Meet the Authors
Janet B. Taylor, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Early Childhood Education, designed the Shared Journal process. She was formerly a kindergarten, first, second, and third grade teacher for 15 years. At Auburn University she taught at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral level and served as the coordinator of the Early Childhood graduate and undergraduate programs in Curriculum and Teaching for many years. She has co-authored and/or authored over 28 publications.
Amanda Branscombe has over 30 years of experience teaching in public schools and universities. Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Athens State University. Like the other co-authors, Amanda studied under and was mentored by Janet Taylor when she was a graduate student at Auburn University. She has implemented the Shared Journal at the preschool, kindergarten, and university levels. In collaboration with others, she has presented the Shared Journal at local, state, regional, national, and international conferences. She has also done extensive research and writing on Shared Journal.
Jan Gunnels Burcham is a Professor of Early Childhood Education and holds the Moselle Worsley Fletcher Distinguished Chair in Teacher Education at Columbus State University. She has 25 years experience teaching in public schools and universities. She, too, studied under Janet Taylor and implemented Shared Journal in her own teaching from the kindergarten to university levels. She has also taught many undergraduates and graduates to use the curriculum. In addition, she has presented, individually and in collaboration with others, presentations about Shared Journal at the local, state, national, and international levels. In addition, to her presentations, she has conducted multiple research studies involving Shared Journal.
Lilli Land is a graduate of Auburn University and holds B.S., M.Ed., and Ph.D. degrees in Early Childhood Education. She has been an educator in Alabama public schools since 1981 serving as a teacher and an administrator. Her last administrative position was as principal of Auburn Early Education Center, a kindergarten school in Auburn City Schools. Under her leadership, AEEC was honored with several awards and recognitions including being named as an Intel and Scholastic School of Distinction for Literary Achievement, a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School, a CLAS Banner School, a SMART Technologies Showcase School, and being featured by the George Lucas Educational Foundation as they produced a documentary on AEEC, Beginning the Journey: Five-Year-Olds Drive Their Own PBL Projects. In 2007, she received the NAESP National Distinguished Principal Award for Alabama.
Sandy Armstrong has 15 years of teaching experience in public schools serving as a teacher and as an Instructional Technology Coach. As with the other authors, Dr. Janet Taylor was Sandy's major professor for her B.S. and Master's degrees. She implemented Shared Journal in her classrooms (including with bilingual classes). Her expertise is in the integration of technology in early childhood classrooms. She is a SMART Exemplary Educator and Certified Master Trainer. She is also an Intel Teach to the Future Master Teacher Trainer. She has presented for SMART Technologies around the US and has created and sold a SMART Board interactive whiteboard curriculum for pre-k to 2nd grade. Sandy has used technology to enhance Shared Journal as she works with classrooms around the world.
Angela Carr is a National Board Certified teacher with B.S. and Master's degrees in Early Childhood Education. She has 15 years teaching experience in public schools. Dr. Janet Taylor was her mentor for both of her degrees. Angela has implemented Shared Journal in her classroom for all 15 years. She maintains that the Shared Journal has enabled her to meet the needs of her students while meeting the requirements of the State Department and her school system. Angela's area of expertise is in communicating to administrators the benefits of constructivist teaching and Shared Journal by documenting and illustrating how it meets required standards.
Allyson Martin has 23 years of teaching experience, 18 years of those as a kindergarten teacher and the last 5 years as a reading coach at Auburn Early Education Center (AEEC). Shared journal was an integral part of her teaching and curriculum as a classroom teacher. As a reading coach she was fortunate to work in a school that implements the Shared Journal school-wide so she frequently spends time in classrooms observing interactions and story telling during the sharing process, conferencing with children about their pictorial and written story representations, and working with teachers to assess students' literacy acquisition through the Shared Journal. Allyson was also a student of Dr. Janet Taylor. She has modeled the Shared Journal for novice teachers, coached them in the implementation of this process in their classrooms as well as done presentations at local, state, and regional conferences.