The people who help us support you and your students
  Area of Expertise
Nell K. Duke, Ph.D. Nell K. Duke, Ed.D.
Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture
University of Michigan, School of Education

Nell K. Duke, Ed.D., is a professor of language, literacy, and culture and faculty associate in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. Duke received her Bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Harvard University. Duke's work focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in poverty. Her specific areas of expertise include development of informational reading and writing in young children, comprehension development and instruction in early schooling, and issues of equity in literacy education. Duke also has a strong interest in improving the quality of educational research training in the U.S. She currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator on projects funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

Duke is the recipient of the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award, the Literacy Research Association Early Career Achievement Award, the International Reading Association Dina Feitelson Research Award, the National Council of Teachers of English Promising Researcher Award, and the International Reading Association Outstanding Dissertation Award.

She is author and co-author of numerous journal articles and book chapters as well as the books Reading and Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades: Research-Based Practices; Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to Five; Beyond Bedtime Stories: A Parent's Guide to Promoting Reading, Writing, and Other Literacy Skills From Birth to 5; and her most recent book, Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K-8 Classrooms. She has served as author and consultant on a number of educational programs, including Buzz About IT, iOpeners, National Geographic Science K-2 and the DLM Express.

Duke teaches preservice, inservice and doctoral courses in literacy education at Michigan State, speaks and consults widely on literacy education, and is an active member of several literacy-related organizations.

View and print items marked (PDF) using Adobe Acrobat Reader© software, version 4.0 or higher. Items marked (PDF Form) feature editable areas. Save edits with version 7.0 or higher. Get Adobe Reader for free.
Specialization:
Early Childhood Literacy
Nonfiction
Comprehension