Principal Investigators

Mandy Stewart, Ph.D | Assistant Professor of Reading                         (940) 898-2232 | mstewart7@twu.edu  

Mandy Stewart, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Reading at TWU. She grew up in small town East Texas but quickly realized she could travel the world on a dime by teaching people who are new to the U.S. Although she has relatively few stamps in her passport, her life is enriched by learning with refugee and immigrant children, adolescents and adults. She has worked in English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education since 2000 as she teaches language through meaningful connections to literature. In her research, she works with the belief that ALL languages, literacy practices, discourses, and cultural traditions have value. She is passionate about language and literacy as the keys for us to create a better world.

Her books include Keep it R.E.A.L.! Relevant, Engaging, and Affirming Literacy for Adolescent English Learners and Understanding Adolescent Immigrants: An Extraordinary Discourse for Extraordinary Youth. You can also find her work in various journals such as Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, English Journal, Research in the Teaching of English, as well as TESOL Journal. You may read more about Dr. Stewart’s professional work on her website and Amazon author page or connect with her on Twitter. 

Holly Hansen-Thomas, Ph.D | Professor and Program Coordinator of the Bilingual/ESL Program, Department of Teacher Education hhansenthomas@twu.edu  

Dr. Hansen-Thomas is Professor and Program Coordinator of the Bilingual/ESL Program in the Department of Teacher Education at TWU. Dr. Hansen-Thomas’ scholarly work deals with issues of second language learners’ teaching and learning in school. Her record of publishing includes peer-reviewed articles in national and international academic journals, books, book chapters, and pedagogical writings, among others. Her book English Language Learners and Math examines how middle school Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) learn content as well as academic language and literacy in reform-oriented mathematics classes.  She is also co-editor with Juliet Langman on Discourse Analytic Perspectives on STEM Education published in 2017.

Her current research interests examine how adolescent ELLs develop academic language, literacy, and content knowledge in the content areas, with a specific focus on math and science classrooms. A published author, co-author and editor, she is dedicated to helping mainstream content-area specialists find the best ways to teach the ELLs in their classrooms. In collaboration with others, Dr. Hansen-Thomas has been responsible for securing and or directing over 7 million dollars of federal grant funding through the Department of Education.