MTSU’s College of Education invites students and scholars from various disciplines to present their research during its third annual Literacy Research Conference set for Saturday, Feb. 28, on campus.

Organizers designed the conference for students and established scholars to present their research “in a supportive and collegial atmosphere.” Researchers and practitioners from various disciplines — such as education, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience — are urged to attend and participate.

Dr. Laurie Cutting

Cost for the conference is $10, which includes lunch. The upcoming registration deadline is Sunday, Feb. 15. The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the College of Education building on the east side of campus.

To register, for directions and more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/literacy/registration.php.

Organizers encourage presentations of original literacy research, as well as research in progress. Formats for presentations include spoken papers, posters and roundtable discussions.

Keynote speaker for the conference is Dr.  Laurie E. Cutting, who will present “Unraveling the Neurobiological Correlates of Reading Comprehension.” Cutting specializes in brain-behavior relations in children and adolescents, with emphasis on reading disabilities, language and executive function.

As a professor of special education, psychology, radiology and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, Cutting is the principal investigator of National Institutes of Health-funded research projects on reading comprehension, reading disabilities and ADHD.

MTSU literacy studies faculty members will be presenting research. For details on presenters and topics, go to www.mtsu.edu/literacy/registration.php.

Other presentations will cover research in the following areas:

• digital literacy.
• literacy and writing instruction.
• comprehension instruction and assessment.
• vocabulary instruction and assessment.
• morphology instruction and assessment.
• neuroscience in literacy.
• prosodic sensitivity and reading skills.

MTSU offers a doctoral degree in literacy, a program designed to address one of education’s most pressing needs — the shortage of scholars, practitioners, administrators and policy-makers equipped to bridge the gap between the rapidly expanding body of scientific research on the development of literacy and educational practice, policy and professional preparation.

Conference attendees and presenters will have the opportunity to meet faculty members in the interdisciplinary program, which draws on the faculty from the College of Education, the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts. Learn more at www.mtsu.edu/literacy.