching of English, and young adult literature.  On a regular basis I teach courses in advanced grammar, young adult literature, and the methods of teaching English.  Occasionally I get to teach a class on banned books, and every other year or so I teach a principles of writing course—one of my favorites.

I am also privileged to direct study abroad programs in San Ignacio, Belize and in Sansepolcro, Italy where Meredith has a spectacular immersion program.  I have also taught in London and have enjoyed all things Harry Potter, Narnia, and Wonderland as a delightful if slightly more academic reward.

My research interests include

• the scholarship of teaching and learning English,
• social justice education,
• experiential education,
• academic and intellectually gifted education,
• feminist epistemology and praxis in both education and English (particularly young adult literature),
• autobiographical reflection, and
• reflective practice.