Literacywork International, Las Cruces, NM
www.literacywork.com
Senior Researcher for Language, Literacy, and Learning
Heide Spruck Wrigley is a highly respected literacy practitioner and researcher from the US, well known for her work on English language as well as literacy.
Dr. Wrigley is Senior Researcher for Language, Literacy and Learning with Literacywork International, a small independent firm conducting research and professional development work in the United States and in Canada. She has been involved in every federally funded national research study on adult ESL and acted as the subject matter expert in the What Works for Adult ESL Students study. She has written a number of books and articles related to adult ESL Literacy, including “Bringing Literacy to Life,” a handbook for practitioners; “Communicating in the Real World”, a textbook on workplace ESL; and most recently the “Language of Opportunity”, a report for the Centre on Law and Social Policy; and “Capturing What Counts”, a chapter in “Adult Biliteracy: Socio-cultural and Programmatic Responses” (Erlbaum 2007).
Dr. Wrigley currently is a non-resident fellow with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. where she focuses on immigrant integration and policy issues related to adult ESL, employment and family literacy. She has served on a number of advisory boards and expert panels, including the National Academy of Sciences, the National Centre for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, and (currently) the National Institute for Literacy, and the National Centre for Educational Statistics.
In an effort to make research accessible to practitioners, Dr. Wrigley is involved in a number of professional development efforts across the U.S. These include a four-year ongoing staff development effort in Socorro, Texas to help teachers integrate family literacy, EL Civics, and technology. She also heads up several professional development institutes (including a virtual course) for both new teachers and master teachers throughout Texas, focused on teaching English as a Second Language to adults. She has delivered numerous talks and keynotes at conferences both within the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Wrigley holds a PhD in Education with a focus on Language, Literacy, and Learning, and an MA in Applied Linguistics.