JANAY BROWN-WOOD, PHD AUTHOR & EDUCATOR

Using my voice, creativity, experience, and skills to advocate for children!

About Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood

If we want to elevate our communities, literacy is key!

When I was younger, I didn't like to read. The words on the pages of books rarely sparked my interest or engaged me. My older sister could sit in her room for hours and breathe books as if they were air, but I was never interested.

Is it because I did not see myself in the books that were available?

Despite despising reading, I loved to write! Creating stories where characters that were like me (and even included me i.e. Detective JaNay stories I frequently wrote) kept me engaged with written words.

Perhaps the lack of diversity was a gatekeeper for me. Is it for other children from diverse backgrounds as well? And how does the lack of diversity influence academic outcomes? How does this impact the equity or achievement gap in education?

These are questions that continue to push my scholarship forward. These are the thoughts that keep me writing children's books with diverse characters. This is what motivates me to use my voice, creativity, experience, and skills to advocate for children.

My Teaching Philosophy

Learning happens best when it is a part of an active process of knowledge building. Thus, educators must strive to establish a classroom environment where students can participate in the understanding of content and construction of knowledge in a meaningful way!

Learn more about my philosophy of teaching and the courses I have taught here!

My Research Foci

WORKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT

My past research interests include:

Diversity (or lack of) in children's books and relationship to academic outcomes
Early literacy skills
Language development
Narrative ability
Racial biases and book interest
Literacy in the community
Supporting learning in expanded learning programs