Womack Department of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation

Schrodt, Dr. Katie

Literacy Motivation and Achievement Lab

About the Lab

This lab investigates literacy motivation and achievement among elementary-aged children. Current and past projects include writing and motivation interventions in kindergarten classrooms, spelling curriculum interventions in grades 3–5, and encoding-to-decoding curriculum development for prekindergarten students. The lab also engages in research on family literacy, literacy access, book censorship, effective literacy professional development for practicing teachers, and educator preparation within literacy methods courses for preservice teachers.

Current Projects

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Lab Members

Featured Articles

Adejumo, T. et al. 2025. A National Survey of Reading Teachers on Early Literacy: Assessing Nigerian Teachers’ Knowledge, Perception and Practices of Reading Instruction. Reading Psychology.

Schrodt, K.M. et al. 2024. The Effects of Invented Spelling Instruction on Literacy Achievement and Writing Motivation. Education Sciences.

Davis, T. et al. 2024. An Exploration of the Impact of Quality Illustrations in Children’s Picturebooks on Preschool Student Narrative Ability. Reading Psychology.

McClain, J. and Schrodt, K.M. 2023. Service, suffering, and silence: A duo ethnographic exploration of the evangelical roots of gender hierarchies in American elementary schools. Gender and Education.

Schrodt, K.M. et al. 2023. Facilitating Critical Discussion of Picturebooks through Socratic Seminars in a Kindergarten Classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal.

Schrodt, K.M. et al. 2022. Supporting Emergent Writing with Oral Storytelling Strategies. The Reading Teacher.

Schrodt, K.M. et al. 2022. Examining the Validity of the Writing Challenge Task: An Assessment Tool for Measuring Writing Motivation in Kindergarteners. Reading and Writing Quarterly.

McClain, J.B. and Schrodt, K.M. 2021. Making Space for Multilingualism: Using Translanguaging Pedagogies to Disrupt Monolingual Language Ideologies within a Culturally Responsive Kindergarten Curriculum. The Reading Teacher.

Schrodt, K. et al. 2020. Becoming Brave Spellers. The Reading Teacher.

Schrodt, K.M. et al. 2019. An Examination of Mindset Instruction, Self-Regulation, and Writer’s Workshop on Kindergarteners’ Writing Performance and Motivation: A Mixed-Methods Study. Reading and Writing Quarterly. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2019.1577778.

Schrodt, K.M. et al. 2015. Exploring culturally relevant texts with kindergartners and their families. Reading Teacher. 68, 8 (Jan. 2015), 589-598. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1363.

Selection of Contracts, Grants and Sponsored ResearchSelection of Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Schrodt, K. M., Berkowitz, M., Bernstein, S., Miranda, R., “Efficacy Study,” Sponsored by 95 Percent Group, Private, $87,000.00. (July 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026).

Schrodt, K. M., Bernstein, S., “Efficacy of the Encoding to Decoding Curriculum in Prekindergarten: A QuasiExperimental Study with Longitudinal Follow-up,” Sponsored by Dr. Jeannine Herron, Private, $65,000.00. (October 2025 – October 2026).

McClain, J. (Co-Principal), Odegard, T. (Co-Principal), Schrodt, K. M. (Supporting), Cao, Y. (Supporting), Jones, R. S. (Supporting), “Project CORRIENTE: Laying the Foundation for Literacy Success among Spanish-English Bilingual Learners who Demonstrate Reading Difficulty in Tennessee,” Sponsored by WT Grant Foundation, $594,270.00. (in submission)

Cliche, C., Daugherty, K., Winters, J. J., Schrodt, K. M., Kimmins, D., Arnette, S., “Project OPTIMAL (Ongoing PD for Teachers in Math and Literacy),” Sponsored by Murfreesboro City Schools ESSER Funds, $425,000.00. (July 2021 – 2022).

Kates, R. (Principal), Schrodt, K. M. (Supporting), “i3 Scale-Up C3WP Late Start Professional Development Grant,” Sponsored by U.S. Department of Education, under PR/Award Number U411A160004,, Federal, $131,000.00. (2020 – 2021).

Schrodt, K. M., Murphy, T., “MTSU’s Family Literacy Initiative: Growing Families that Read through Family Literacy,” Sponsored by Dollar General Literacy Foundation, $9,470.00.

Schrodt, K. M. (Co-Principal), Kates, R. (Co-Principal), “2019-20 Year 3 Scale-up C3WP Professional Development Grant,” $134,000.00. (2019 – 2020).

Selected Media Contributions

“How To Teach Writing Fluency,” Shanahan on Literacy. (May 3, 2025). https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-teach-writing-fluency-1

“Local on 2: MTSU education professor, 5th grade Campus School teacher give tips on getting kids ready for end-of-year testing,” WKRN-2. (April 4, 2025). https://mtsunews.com/local-on-2-end-of-year-testing/

“Brave Spelling: Using Invented Spelling Strategies to Increase Foundational Literacy Skills and Writing Motivation in Young Children,” Capit Learning. (December 12, 2024). https://www.capitlearning.com/literacy-talking-points/webinar-14-invented-spelling-good-or-bad

“MTSU literacy expert talks about reading with your kids, suggests books for parents on WKRN ‘MTSU on 2’ segment [+VIDEO],” WKRN-2. (October 25, 2024). https://mtsunews.com/schrodt-mtsu-on-2-oct2024/

“MTSU literacy curriculum earns ‘A+’ nationally for preparing education students,” MTSU News. (June 15, 2023). https://mtsunews.com/education-literacy-curriculum-earns-top-marks/

“MTSU’s College of Education ‘Optimizes’ Math Literacy Teacher Training for MCS Educators,” AACTE EdPrep Matters. (May 23, 2023). https://news.mtsu.edu/2022/07/19/college-education-trains-mcs-teachers/

“National Banned Books Week,” Out of the Blue / Middle Tennessee State University. (September 22, 2022). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccb6HDAh_ZE

	Dr. Katie Schrodt Associate Professor Dept of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation Katie.Schrodt@mtsu.edu Katie Schrodt’s research focuses on early reading and writing achievement and motivation, including efficacy studies of literacy curriculum in partnership with 95 Percent Group. Her work appears in leading journals such as Education Sciences, Reading and Writing Quarterly, and The Reading Teacher. She directs the Middle Tennessee Writing Project and is a Bonnie Campbell Hill Award recipient.
	Sydney Banda is the Undergraduate Recruitment and Engagement Specialist for the College of Education at MTSU. After earning her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Belmont University, Sydney worked in K-12 education as a 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade teacher prior to becoming a Reading Interventionist and Literacy Coach. Now, as a Ph.D. student in MTSU’s Literacy Studies Program, her research interests include Teacher Preparation, Multilingual Learners, and Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching.
	Thankful Davis is a PhD. student in the Literacy Studies program at Middle Tennessee State University. She earned her master’s degree in Early and Middle Childhood Literacy from MTSU, where she became interested in how literacy impacts learning in the early grades. Her love of literacy and expertise as an artist led her to explore how visual art could enhance foundational reading skills. Mrs. Davis has expertise in course building and curriculum development, co-authoring the course Interpreting Art for the state of Tennessee and consulting on several charter school visual art curriculum frameworks. She is currently researching the mechanisms by which visual art can most impact pre-literacy and early literacy skills. Mrs. Davis currently teaches elementary art and lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and two children.
	Caitlin Deckard is a Science of Reading Specialist and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University. She has held various positions in rural and urban school districts, including elementary classroom teacher, literacy interventionist, gifted and talented teacher, RTI coordinator, strategic planning board member, and Title Services program coordinator. Caitlin prioritizes evidence-based best practices within the MTSS framework, while making research both accessible and approachable to educators. As a Ph.D. student in the Literacy Studies program at MTSU, Caitlin hopes to deepen her practice to ensure all educators are equipped with the knowledge they need to support the literacy development of their students.
	Jiawen Liu
	Rebecca Loera is a PhD student in the Literacy Studies program with a concentration in Instruction and Staff Development. Her research interests center on oral language development and its role in reading and writing outcomes, as well as how literacy-focused professional development can be designed and implemented to meaningfully translate into educator practice. She currently works as a Structured Literacy Professional Learning Facilitator, partnering with district and school leaders to rethink and redesign systems and structures that support instructional practice and advance student literacy outcomes. She holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction as well as a degree in Early Childhood-6th Grade Interdisciplinary Studies, is a certified Reading Specialist, and serves as a University Field Supervisor for graduate students in her alma mater’s Reading Specialist program.
	Robin Miranda is a PhD student in the Literacy Studies program with a concentration in Instruction and Staff Development. She lives outside of Denver, Colorado with her husband and two kids. Her research interests include elementary writing and early literacy instruction for Multilingual Learners. Robin is currently working on an efficacy study of a spelling curriculum for 3rd through 5th graders. Outside of her academic work, she is an elementary school leader in Denver Public Schools and an Ambassador for the Reading League Colorado.
	Shauna Sweeney is a Ph.D. doctoral candidate of Literacy Studies with an emphasis on Staff Development at Middle Tennessee State University. She is currently a Literacy Instructional Coach at an area Elementary school in Rutherford County School District. She has been in education for almost twenty years. Mrs. Sweeney has an M.Ed. in Instructional Coaching, as well as a degree in Early Childhood Education. She is interested in working with new teachers and pre-service teachers in the future and would like to teach education at the college level. Mrs. Sweeney is currently doing her dissertation study on spelling and reading in PreK students. Her other areas of interest include professional development for teachers and writing and phonics instruction in early elementary.
	Macklin Zehr is a current PhD student in Middle Tennessee State University’s Literacy Studies program with a focus on dyslexia and reading disabilities. After graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, completing an undergraduate honors thesis focused on Biblical character education, and involvement with MTSU’s chapter of American Democracy Project, she has spent two years teaching first grade, where she has honed expertise in literacy and phonics instruction. She currently holds the role of math curriculum lead and provides leadership in the development, implementation, and evaluation of math curriculum and instruction. She is passionate about growing as a teacher, and has led professional development sessions on effectively running reading small groups, sharing strategies to enhance engagement and differentiation. These experiences inform her current research interests in classroom instruction and teacher training with a focus on cultural diversity and growth mindset instruction. With a commitment to bridging theory and practice, she aims to contribute meaningful insights to the field of education through both research and practice in her time as a student in the Literacy Studies program.