Teaching, Bearing the Torch 2/e   Pamela J. Farris
	About the Author

About the Author

Dr. Pamela J. Farris is a presidential teaching professor in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. A professor of curriculum and instruction, Farris has been at NIU since achieving her doctorate at Indiana State University in 1980. Prior to receiving her doctorate in elementary education with a focus on reading, Farris was a Research Fellow at Indiana State. She began her teaching career as an instructor in the South Putnam School District in Greencastle, Indiana. Farris' B.S. and M.S. degrees are also from Indiana State, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Pamela Farris is actively involved in numerous professional associations, including the Association for Curriculum and Supervision, the Children's Literature Assembly, Delta Kappa Gamma, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, Phi Delta Kappa, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The latter association is especially significant to Farris who recently published her first children's book, Young Mouse and Elephant, An East African Folktale, a picture book illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev (1996, Houghton Mifflin).

Known throughout the NIU community as a strong student advocate and mentor to many, Farris encourages and works with her graduate students to submit articles for publication. Having published over 140 refereed articles in a wide variety of journals including Action in Teacher Education, Journal of Adult and Adolescent Reading, Language Arts, and The Reading Teacher, Farris knows well the parameters of excellence required by professional journals. In addition to writing articles and children's books, Farris is also an accomplished author of several college textbooks. Her other books include:

Language Arts: Process, Product, and Assessment (1998, McGraw-Hill, 2nd edition)
Elementary and Middle School Social Studies: A Whole Language Approach (with Susan Cooper; 1998, McGraw-Hill)

Pamela Farris was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. She and her husband, Richard Fluck, are the doting parents of Kurtis, from whom they have gained many insights into children, learning, and teaching.

"A NOTE FROM PAM!"