Crawford, Pamela Sharp

Program Director

Assistant Professor

Office Phone: (716) 375-2387
Email: pcrawfor@sbu.edu 

Plassmann Hall, B34

• READ 501. Theories and Foundations of Literacy 
• READ 520. Language Arts 
• READ 525. Problems of Literacy in the Secondary School 
• READ 540. Supervision and Curriculum Issues in Literacy Programs 
• READ 560. Literacy in the Content Areas 

• Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction: Reading/Writing, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 2011
• M.Ed., Secondary Education: Reading Emphasis, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 2007
• B.A., History, California State University, Chico, 1994

• Graduate Assistant, Department of Secondary Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT 2002-2008
• Teacher, Preston Jr. High School, Preston, ID, 2004-2005
• Teacher, Westwood Jr./Sr. High School, Westwood, CA 1996-2001

• Graduated with Honors in History (B.A.), California State University, Chico, 1994
• Graduated Cum Laude (B.A.), California State University, Chico, 1994

Research in the arena of literacy education has exploded the last 30 years, with adolescent literacy coming into its own over the last 10 years.  I believe that research and educational theory has much to tell us about how to improve instruction. Teachers are the unsung heroes of the public school system, so when you can assist in the professional development of other educators, you can help to improve the whole system. I see my role as a teacher educator as one that assists in disseminating that research throughout the whole educational system.

My research dissertation entitled “A Study of Secondary District Level Reading Coaches:  How might their domain-specific perspectives influence their beliefs and practice about how to teach reading?”  I am also secondary author of an article being prepared for submission to Research in the Teaching of English (RTE) with Dr. Alison Heron-Hruby (George Mason University) entitled “Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Theme: A Rhetorical Analysis of Exploratory Essays in High School English.”

I am an experienced vocal soloist of mostly ballad and sacred music.  Though new to the area, I hope to become involved in local choirs and other singing opportunities.

Pamela Sharp Crawford is one of the Education Department’s newest members.  Her research and teaching interest is literacy and more specifically adolescent literacy.

A native of California, Professor Sharp Crawford was an undergraduate at California State University, Chico, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in history.  After graduating from Chico State, Professor Sharp Crawford then accepted a middle school language arts teaching position in Westwood, California.  She taught there for five years.  It was there that she realized her passion for literacy and decided to return to school for her Master’s degree.

In 2001, Professor Sharp Crawford left Westwood to pursue her master’s degree in literacy at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.  She received a Master’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in reading.  In 2003, Professor Sharp Crawford rolled over into the Ph.D. program at Utah State to purse a degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Literacy Education.  While obtaining her Ph.D. she taught 6th and 7th grade language arts, reading, and drama at the middle school level as well as teaching at Utah State as part of her assistantship.

Professor Sharp Crawford dissertation titled, A Study of Secondary District Level Reading Coaches:  How might their domain-specific perspectives influence their beliefs and practice about how to teach reading?, which she plans on finishing while here at St. Bonaventure University.  It looks at the different styles among reading coaches who come from different backgrounds, such as a special education background as opposed to a literacy background. 

When asked what she wants to bring to St. Bonaventure, Professor Sharp Crawford replied, “My passion is adolescent literacy.  I want to improve instruction of adolescent literacy in schools.  As research becomes more concrete I see myself as a bridge between the research findings and how it is applied in a practical setting.”  Professor Sharp Crawford thinks it’s great how St. Bonaventure actively reaches out to its’ educational community. She feels that with this partnership between St. Bonaventure and the surrounding schools she can put her plan into action.

Professor Sharp Crawford is currently teaching READ 501:  Theories and Foundations of Literacy and READ 525:  Problems of Literacy in the Secondary Schools.  

 

Professor Sharp Crawford enjoys the ruralness of Olean because it reminds her a lot of Utah.   In her spare time, she is a vocalist of sacred music, reads for pleasure, and enjoys filling her time with being a mother and a grandmother.