About Dr. Jan Burkins
Dr. Jan Burkins is the author or co-author of six books on literacy instruction and a collection of instructional materials for K-2 classrooms. Jan's books and curriculum materials include:
In 1989, Jan received her undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Birmingham - Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, and in 1993, earned her master's from the University of Alabama. She earned her K-12 reading specialist certification and her doctorate from the University of Kansas in 1999. Her dissertation, which was a meta-analysis of the research on phonemic awareness, was the Dissertation of the Year for the University of Kansas School of Education and one of three finalists for the International Literacy Association's (ILA) Dissertation of the Year.
During her tenure in education Jan has worked as a classroom teacher, a part-time assistant professor, a district-level literacy leader, a literacy coach, and a full-time writer and consultant. Jan's practical insights into implementing the Common Core State Standards, including a systematic analysis of the CCSS with her writing partner Kim Yaris (burkinsandyaris.com), set them apart during a time when division seemed the norm. Jan has established herself as skilled in tempered thinking that considers all sides of a debate. The result has been a thirty-year commitment to joyful instruction that meets accountability demands and moves beyond the false binaries that divide the field.
Whether you are interested in Jan’s professional books or you are looking for a consultant who will customize professional learning for teachers, coaches, or administrators, Jan has the skills to support your team. She has the varied experience required to match the design and content of professional learning to the specific needs of your group. With extensive expertise in balanced literacy, experimental reading science, group facilitation, standards-based instruction, and even mindfulness, Jan supports relevant investigations and conversations among professionals, and is uniquely skilled at working within the tensions that are a natural part of teaching reading.
In particular, Jan can help you balance out the inherent weaknesses in whatever approach you are using, as every approach has an Achilles heel. If you are teaching in a "balanced literacy" environment and want to consider the ways "the science of reading" might support your students, or if you are locked into a systematic phonics program and are finding that students lack engagement and eventually have difficulty with comprehension, Jan can help you take a reasoned look at the competing demands of teaching reading.
- Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (Burkins & Yates, Stenhouse 2021)
- Who's Doing the Work? How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More (Burkins & Yaris; Stenhouse, 2016)
- Preventing Misguided Reading: New Strategies for Guided Reading Teachers (Burkins & Croft; Stenhouse, 2015)
- Reading Wellness: Lessons in Independence and Proficiency (Burkins & Yaris; Stenhouse, 2014)
- Coaching for Balance: How to Meet the Challenges of Literacy Coaching (Burkins; IRA, 2007)
- Practical Literacy Coaching: A Collection of Tools to Support Your Work (IRA & Corwin, 2009)
- The Who's Doing the Work? K-2 Lesson Sets (Stenhouse, 2017)
- The Who's Doing the Work? 3-5 Lesson Sets (Burkins & Yaris, 2020)
In 1989, Jan received her undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Birmingham - Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, and in 1993, earned her master's from the University of Alabama. She earned her K-12 reading specialist certification and her doctorate from the University of Kansas in 1999. Her dissertation, which was a meta-analysis of the research on phonemic awareness, was the Dissertation of the Year for the University of Kansas School of Education and one of three finalists for the International Literacy Association's (ILA) Dissertation of the Year.
During her tenure in education Jan has worked as a classroom teacher, a part-time assistant professor, a district-level literacy leader, a literacy coach, and a full-time writer and consultant. Jan's practical insights into implementing the Common Core State Standards, including a systematic analysis of the CCSS with her writing partner Kim Yaris (burkinsandyaris.com), set them apart during a time when division seemed the norm. Jan has established herself as skilled in tempered thinking that considers all sides of a debate. The result has been a thirty-year commitment to joyful instruction that meets accountability demands and moves beyond the false binaries that divide the field.
Whether you are interested in Jan’s professional books or you are looking for a consultant who will customize professional learning for teachers, coaches, or administrators, Jan has the skills to support your team. She has the varied experience required to match the design and content of professional learning to the specific needs of your group. With extensive expertise in balanced literacy, experimental reading science, group facilitation, standards-based instruction, and even mindfulness, Jan supports relevant investigations and conversations among professionals, and is uniquely skilled at working within the tensions that are a natural part of teaching reading.
In particular, Jan can help you balance out the inherent weaknesses in whatever approach you are using, as every approach has an Achilles heel. If you are teaching in a "balanced literacy" environment and want to consider the ways "the science of reading" might support your students, or if you are locked into a systematic phonics program and are finding that students lack engagement and eventually have difficulty with comprehension, Jan can help you take a reasoned look at the competing demands of teaching reading.