Tanya S. Wright

Tanya S. Wright is an assistant professor of language and literacy in the department of Teacher Education and a principal investigator for the Literacy Achievement Research Center at Michigan State University. She is the winner of the 2012 Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award from the International Reading Association. She is a former kindergarten teacher whose research focuses on curriculum and instruction in early language and literacy, with a particular interest in improving educational outcomes for children living in poverty. Her recent work concentrates on the roles of teachers and curricular materials in promoting oral language, vocabulary, and background knowledge development for young children. Wright received her Ph.D. with a specialization in language, literacy, and culture from the University of Michigan, her M.A. from the reading specialist program at Teachers College, Columbia University, and her B.A. in anthropology from Columbia University.