School of Education

Dr. Kara M. Taylor is a public intellectual dedicated to the emancipation/liberation of marginalized communities. She is a clinical assistant professor with a specialty of literacy in the UTE program. She is a former middle school literacy teacher from Chicago Public Schools. From her seven years of teaching, she developed a research interest in healing spaces from oppression created by literate practices. She is committed to analyzing and exploring issues pertaining to social justice, oppression, and equity in education. She uses narrative inquiry to explore and spotlight the stories of the marginalized silenced populations within schooling spaces. She hopes to assist in creating spaces for all to write themselves into the world using radical imagination.

• Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction with Language, Literacy and Culture as specialization, University of Illinois at Chicago, Dissertation: Culturally Relevant Writing Pedagogy: An Investigation of Assessments, Feedback, and Equity, (2018)
• M.A. Roosevelt University, Elementary Education, Funded by the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program, (2012)
• MFA Chicago State University, Creative Writing- African American Diaspora/Fiction Writing, Funded by a graduate assistantship, (2012)
• B.A. University of Illinois at Chicago, English, (2010)

Course Instructor Spring 2022

• E535 Elementary School Curriculum Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Summer 2022

• L504 Diagnosis in Language Difficulties (3 credits) Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Spring 2021

• Y611 Qualitative Inquiry in Education Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• EDUC 506 Curriculum in Early Childhood Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• EDUC 340 Methods of Teaching Reading I Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• L400/500 Instructional Issues in Language Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• EDUC 535 Elementary School Curriculum Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• EDUC 339 Early School Literacy/Block I Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Summer 2021

• J655 Multicultural /Global Education Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• EDUC L504 Identity work with learner literacy differences Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Fall 2019

• EDUC 339 Early School Literacy/Block I Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• EDUC 341 School Literacy/Block III Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis
• L504 Intermediate / Upper School Literacy/ MA Program Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Spring 2019 - Present

• L400/500 Literacy Issues with Emergent Bilingual Students Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Fall 2018 - Present

• EDUC 340 Intermediate School Literacy/Block II Urban Elementary Education, IU Indianapolis

Course Instructor Fall 2018

• C&I 414/504 Middle and High School Literacy/Secondary Literacy Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago

Course Instructor Fall 2017

• C&I 414/504 Middle and High School Literacy/Secondary Literacy Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago

Teaching Assistant Spring 2017

• C&I 414/504 Middle and High School Literacy/Secondary Literacy Literacy Coach/Implementation Coach

• Critical Literacy
• Literacy
• Narrative Inquiry
• Trauma Informed Instruction
• Healing Spaces
• Writing
• Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
• Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

• Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
• Healing Space
• Narrative Inquiry
• Equity
• Literacy

• Smith Kondo, C., (forthcoming 2023). A Pedagogy of Humanization: Preparing Elementary Teachers for Culturally Sustaining Classrooms (1st ed.). Myers Education Press. ( Chapter within this book forthcoming)
• Coppola, R.*, Taylor, K., Osorio, S. L., & Woodard, R. (2022). Editors' introduction: Centering children's joy and brilliance in schools. Language Arts, 99(3), 165-166.
• Osorio, S. L., Woodard, R., Coppola, R.*, & Taylor, K. (2022). Learning on the move.Language Arts, 99(4), 225-226.
• Osorio, S. L., Woodard, R., Coppola, R.*, & Taylor, K. (2021). New Editors' Introduction and Vision: Advancing Critical, Antiracist, and Inclusive Elementary Literacy Pedagogy. Language Arts, 99(1), 5-7.
• Woodard, R., Coppola, R.*, Taylor, K., & Osorio, S. L. (2021). In Pursuit of Equity and Justice. Language Arts, 99(2), 85- 86.
• Taylor, K. M., Taylor, E. M.*, Hartman, P., Woodard, R., Vaughan, A.*, Coppola, R.*, ... & Machado, E. (2019). Expanding repertoires of resistance Teachers cultivating critical English language arts pedagogies through collaborative narrative inquiry. ENGLISH TEACHING-PRACTICE AND CRITIQUE, 18(2), 188 203.
• Taylor, K. M. (2019). Rewriting John Henry: Using Texts to Interrogate Personal Trauma. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(4), 463-465 Woodard, R., Vaughn, A.*, Phillips, N., & Taylor, K. (2018). Cultivating urban literacies through a pedagogy of spatial justice. Voices from the Middle, 25(3), 28-31.

• "Radical Self-Care Through Movement and Storying, Reunity Institute Wellness Session", The Akire Group and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy 2022
• "Hustle and Flow: An Exploration of Hip Hop Music leading to Justice and Equity, Equity Justice and Antiracist Teaching", National Council of Teachers of English, Virtual 2021
• "Countering the Insurrection from the Outside-In: Race, Place and Racial Literacy in Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Equity Justice and Antiracist Teaching", National Council of Teachers of English, Virtual 2021
• "Hip Hop in the Hallway: Using Hip Hop to Foster Equitable Dispositions Amongst Preservice Teachers, Equity Justice and Antiracist Teaching", National Council of Teachers of English, Virtual 2021
• "Love Yourz: An Examination of Healing and Social Emotional Learning through Literacy Instruction around Hip Hop, ¡Confluencia! Songs of Ourselves", National Council of Teachers of English, Denver, CO, 2020
• "The Intersection of Identities, Critical Literacies, and Critical Pedagogies, ¡Confluencia! Songs of Ourselves", National Council of Teachers of English, Denver, CO, 2020
• "Truth Hurts: Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Practices and the Absence of Confluence with Language and Literacy Policy, ¡Confluencia! Songs of Ourselves", National Council of Teachers of English, Denver, CO, 2020
• “Pre-service Teachers Critically Reflecting on Their Identities: Fostering Dispositions Towards Equitable and Socially Just Education", American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, 2020
• "Student Influences on the Teacher Identities and Emancipatory Pedagogies of Teacher Educators of Color", American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, 2020
• “Healing Spaces and Hip Hop Lit Teaching”, National Council of Teachers of English, Baltimore, MD, 2019
• “Remixing Assessment Systems: Hip Hop Pedagogy”, National Council of Teachers of English, Baltimore, MD, 2019 Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2019
• “The Case of John Henry: Culturally Relevant Assessment Systems”, ChLA - Children's Literature Association, Indianapolis, IN, 2019
• “Teachers as Researchers: Exploring Culturally Sustaining Literacy Teaching through Converging Theory and Practice”, Literacy Reading Association, Indian Wells, California, 2018
• “Culturally Relevant Writing Pedagogy: An Investigation of Curriculum Design, Assessments, Feedback, and Equity”, Curriculum and Pedagogy Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2018
• “Hip Hop Lit Teaching: Strategies and Assessment”, National Council of Teachers of English, Houston, TX, 2018
• “Teachers as Researchers: Navigating the Challenges and Conundrums of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies to Cultivate Opportunities”, National Council of Teachers of English, Houston, TX, 2018
• “Educators Storying Our Lives as We Move Toward Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy", American Educational Research Association, New York, NY 2018
• “Culturally Relevant/Sustaining Writing Assessment and Feedback”, National Council of Teachers of English, St. Louis, MO, 2017
• “Culturally Relevant Writing Assessment”, University of Illinois at Chicago’s Research Day, Chicago, Il, 2017
• “Writing Unit Planning to Promote Spatial Justice”, Nepantla Mini Conference, Chicago, Il 2017
• “Culturally Relevant Writing Pedagogy : An Investigation of Assessment, Feedback and Equity”, Discourse Analysis Conference, Bloomington, IN, 2017
• “From Culturally Relevant to Culturally Sustaining: Writing Instruction Remixed”, University of Illinois at Chicago’s Research Day, Chicago, Il, 2017
• “Culturally Sustaining Writing Instruction at the Elementary Level”, Illinois Reading Council, Peoria, IL , 2015

• Block Grant, IU Indianapolis, $22,000
• Literacy with iPads grant, IU Indianapolis, $30,000
• New Faculty Teaching Academy, Indiana University, Fall 2019 Intercultural Curriculum Grant, IU Indianapolis, Spring 2019, $100

• Educational Research Association (AERA)
• Literacy Research Association (LRA) National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)
• Children’s Literature Association (ChLA)
• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.