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Dr Jen Scott Curwood

BA(Wis), BS(Wis), MS(Wis), PhD(Wis)

Lecturer, English Education and Media Studies

Email:

Phone: +61 2 9351  4735

Fax: +61 2 9351  2621

Building.Room: A35.627

Research interests

Learning sciences; psychology of education

  • Learning technologies and new media

Research on teaching and learning

  • English and literacy
  • Teacher education and professional learning

Professional biography

Dr. Jen Scott Curwood is a lecturer in English education and media studies at the University of Sydney, where she is a lead researcher in the Sciences and Technologies of Learning Network and affiliated with the Centre for Research on Computer-Supported Learning and Cognition.  

Jen's research focuses on adolescent literacy, technology, and teacher professional development. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, E-Learning and Digital Media, International Journal of Learning and Media, English Teaching: Practice and Critique, Children’s Literature in Education, Literacy, The Reading Teacher, English Journal, and English in Australia. She is currently working on a co-authored book, Qualitative Methods for Researching Online Learning (SAGE Publications, 2015).

Jen completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Her major area of emphasis was Literacy Studies, with minors in Composition and Rhetoric and Educational Psychology.  Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Jen was a public school teacher. She taught middle school and high school English, and she is licensed as a K-12 reading specialist.

She is affiliated with the Games, Learning, and Society Research Center and has worked as a videogame producer with Community KnowledgeBase and the Epistemic Games team. Previously, Jen chaired the Games, Learning, and Society Educator Symposium and served on the program committee for the Games, Learning, and Society Conference and the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research's Midwinter Conference.

Visit her website for more information about her work.


Awards

  • Initiative of Education Equity Award, American Association of University Women, 2006

  • Netzer-Wendt Scholarship, University of Wisconsin, 2008

  • Pat Bricker Research Award, Wisconsin State Reading Association, 2010

  • Fellowship, Wisconsin Spencer Doctoral Research Program, 2008 to 2010

  • Carrie R. Barton Memorial Scholarship, University of Wisconsin, 2010

  • U.K. Literacy Association/Wiley-Blackwell Research in Literacy Education Award Finalist, 2011

  • Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award Finalist, International Reading Association, 2012

  • Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Literacy Research, 2012


Professional and community roles


Current projects

  • The Role of Teacher Professional Development in Developing Students’ Writing Motivation, 2012. Centre for Excellence Grant, AU$26,600.
  • Collaborating with Middle School Teachers to Promote Students' Literacy Achievement, with University of Wisconsin Professor Mary Louise Gomez, 2011 to 2013. Partner School Network Grant, US$10,000.
  • Young Adult Literature and Online Affinity Spaces, 2011 to 2014. International Program Development Fund Grant, AU$6,375.

Current research students

Project title Degree Research student
English teachers in the making: Exploring pre-service English teachers’ emerging sense of 'self-as-teacher' (Associate Supervisor) Ph.D. Janet Dutton
Examining the emergence of multiliteracy practices and social skills in young 21st Century learners through technology Ph.D. Patricia Thibaut Paez
Assessment and creative liberty: An action research study of Preliminary HSC English MEd (Research) Peta Gresham

Selected publications

Book chapters

  • Curwood, J.S. (in press). Reader, writer, gamer: Online role playing games as literary response. In H.R. Gerber, S.S. Abrams, & M. Burgess (Ed.), Building literate connections through video games and virtual environments: Practical ideas and connections. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
  • Lammers, J.C., Magnifico. A.M., & Curwood, J.S. (in press). Exploring tools, places, and ways of being: Audience matters for developing writers. In K.E. Pytash & R.E. Ferdig (Ed.), Exploring technology for writing and writing instruction. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
  • Curwood, J.S. (in press). From collaboration to transformation: Practitioner research for library media specialists and classroom teachers. In K. Kennedy & L.S. Green (Ed.), Collaborative instructional design in library and teacher partnerships. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2013). Fan fiction, remix culture, and The Potter Games. In V.E. Frankel (Ed.), Teaching with Harry Potter. (pp. 81–92), Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Journal articles

  • Curwood, J.S. (in press). English teachers' cultural models about technology: A microethnographic perspective on professional development. Journal of Literacy Research.
  • Curwood, J.S. (in press). Between continuity and change: Identities and narratives within teacher professional development. Teaching Education.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2013). Redefining normal: A critical analysis of (dis)ability in young adult literature. Children's Literature in Education, 44(1), 15–28.
  • Curwood, J.S., Magnifico, A.M., & Lammers, J.C. (2013). Writing in the wild: Writers' motivation in fan-based affinity spaces. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(8), 677–685.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2013). The Hunger Games: Literature, literacy, and online affinity spaces. Language Arts, 90(6), 417–427.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2013). Applying the design framework to technology professional development. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(3), 90–97.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2012). Cultural shifts, multimodal representations, and assessment practices: A case study. E-Learning and Digital Media, 9(2), 232–244.
  • Lammers, J.C., Curwood, J.S., & Magnifico, A.M. (2012). Toward an affinity space methodology: Considerations for literacy research. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 11(2), 44–58.
  • Curwood, J.S. & Cowell, L.L. (2011). iPoetry: Creating space for new literacies in the English curriculum. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 55(2), 107–117.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2011). Teachers as learners: What makes technology-focused professional development effective?. English in Australia, 46(3), 68–75.
  • Gomez, M.L., Schieble, M.B., Curwood, J.S., & Hassett, D.D. (2010). Technology, learning, and instruction: Distributed cognition in the secondary English classroom. Literacy, 44(1), 20–27.
  • Curwood, J.S. & Gibbons, D. (2009). “Just like I have felt”: Multimodal counternarratives in youth-produced digital media. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(4), 59–77.
  • Hassett, D.D. & Curwood, J.S. (2009). Theories and practices of multimodal education: The instructional dynamics of picture books and primary classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 270–282.
  • Curwood, J.S., Horning, K.T., & Schliesman, M. (2009). Fight for your right: Censorship, selection, and LGBTQ literature. English Journal, 98(4), 37–43.

Conference papers

  • Curwood, J.S. (2012). New literacies and teacher professional development. In Literacy Research Association Conference.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2012). Life as a mod: Adolescent literacy practices on Hunger Games fansites. In International Reading Association Conference.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2012). Literature and literacy in online affinity spaces: Lessons from the Hunger Games. In English Teachers Association of Queensland Conference.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2012). Understanding teachers’ cultural models about technology. In J. van Alst, K. Thompson, M.J. Jacobson, & P. Reimann The Future of Learning: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – Volume 2 (pp. 551–552).
  • Curwood, J.S., Magnifico, A.M., & Lammers, J.C. (2011). Expanding our knowledge of adolescents’ literacy practices in online writing communities. In Literacy Research Association Conference.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2011). Reading in Panem: Young adults, literature, and online affinity spaces. In University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Friends of the Mind Series.
  • Cowell, L.L. & Curwood, J.S. (2011). Remix and respect: Intellectual property, fair use, and crediting work in digital environments. In Games, Learning, and Society Educator Symposium.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2011). Cultural tensions in multimodal assessment: A case study of a secondary English teacher. In British Educational Research Association Conference.
  • Curwood, J.S. (2011). English teachers’ cultural models about literacy and technology: A microethnographic perspective. In British Education Research Association Conference.
  • Gomez, M.L., Schieble, M.B., & Curwood, J.S. (2010). Distributed cognition: A promising framework for critical research in English education. In Literacy Research Association Conference.
  • Halverson, R.R., Halverson, E.R., Gnesdilow, D., Curwood, J.S., Bass, M., & Karch, A. (2010). The design framework: An organizing artifact for enhancing the fidelity of educational research, implementation, and assessment. In K. Gomez, L. Lyons, & J. Radinsky Learning in the Disciplines: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – Volume 2 (pp. 172–178).
  • Curwood, J.S. (2010). Between continuity and change: Fostering new literacy practices through professional development. In Literacy Research Association Conference.
  • Gibbons, D. & Curwood, J.S. (2010). Multimodal microanalysis: An analytical tool for new media texts. In New Media Consortium.
  • Hassett, D.D. & Curwood, J.S. (2009). Theories and practices of multimodal education: Semiotics and the instructional dynamics of new literacies. In American Education Research Association Conference.
  • Curwood, J.S. & Hassett, D.D. (2009). Teaching visual literacy using hypertextual books. In International Reading Association Conference.
  • Gibbons, D. & Curwood, J.S. (2009). Static noise and dynamic modes: Using critical theory and multimodality to analyze youth digital media production. In United Kingdom Literacy Association International Conference.
  • Hassett, D.D. & Curwood, J.S. (2009). Pedagogies of multiliteracies: Using multimodal texts in elementary classrooms. In National Reading Conference.
  • Magnifico, A.M., Curwood, J.S., Halverson, E.R., & Hassett, D.D. (2008). Hybrid stories, hybrid identities: Conceptualizing performance texts. In Games, Learning, and Society Conference.
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