Erica Holyoke joined the School of Education & Human Development in 2022 as an assistant professor in the Responsive Literacy Education program.
Prior to coming to CU Denver, Dr. Holyoke was an assistant professor in Elementary and Special Education at Keene State College in New Hampshire, a literacy coordinator, literacy coach, and assistant principal in Texas, and an elementary classroom teacher and special education teacher in Massachusetts and Texas. Her research has focused on early literacies in classrooms and teacher preparation. She investigates justice and equity-centered literacy learning, instruction, and learning communities. Her work also examines agency and activism in children's literature, classrooms, and preparation programs. Dr. Holyoke's work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored books.
Dr. Holyoke enjoys playing soccer, and hiking with her family and dogs in the Colorado mountains. She is eager to be joining the University of Colorado Denver school and community.
Areas of Expertise
- Early literacies
- Literacy Teacher Preparation and Early Writing Development
- Restorative Classroom Literacy Communities
- Activism and Agency in Teaching and Teacher Preparation
- Critical Literacies and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in
- Teaching and Teacher Development
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, focus Language and Literacy Studies with a specialization in Early Childhood Literacies, The University of Texas at Austin
- M.A. in Multicultural Special Education, The Univesity of Texas at Austin
- B.A. in Peace and Justice Studies; Child Development, Tufts University
Certifications:
- EC-12 Special Educator and ESL Generalist
- EC-12 Principal Certification
- Restorative Justice Educator
- Master Reading Teacher / Reading Specialist
Resumes/CV:
Awards
- 2023 - Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Grant - California State University
- 2022 - Faculty Development Award - Keene State College
- 2020 - Literacy Research Association Annual Conference - Area 5. Early and Elementary Literacy Processes Paper Award
- 2020 - O.L. Davis, Jr. Laureate Doctoral Scholarship - Kappa Delta Pi
- 2020 - Carolyn J. and John H. Young Endowed Presidential Fellowship in Education, The University of Texas at Austin
- 2019 - Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Graduate Fellowship - The University of Texas at Austin
Affiliations
- Literacy Research Association
- American Education Research Association
- International Literacy Association
- National Council for Teachers of English
Research
Dr. Holyoke's research has focused on justice and student-centered literacies in classrooms and in teacher development. She investigates activism and agency in classrooms, in children's literature, in preparation programs, and in relation to supporting more equitable communities in schools and society.
Publications and Presentations
- Wetzel., M.M., Holyoke, E., Dunham, H., Alexander, K., & Collins, C. (2023). Literacy Coaching for Social Justice, Teacher Learning and Transformation. Book in Press.
- Fletcher, L., & Holyoke, E. (2023). Reading the Word and World Through Activism: A Critical Content Analysis of Children’s Literature. Conditional Acceptance.
- Ries, L., Holyoke, E., Dunham, H., Young, M., Wetzel, M., Garcia, C., Payne, K., Wilhelm, A., Estrada, V., Maurer, A., & Trautman, K. (2022). Learning to Expand our Communities to Support Coaching for Equity: A Collaboration of Seven University-Based Teacher Preparation Programs. Conditional Acceptance.
- Chen, X., Fletcher, L., Castagno-Dysart, D., Popp, J., Rose, C., & Holyoke, E. (2022). Are we practicing what we teach?”: A multi-institution self-study on activism and culturally sustaining pedagogy. Educational Research and Development Journal, 25(2), 32-52.
- Soto-Hendrix, A., Holyoke, E., Dunham, H., Wetzel, M. (2022). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Amplifying Youth Critical Consciousness in Classrooms. In S.C. Cantrell, D. Walker-Dalhouse, & A. M. Lazar (Eds.), Culturally Sustaining Literacy Pedagogies: Honoring Students’ Heritages, Literacies, and Languages. Teachers College Press.
- Holyoke, E. (2021). A Kindergarten Case Study: Community and Belonging Through Layered Pedagogies of Instruction and Restorative Justice. Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education 6(3), 209 - 250.
- Wetzel, M., Bautista-Morales, N., & Steinitz Holyoke, E. (2020). Mentoring to Transgress: Practicing Inspection, Reciprocity and Hope in Teacher Education. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 1-18.
- Lammert, C., & Steinitz Holyoke, E. B. (2020). Supporting English Learners through Practice-Based Research. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 59(1), 24-40.
- Hoffman, J. V., Svrcek, N., Lammert, C., Daly-Lesch, A., Steinitz, E., Greeter, E., & DeJulio, S. (2019). A research review of literacy tutoring and mentoring in initial teacher preparation: Toward practices that can transform teaching. Journal of Literacy Research, 51(2), 233-251.
- Wetzel, M. M., Vlach, S. K., Svrcek, N. S., Steinitz, E., Omogun, L., Salmerón, C., Batista-Morales, N., Taylor, L., & Villarreal, D. (2019). Preparing teachers with sociocultural knowledge in literacy: A literature review. Journal of Literacy Research, 51(2), 138-157.