Dr. John O’Flahavan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, in the College of Education, University of Maryland, where he is Associate Department Chair and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy, culture and schooling. His research interests include PK-12 literacy teaching and learning, peer discussion about text, comprehensive school-wide literacy programs, school improvement and teacher preparation. Dr. O’Flahavan has published his work in such journals as The Reading Teacher, Reading Research Quarterly, Language Arts, Voices in the Middle, and the Journal of Literacy Research, and in a variety of edited volumes. He has worked extensively with school systems in NY, VA, MD, ME and TX, and is a regular contributor at international, national, and regional literacy conferences.
Distinguished Outreach Award, College of Education, University of Maryland, 2010
Faculty Mentor Award, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Maryland, College Park, 2007
Presidential Award for Outstanding Service to the Schools, University of Maryland, College Park, 1995
Lilly-Center for Teaching Excellence Fellow, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1993-94
Finalist, Dissertation of the Year Competition (Title: Second graders' social, intellectual, and affective development in varied group discussions about narrative texts: An exploration of participation structure), International Reading Association, Newark, DE, 1991
Award of Merit for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching and Motivation, Panhellenic Association, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1988
Excellence in Undergraduate Education, Language Arts Education, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, 1987.
McDonald, R., & O'Flahavan, J. F. (Eds.) (1991). Reading in Virginia, Virginia State Reading Association
(all solicited)
O'Flahavan, J. F., & Tierney, R. J. (2007). Inquiry with and through literacies: Rethinking our destination and journey. In J. Flood, & D. Lapp (Eds.), Using instructional strategies in high school classrooms (3e). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
O'Flahavan, J. F., & Seidl, B. L. (1997). Fostering literate communities in school: A case for sociocultural approaches to reading instruction. In S. Stahl & D. Hayes (Eds.), Instructional models in reading. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
O'Flahavan, J. F., & Tierney, R. J. (1995). Moving beyond reading and writing in the content areas to discipline-based inquiry. In J. Flood, & D. Lapp (Eds.), Using instructional strategies in high school classrooms (2e). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Nagy, W., Osborn, J., Winsor, P., & O'Flahavan, J. F. (1993). Structural analysis: Some guidelines for instruction. In J. Osborn & F. Lehr (Eds.), Reading, language, and literacy: Instruction for the 21st Century (pp. 45-58). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
O'Flahavan, J. F., & Tierney, R. J. (1990). Reading, writing, and thinking critically. In L. Idol & B. F. Jones (Eds.), Educational values and cognitive instruction: Implications for reform (pp. 41-64). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Tierney, R. J., & O'Flahavan, J. F. (1989). Literacy, learning and student decision-making: Establishing classrooms in which reading and writing work together. In D. Lapp, J. Flood, & N. Farnan (Eds.), Content area reading and learning: Instructional strategies (pp. 297-303). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
(*designates refereed articles; #designates solicited articles)
#O'Flahavan, J. F., & Wallis, J. (2005). Rosenblatt in the classroom: Her texts, our reading, our classrooms. Voices from the Middle, 12 (3), 32-33.
*Almasi, J. F., O'Flahavan, J. F., & Poonam, A. (2001). A comparative analysis of student and teacher development in more and less proficient discussions of literature. Reading Research Quarterly, 36 (2), 96-120.
#Wong, S., Groth, L., & O'Flahavan, J. F. (1995). Classroom implications of Reading Recovery. Reading Today, 13, 12.
*Wiencek, B. J., & O'Flahavan, J. F. (1994). From teacher-led to peer discussions about literature: Suggestions for making the shift. Language Arts, 71 (7), 488-498.
#O'Flahavan, J. F. (1994). Teacher role options in peer discussions about literature. The Reading Teacher.
*O'Flahavan, J. F. (1993). Teacher research in an era of school reform. Journal, 17, 32-34.
*O'Flahavan, J. F., & Blassberg, R. (1992). Toward an embedded model of spelling instruction for emergent literates. Language Arts, 69, 409-417.
*O'Flahavan, J. F., & Stein, C. (1992). In search of the teacher's role in peer discussion about literature. Reading in Virginia, 17, 34-42.
#O'Flahavan, J. F., Gambrell, L. B., Guthrie, J., Stahl, S., Baumann, J., & Alvermann, D. (1992). Poll of IRA members guides National Reading Research Center. Reading Today, 10, 12.
#O'Flahavan, J. F. (1991). Emphasizing the teacher in teacher research communities. Reading Today, 9, 32.
#O'Flahavan, J. F., & McDonald, R. (1991). Andrea Butler on integrated curricula, thematic improvisation, and "leading from behind." Reading in Virginia, 16, 7-8.
*O'Flahavan, J. F., & McDonnel, G. (1990). Becoming a strategic reader in Virginia: Is practice keeping pace with research? Reading in Virginia: Developing strategic readers, 15, 1-9.
*Tierney, R. J., Soter, A., O'Flahavan, J. F., & McGinley, W. M. (1989). The effects of reading and writing upon thinking critically. Reading Research Quarterly, 24, 134-173.
*O'Flahavan, J. F., Hartman, D. H., & Pearson, P. D. (1988). Teacher questioning and feedback practices: A twenty-year retrospective. In J. E. Readence & R. S. Baldwin (Eds.), Dialogues in Literacy Research, Thirty-seventh Yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 183-208). Chicago, IL: National Reading Conference.