Amy Hutchison

Amy Hutchison
Associate Professor
George Mason University
Profile

Dr. Hutchison is an associate professor in the Division of Elementary, Literacy, and Secondary Education at George Mason University. Her scholarship centers around three primary areas of inquiry: (1) Understanding how digital technology can be used equitably and to support diverse learners; (2) Understanding and Supporting the Development of STEM literacy among underrepresented students; and (3) Understanding how digital technology can support the development of literacy skills and how to support and prepare preservice and inservice teachers to effectively integrate digital technology into literacy and language arts instruction. Focused on these areas of interest, she conducts research across the PK-20 spectrum, across disciplines, in formal and informal learning environments, and with pre-service and practicing teachers using a variety of inquiry tools and methodologies. In her work, she has constructed and examined innovative instructional approaches and practices that are facilitated by the integration of digital technology, which most recently include the use of coding apps and augmented reality for literacy instruction. Insights from her work in the field, and research from the field more broadly, are brought together in her recently published book entitled Bridging Technology and Literacy: Developing Digital Reading and Writing Practices in Grades K-6 (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), in which she and her coauthor explore the complexities of digital literacies and invite teachers and schools to reconsider the role of digital technology in today’s literacy instruction and how literacy education is undertaken in schools. Through her work, Dr. Hutchison encourages teachers to examine their instructional practice, to understand the ways that digital technology transforms what it means to be literate, to understand the importance of providing equitable access to high-quality instruction with digital technology, and to understand the interconnected nature of reading, writing and digital technology.