Stephanie Wessels, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education

Stephanie Wessels’ coursework, research and teaching has recently focused on literacy development for young second-language learners. She is interested in vocabulary development to enhance and extend current academic practices in the primary grade-level classrooms. She is intrigued in learning what “funds of knowledge” (prior and background knowledge) second-language learners bring to the classroom, which can be built upon through teaching vocabulary.

Based on this work, Wessel plans to produce and submit conference proposals, peer-reviewed journal articles and teaching modules on effective vocabulary instruction. This potential research could have theoretical and practical significance by addressing the existing gaps in the field related to best practices in teaching vocabulary to second-language learners.

Wessels received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis in English as a second language education and literacy, from Kansas State University in 2008.