College of Education and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Leading
Dr. Zhang is an assistant professor at Augusta University. Her research is focused on early literacy, teacher practice and home literacy.
Teaching is always a bilateral exchange between teachers and students, and all aspiring or practicing educators must continually conceptualize and refine their philosophy of teaching. I value students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds, their learning styles, experiences, and goals, and I believe these factors play a crucial role in the dynamic learning process. Instead of relying solely on standard lectures, I encourage discussion, problem-based learning, and activities that allow students to reflect on and apply their field experiences. I also focus on helping pre-service teachers understand how learning opportunities can be designed to support ethnically and linguistically diverse children through culturally relevant pedagogy.
My research interests are centered on understanding the development of children’s early literacy skills, specifically early writing skills. Preschool children develop considerable knowledge and skill as young writers during the early childhood period, and these skills significantly impact their school success. However, our understanding of how young children develop early writing skills and how to effectively assess these skills lags substantially behind our understanding of reading-related processes. My research seeks to address this challenge by demonstrating how writing-based interactions in early childhood can support the development of both emergent writing and reading skills. Leveraging my expertise in mixed-methods research and quantitative methodologies, my research experience has culminated in two lines of inquiry, namely (1) how to best assess and document young children’s writing development and (2) how adults can facilitate the development of children’s early literacy skills across different languages.
