Sarah A Bonner
Assistant Professor
Dr. Sarah Bonner spent over 20 years in the English Language Arts middle grades classroom before becoming an assistant professor for the University of North Carolina Wilmington. There, she teaches English Language Arts and literacy methods courses relative to the middle grades.
Education
B.S. in Middle Grades Education, Eastern Illinois University
M.Ed in Teaching and Learning, Illinois State University
Ed.D in Teaching and Learning, Illinois State University
Specialization in Teaching
Adolescent development, middle grades teaching, English/Language Arts in middle grades, middle level literacy, disciplinary literacies
Research Interests
Her research focus centers around teacher transformation, inquiry-based teaching, student centered learning, design thinking and adolescent literacy. Her work has been published in Middle School Journal, Voices from the Middle, Action in Teacher Education, and Middle Grades Review.
Professional Service
She has served as a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Middle Level Nominating Committee and currently serves as the NCTE Middle Level Steering Chairperson.
Honors & Awards
Sarah has also received the NCTE 2018 Media Literacy Teaching Award, the NCTE 2019 Halle Outstanding Educator Award, and the 2024 Divergent Award for Literacy in a Digital Age Research for her dissertation "You Have To Find Your People:" A Design-Based Approach To Transforming Teacher Practices Using Socially Just Innovation.