Mary Ellen Oslick

Associate Professor of Education

I teach undergraduate courses in reading methods and best practices in the profession of education and instruction. These experiences have prepared me to teach graduate and pre-service teacher education courses in both general and specific content areas of literacy, conduct and supervise field placements, and work in diverse educational settings. I am very passionate about teaching. I believe that teachers should be prepared to teach our diverse student body. The content I incorporate in my teacher education/literacy courses, therefore, addresses issues of diversity, culture and politics to move my students to examine literature and literacy in critical ways.

  • PhD, curriculum and instruction, University of Florida
  • MAT., reading and special education, Trinity University
  • BA, history and humanities, Trinity University

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Mary Ellen Oslick

Biography

Mary Ellen Oslick, PhD, is an assistant professor of education at Stetson University. She earned her undergraduate degree in history and humanities and her master's degree in teaching, with emphases on reading and special education, from Trinity University in San Antonio, Tex. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in children's literature and literacy from the University of Florida. Dr. Oslick taught for five years in elementary and intermediate schools in Texas' urban and suburban areas. Her research areas of interest include: social justice and critical literacy applications; multicultural children's literature; and reading and writing instruction with diverse learners. She has written and been awarded research grants, and her scholarly papers have been published in peer-refereed journals and books. Dr. Oslick won the 2014 Virginia Hamilton Essay Award for her article, "Children's Voices: Reactions to a Criminal Justice Issue Picture Book."

More About Mary Ellen Oslick

Areas of Expertise

  • Social justice and critical literacy applications
  • Multicultural children's literature
  • Reading and writing instruction with diverse learners
  • Pre-service teacher instruction in the areas of elementary/middle level education, children's literature and reading instruction

Course Sampling

  • EDUC 301: Reading in the Primary Grades
  • EDUC 314: Reading in the Intermediate Grades
  • EDUC 315: Children's Literature and Language Arts
  • EDUC 527: Content Area Reading

  • Social justice and critical literacy applications
  • Multicultural children's literature
  • Reading and writing instruction with diverse learners
  • Pre-service teacher instruction in the areas of elementary/middle level education, children's literature and reading instruction

  • Oslick, M. E., Lowery, R. M., Parks, M., Park, S., Worlds, M., Thomas, M., and Colantonio-Yurko, K. (Accepted.) Literacy across the content areas with the 2016 Orbis Pictus Award. Florida English Journal
  • Oslick, M. E., Lee, L. T., and Lowery, R. M. (Accepted.) The Jane Addams Children's Book Award: Student responses and critical literacy applications. Florida Reading Journal
  • Colantonio-Yurko, K., Oslick, M. E., Worlds, M., and Miller, C. (2016). Secondary students using poetry to explore understandings of multicultural literature. Dragon Lode, (34) 2, 42-54.
  • Oslick, M. E. and Pearson, M. (2016). Evaluating and using literature including people with disabilities in all classrooms. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Winter, 104-118.
  • Oslick, M. E., & Lowery, R. M. (2015). "We need books that reflect all our students": Preservice teachers transformation in a multicultural children's literature course. Florida Association of Teacher Educators Journal, 1(14), 1-15.
  • Oslick, M. E., Benson, T., and Styles-Foster, S. (2015). A place for all learners in literature units. In L. G. Putney and N. P. Gallavan (Eds.) ATE Yearbook XXIV Establishing a sense of place for all learners in 21st century classrooms and schools (pp. 125-140). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Oslick, M. E. (2014). Using multicultural children's literature about criminal justice issues: Fostering aesthetic reading responses. In N. Gallavan (Ed.), Annual Editions: Multicultural Education, 17th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Oslick, M. E. (2014). African American boys' responses to illustrations and text involving black inmates and gangsters in multicultural children's literature. In V. Yenika-Agbaw and L. Mhando (Eds.), African Youth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture: Identity Quest‏. New York: Routledge.
  • Oslick, M. E. and Lane, H. (2014). Meeting the needs of struggling readers: Using reading assessments in a graduate-level reading course. Action in Teacher Education, (36), 5-6, 533-545.
  • Oslick, M. E. (2013). Children's voices: Reactions to a criminal justice issue picture book. The Reading Teacher, (66) 7, 27-36.