Melissa A. Holmes

MELISSA A. HOLMES serves as a project coordinator and instructor for the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) in the College of Education. Her post-secondary teaching experience focuses on the academic literacy development of CLD students in higher education. Her approach to working with adult learners emphasizes cross-language transfer of knowledge from the native language to English, as well as the importance of relying on student biographies to guide instruction.

Ms. Holmes has presented at international, national, and local conferences on the differential learning needs of CLD students in higher education, effective recruitment and retention strategies, and the preparation of pre-service teachers to be advocates for CLD students and families. Her research interests include academic language instruction and the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented groups. Her work has appeared in the journals American Secondary Education and Teaching Education.