Professional Summary
Kierstin Giunco is a former elementary educator and curriculum coordinator with experience teaching first graders in a self-contained, inclusive classroom and English Language Arts to students in grades 4 through 6. In addition, she has had the privilege of coaching more than fifteen elementary and middle-level teachers across seven schools in curricular and instructional practices. Drawing from these experiences, she is committed to partnering with teachers as they cultivate professional agency through practitioner-driven inquiry.
Through these partnerships, she explores how educators make sense of their contexts and develop "pedagogical design capacity" while adapting curricular materials to implement evidence-based strategies that support and affirm all learners. Her research has been published in high-impact journals, including Literacy Research: Theory, Methods, and Practice, Urban Education, Action in Teacher Education, Teacher Development, and The Reading Teacher.
Education
Curriculum and Instruction: Boston College (Literacy, Language, and Culture & Leadership, Policy, and Educational Change)
Honors and Awards
International Literacy Association's 30 Under 30 Award
New England Education Research Association's John Schmitt Outstanding Research Award
Massachusetts Association of College and University Reading Educators' Celebrate Literacy Award
Service
American Educational Research Association (Teacher as Researcher Special Interest Group )
Literacy Research Association (Publications Committee )