Department of Child Development, Literacy and Special Education

Dr. Morgan V. Blanton is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Child Development, Literacy, and Special Education (CLSE). She holds an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction, an M.Ed. in reading education, and a B.S. in elementary education. She teaches in-person and online literacy courses in the elementary, middle grades, and secondary education undergraduate programs as well as in the literacy education graduate program.

In addition to her teaching experiences in higher education, Dr. Blanton also has experience in the public school setting as a classroom teacher, reading/intervention specialist (K-5), curriculum coordinator (6-12), and secondary MTSS coordinator (5-9).

Dr. Blanton's research interests fixate on literacy and professional learning. Specifically, she centers her research on instructional design and practices related to children's literature, text sets, text complexity, and graphic novels. Further, her research interests in these areas also include coaching and feedback as they relate to reflective practices and teacher self-efficacy.

Selected Publications

• Blanton, M.V. & Pyles, D.G. (2021). Difficult Conversations: How Elementary Teachers Can Teach the Intersection of Climate Change and Environmental Migration through Children’s Literature and Media Literacy. Article published in Fringes, the North Carolina English Teachers’ Association journal.
• DeHart, J., Blanton, M.V., & Zhang, S. (2020). Considering the Factors - Quantitative and Qualitative Features of Graphic Novels. Article published in the Tennessee Literacy Journal in December 2020.
• Blanton, M. V. & Pacifici, L. (2020). Learning by Design: Rethinking Curriculum Alignment through Collaborative Inquiry. Research article published in the Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 3, Is. 2, Article 1.

Selected Presentations

• Blanton, M. & Pyles, D. (2023) Difficult Conversations: How to Intentionally Curate Text Sets that Teach Complex Topics. Presented at the North Carolina Reading Association’s annual conference in Winston-Salem, NC.
• Blanton, M.V. (2020). Ripples and Reflections: What Preservice Teachers Notice about their Practice. Presented a paper that shared findings and implications for practice at the North Carolina Association of Research in Education (NCARE) Conference in Greensboro, NC.

Learn more about Dr. Blanton and her work through her digital Curriculum Vitae.