Bio

My research focuses on the teaching and learning of literary interpretation and writing in under-resourced urban high schools, with an emphasis on the links between in- and out-of-school interpretive practices. I am also interested in ways that digital media – specifically radio production – can be used as frameworks for teaching reading and writing to middle and high school students. Before pursuing an academic career, I taught secondary English at a Chicago public school for ten years. While there, I founded and ran a youth radio program that used digital audio production as a tool to help make writing and analysis relevant and real-world for students, and to build bridges between school and the world beyond..

My primary goal as an academic is to help shape the teaching and learning of secondary English teachers and contribute to research that will help students — especially those in urban and under-resourced schools — become independent readers and writers.

Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Assistant Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Education (2015 - Present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • High school English and radio teacher, Chicago Public Schools (1997 - 2009)

Professional Education

  • PhD, Northwestern University, Learning Sciences
  • Master of Arts, University of Chicago, Teaching of English
  • Bachelor of Arts, Cornell University, American Studies

Contact

  • Academic
    srlevine@stanford.edu
    University - Faculty Department: Graduate School of Education Position: Assistant Professor - 1103

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 3096

Links

Research Interests

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Literacy and Language
  • Technology and Education

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

1. Through an NAed/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship and Stanford's Center to Support Excellence in Teaching (CSET), I am working with high school ELA teachers to:

interrogate what exactly we think literature is "for"
develop "authentic" questions about literary worlds and authorial choices (authentic questions are questions to which you don't already know the answer or about which you really are curious about what your students might say)
learn and practice emotion-based approaches to textual interpretation
learn to create cultural data sets for students
I am looking at the extent to which this work with teachers influences the kinds of discussions they have with students and the kind of interpretive work students do.

2. I am also using eye-tracking and other technology to look at the kinds of interpretive readings novices and experts make when they read literary texts; I hope to shed more light on how teachers can help inexperienced literary readers engage and enjoy interpretive work.

3. I am reading U.S. standardized literature tests from 1900s until the present to try to understand ways in which educators and test-makers defined and valued literary reading.

2020-21 Courses

Stanford Advisees

  • Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
    Barbara Barbosa Born
  • Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
    Karoline Trepper
  • Doctoral (Program)
    Emma Bene, Dan Moore, Emily Southerton, Jessica Stovall, Karoline Trepper

All Publications

  • A Century of Change in High School English Assessments: An Analysis of 110 New York State Regents Exams, 1900-2018 RESEARCH IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH Levine, S. 2019; 54 (1): 31–57

    View details for Web of Science ID 000488680700003

  • Using Everyday Language to Support Students in Constructing Thematic Interpretations JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES Levine, S. 2019; 28 (1): 1–31

    View details for DOI 10.1080/10508406.2018.1485023

    View details for Web of Science ID 000457995300001

  • THEORY, DESIGN, AND TEACHER EXPERIENCE IN A LITERATURE-FOCUSED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT L1 EDUCATIONAL STUDIES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE Levine, S., Trepper, K. 2019; 19

    View details for DOI 10.17239/L1ESLL-2019.19.04.05

    View details for Web of Science ID 000498521500013

  • Using Everyday Language to Support Students in Constructing Thematic Interpretations Journal of the Learning Sciences Levine, S. 2018: 1-31
  • Epistemic cognition in literary reasoning Handbook of epistemic cognition Lee, C. D., Goldman, S. R., Levine, S., Magliano, J. 2016: 165-183
  • Opening George Hillocks's Territory of Literature English Education Levine, S., Bernstein, M. 2016; 48 (2): 127
  • Helping high school students read like experts: Affective evaluation, salience, and literary interpretation Cognition and Instruction Levine, S., Horton, W. 2015; 33 (2): 125-153
  • Teaching writing with radio English Journal Levine, S., Franzel, J. 2015: 21-29
  • Making interpretation visible with an affect‐based strategy Reading Research Quarterly Levine, S. 2014; 49 (3): 283-303
  • Using affective appraisal to help readers construct literary interpretations Scientific Study of Literature Levine, S., Horton, W. S. 2013; 3 (1): 105-136