B.A., Miami University; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Akron
Dr. Michelle Lenarz is a Professor of Graduate Literacy and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Education in the Division of Education at Walsh University. She holds a B. A. from Miami University and a M. A. and Ph. D. from the University of Akron.
Teaching
Beginning in 2001, she taught undergraduate and graduate literacy and secondary language arts methods courses and advised undergraduate middle childhood education students. Since 2013 she has developed and taught online graduate literacy and TESOL courses in the Master of Arts in Education Program. These graduate courses include: EDT 652 The Principles & Practices of Teaching Phonics, EDT 654 Reading in the Content Area, EDT 655 Clinical Practicum in Reading, EDT 711 Educational Issues & Policies in TESOL, and EDT 713 TESOL Instructional Methods. She is the Coordinator of the PreK-12 Reading Endorsement and advises MAED Reading/Literacy students.
Scholarship
Dr. Lenarz’s scholarship focuses on the scholarship of application and teaching in Boyer’s Model of Scholarship. Her research interests have included content area reading, disciplinary literacy, the five essential components of literacy, multicultural literature, new literacies, service learning, and TESOL. She has given many peer-reviewed national/international and state conference presentations over her professional career. Dr. Lenarz was the co-principal investigator of an ODE Early Literacy Reading and Readiness Grant in collaboration with the North Canton City Schools and the North Canton Public Library.
Service
Dr. Lenarz serves Walsh University as a faculty representative on the Committee for Faculty, Retention, Tenure, and Promotion; as an Honors Faculty Fellow; and as the Chair of Graduate Council. She also serves on the Graduate Education Committee, the Field Committee, and the Graduate Education Advisory Council in the Division of Education. Her other most recent service includes serving as a faculty representative to the Board of Directors, on Faculty Senate, and on the Honors Committee.
Dr. Lenarz is an advocate of literacy for individuals of all ages. She served as the co-editor of the Ohio Reading Teacher and as Past President of the Ohio Literacy Association (OLA). She served on the senior editorial board of the Ten-Year Retrospective of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, 2008-2018. Dr. Lenarz currently serves as the secretary to the C.A.R.E. (Concern for Affect in Reading Education) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the International Literacy Association. She is a member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), the International Literacy Association (ILA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the Ohio Literacy Association (OLA), and the Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (OCTELA). Dr. Lenarz has worked with English learners and their teachers at Canton McKinley Senior High School and has participated in the annual 9/11 North Canton Community Commemorative Choir.
Publications
Anderson, D. W., & Lenarz, M. L. (2008). The literacy coach: Leading content area teachers toward excellence. In J. L. Vacca, R. T. Vacca, M. K. Gove, L. C. Burkey, L. A. Lenhart, C. A. McKeon (Eds.), Reading and learning to read (7thed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
McKeon, C. A., Lenarz, M. L., & Burkey L. C. (2005). Engaging preservice teachers in reading, "sticky note style": Practical implications and an analysis. Yearbook of the College Reading Association, 47 , 1-18.
Lenarz, M. (2003). Powerpoint presentation for reading and learning to read (5th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Presentations
National/International
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2019, November). Best practice strategies for teaching comprehension to high school English learners. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Corpus Christi, TX.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2018, November). Best practice strategies for teaching academic language to high school English learners. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Louisville, KY.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2017, November). Disciplinary literacy strategies in urban high school English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies’ classrooms. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, St. Petersburg, FL.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2017, November). Getting to the root of a word's meaning: Vocabulary strategies to teach Greek and Latin root words. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, St. Petersburg, FL.
Mumford, J. M., & Lenarz, M. L. (2017, March). Dynamic design, development, and delivery: Best practices for online graduate education courses. Virtual presentation at the annual Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) 2017 Conference, Austin, TX.
Lenarz, M. L, & Mumford, J. M. (2016, November). Dynamic design and implementation: Best practices for online graduate education courses. Virtual presentation at the annual E-Learn 2016: World Conference on E-Learning, Washington, DC.
Lenarz, M. L., & Bintz, W. P. (2015, November). Intertextuality: Using paired text across the K-8 curriculum to teach the Common Core. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Costa Mesa, CA.
Lenarz, M. L., Smith, A., Harold, C., Marko, B., & McKeon, C. A. (2014, October). Exemplary early literacy education through digital literacies: K-2 partnership of a local school district, public library, and university. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Delray Beach, FL.
Lenarz, M. L., & Juelich-Velotta, B. (2012, November). Transformative literacy: How a service learning partnership in diverse settings benefits the community and teacher candidates. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Grand Rapids, MI.
Lenarz, M. L., & Juelich-Velotta, E. (2012, June). Synergy: How a service learning partnership in diverse settings benefits the community and teacher candidates. Presentation at the International Center for Service-Learning in Teacher Education (ICSLTE), Durham, NC.
Lenarz, M. L., & Rudd, L. (2012, April). Synergy: How a service learning partnership in a diverse setting benefits the community and teacher candidates. Presentation at the 5th annual national summit Great Teachers for our City Schools, Denver, CO.
Lenarz, M. L., McKeon, C. A., & Burkey, L. C. (2009, November). Hands-on activities for engaging teacher candidates in learning the five essential components of an effective literacy program: Vocabulary. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Charlotte, SC.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2009, November). A content area literacy partnership: Building a literacy community in an urban high school. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, Charlotte, NC.
McKeon, C. A., Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. (2009, May). Adolescent literacy: Strategies that make a difference. Presentation at the annual conference of the International Reading Association, Minneopolis, MN (Pending acceptance by invitation).
Burkey, L. C., McKeon, C. A., & Lenarz, M. L. (2008, November). Hands-on activities for engaging teacher candidates in learning one of the five essential components of an effective literacy program: Comprehension. Presentation at the annual conference of the College Reading Association, Sarasota, FL (Accepted upcoming conference presentation).
Burkey, L. C., McKeon, C. A., & Lenarz, M. L. (2008, May). Teaching the relationship between writing and reading. Presentation at the annual conference of the International Reading Association, Atlanta, GA.
McKeon, C. A., Burkey, L. C., & Lenarz, M. L. (2007, November). Hands-on activities for engaging teacher candidates in learning two of the five essential components of an effective literacy program: Phonemic awareness and phonics.Presentation at the annual conference of the College Reading Association, Salt Lake City, UT.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2007, November). Literacy at the crossroads: Mapping comprehension and fluency strategies to teach effectively. Presentation at the annual conference of the College Reading Association, Salt Lake City, UT.
Burkey, L. C., McKeon, C. A., and Lenarz, M. L. (2006, October). Teacher candidates’ perceptions of the International Reading Association’s standards for reading professionals: Standard-2 instructional strategies and curriculum materials. Presentation at the annual conference of the College Reading Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2006, October). Curriculum-based readers theater: Setting the stage for fluent readers. Presentation at the annual conference of the College Reading Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
Lenarz, M. L. (2005, November). On the same page: High school English teachers’ inclusion and support of multicultural literature in their curricula. Presentation at the annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English, Pittsburgh, PA.
McKeon, C. A., Lenarz, M. L., & Burkey, L. C. (2003, November). Engaging preservice teachers in reading a methods textbook "sticky note style": Practical implications and an analysis. Presentation at the 47th Annual Conference of the College Reading Association, Corpus Christi, TX.
Lenarz, M. (2002, November). High school English teachers? inclusion of multicultural literature in their English curricula. Presentation at the 46th Annual Conference of the College Reading Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Smolen, L., & Lenarz, M. (2001, November). Exploring culturally and linguistically diverse readers? responses to multicultural literature. Presentation at the 45th Annual Conference of the College Reading Association, St. Petersburg, FL.
Lenarz, M. (2000, November). High school English teachers' use of multicultural literature. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
Newman, C., Moss, B., & Lenarz, M. (1998, April). Exploring preservice teachers' perceptions of new work in a professional development school setting. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
Newman, C., Moss, B., & Lenarz, M. (1998, February). Reflections on the collaborative process: What did we learn and where are we going. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Tampa, FL.
Newman, C., Moss, B., Lenarz, M., & Newman, I. (1997, October). The impact of a PDS internship/student teaching program on self-efficacy, stages of concern, and role perceptions of preservice teachers: The evaluation of a Goals 2000 project. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
State
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2019, October). Effective comprehension strategies for English learners in secondary language arts classrooms. Presentation at the annual Ohio Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference, Columbus, OH.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2018, October). Effective vocabulary strategies for English learners in secondary English language arts classrooms. Presentation at the annual Ohio Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference, Columbus, OH.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2018, April). Literature circles 2.0: Virtual book clubs in the digital age. Presentation at the 2018 Annual Reading Conference, Kent State University, the University of Akron, Youngstown State University, Cleveland State University, and Ohio Council of International Reading Association, Cleveland, OH.
Lenarz, M. L. (2016, April). Intertextuality: Using paired text across the K-8 curriculum to teach the Common Core. Presentation at the annual spring conference of the Ohio Council of the International Reading Association/Miami University, West Chester, OH.
Lenarz, M. L. (2015, November). Making LeUyen Pham’s books come alive through
content area reading and reader response strategies. Presentation at the annual fall conference of the Ohio Council of the International Reading Association/University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum, Findlay, Ohio.
Lenarz, M., Harold, C., & Smith, A. (2014, November). Exemplary early literacy instruction through digital literacy, literacy backpacks, and storytelling: K-2 partnership of a local school district, public library, and university. Presentation at the annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching, Oxford, OH.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2014, October). When the reading gets rough, the tough get reading closely: Meatacognitive strategies for close reading. Presentation at the Ohio Council of the International Reading Conference, Columbus, OH.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2013, October). CAFÉ Apps: Bridge the Common Core with 21st Century Skills. Presentation at the Ohio Council of the International Reading Association Conference, Cincinnati, OH.
McKeon, C. A., & Lenarz, M. L. (2008, October). Practical strategies literacy teachers can use to engage students in comprehending electronic text. Presentation at the Kent State University, The University of Akron, and Youngstown State University Reading Conference, Akron, OH.
Lenarz, M. L., & Anderson, D. W. (2004, November). Developing word meanings: Vocabulary strategies. Presentation at the Kent State University, The University of Akron, and the Ohio Council of the International Reading Association Conference, Kent, OH.
Lenarz, M. (2002, November). Talking to learn: Integrated reading strategies in secondary classrooms. Presentation at the Kent State University and The University of Akron Reading Conference, Kent, OH.
Lenarz, M., & Smolen, L. (2001, October). Exploring multicultural literature through reader response strategies. Presentation at the 13th Great Lakes Regional Conference, Cincinnati, OH.
Lenarz, M., & Smolen, L. (2000, November). Exploring students' global perspectives through multicultural literature-based response strategies. Presentation at the Kent State University Reading Conference, Kent, OH.
Book Reviews
Cunningham, P. M., & Cunningham, J. W. (2013). What principals need to know about teaching and learning reading (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: National Association of Elementary School Principals and Solution Tree Press. Reviewed by Michelle Lenarz by February 1, 2012.
