Dr. Jen Scott Curwood is a lecturer in English education and media studies at the University of Sydney, where she is a lead researcher in the Sciences and Technologies of Learning Network and affiliated with the Centre for Research on Computer-Supported Learning and Cognition.

Jen’s research focuses on adolescent literacy, technology, and teacher professional development. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, E-Learning and Digital Media, International Journal of Learning and Media, English Teaching: Practice and Critique, Children’s Literature in Education, Literacy, The Reading Teacher, English Journal, and English in Australia.

Jen completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her major area of emphasis was Literacy Studies, with minors in Composition and Rhetoric and Educational Psychology.  She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the United States and Australia, focusing on literacy, language development, and culturally relevant pedagogy. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Jen was a public school teacher. She taught middle school and high school English, and she is licensed as a K-12 reading specialist.

She is affiliated with the Games, Learning, and Society Research Center and has worked as a videogame producer with Community KnowledgeBase and the Epistemic Games team. Previously, Jen chaired the Games, Learning, and Society Educator Symposium and served on the program committee for the Games, Learning, and Society Conference and the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research’s Midwinter Conference.

Jen lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, Michael Curwood, and their thirteen year old son.  When she’s not in the classroom, you’ll probably find her running, traveling, or curling up with a good book.