Tiffany Flowers

Ph.D. Language, Literacy, and Culture
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

M.A. Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

M.A.T. Early Childhood Education
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

B.S. Psychology
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

• Urban Education
• Family Literacy
• African American Literacy Development
• Field Placement
• Children’s and Young Adult Literature
• The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Dr. Tiffany A. Flowers is an assistant professor of education at Georgia State University Perimeter College. She is a native Chicagoan and a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University where she earned a B.S. in psychology and a M.A.T. in early childhood education. Dr. Flowers also earned an M.A. in social and philosophical foundations of education and a Ph.D. in language, literacy, and culture from the University of Iowa. Dr. Flowers is a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the University of Michigan. She is a West Chester University Frederick Douglas Teaching Fellow and an Indiana University Minority Faculty Fellow. Dr. Flowers is also a 2014 NCTE Early Career Educator of Color award recipient. As an Education Program Specialist for State Reading in Georgia, she co-coordinated the two largest K-5 and 6-12 remedial education programs in the state. She was also a previous member of the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Committee.

Currently, Dr. Flowers is a reviewer for the American Library Association Booklist. Her research agenda is divided into six distinct and interrelated areas of research which include, African American literacy development, children’s and young adult literature, urban education, field placement, family literacy, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. You can find some of her work in journals such as Urban Education, Teachers College Record, Illinois School Journal, the High School Journal, the Journal of Research Initiatives in Education, The Journal of Literacy Innovation, Black History Bulletin, Illinois English Bulletin, E-Journal of Teaching and Learning in Diverse Settings, The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, and the Journal of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Flowers’ has more than 20 years of experience collaborating, planning, and executing community engagement programs. As a classroom teacher in Florida, she planned literacy nights for her elementary schools. She also wrote grants for her classroom which include The Kindergarten Reading Readiness Project and the Kindergarten Multi-ethnic Project. As a lecturer at Clemson University, she wrote grants to foster service learning with her students such as the African American Read-In Project which was a partnership between students in area elementary schools and the Charles H. Houston Center for the Study of the Black Experience in Education. Additionally, she wrote a grant to co-author the Tolerance Project curriculum for incarcerated youth in a youth development camp in South Carolina. Through this project, she studied the experiences of youth counselors working using controversial books during literature circles. Her current community engagement projects include the #EliminatingBookDeserts project to inspire book drives which engage the community to close the gap of book deserts in urban communities through a university-school-community service learning project. The Black Professors Read digital project creates an avenue for Black professors to introduce high school students online to books they recommend written by Black writers. Additionally, she is using online platforms to train literacy leaders, teachers, principals, and community organizers to participate in the NCTE African American Read-In program during Black history month. Further, she works with school districts, community centers, and schools to consult and provide professional development on working with families, struggling readers, implementing high-interest and engaging books, the reading and writing workshop, literature circles, guided reading, vocabulary development, and creating school and district-wide K-12 literacy plans. Dr. Flowers is currently working on five book projects pertaining to literacy, teaching, and schooling experiences.

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View Dr. Flowers’ Academia Profile

Recognition of 5 Years of Service, Perimeter College at Georgia State University, 2016
NCTE Early Career Educator of Color Leadership Award, NCTE, 2014
Pi Lambda Theta Scholarship, University of Iowa, 1999
University Leadership Award, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1997
University Service Award, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1997
Listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 1995
Outstanding Service to the Campus Community, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1995

National Committee Service:

Co-Chair. Early Career Education of Color Program (EC-EOC). National Council of the Teachers for English (NCTE), 2019-Present.

Co-Chair. Early Childhood/Elementary Division. Association for Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), 2021-Present.

Committee Chair. Legislative and Social Issues Committee. Association for Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), 2019-Present.

Committee Member. Diversity Committee. Children’s Literature Association (CLA), 2020-2021.

Ad Hoc Selection Committee Member. Mentoring Award. Children’s Literature Association (CLA), 2020.

Committee Member. Critics’ Choice Book Award Committee. American Educational Studies Association (AESA), 2019-2021.

Advisory Board Member. Reading Rainbow, 2019.

Committee Member. Ad Hoc Committee on Equity and Inclusion. Literacy Research Association (LRA), Summer 2019.

Committee Member. Ethnicity, Race, and Multilingualism Committee (ERM). Literacy Research Association (LRA), November 2018-Present.