Her teaching includes courses on curriculum, diversity, qualitative research methods, discourse analysis, and literacy learning in elementary schools.
She earned her doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she studied under notable scholars such as Kris Gutierrez, Alesandro Duranti, Peter McLaren, and Elinor Ochs.
She has published articles in Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, Research in the Teaching of English, Linguistics and Education, Discourse and Society, Written Communication and co-authored articles in Harvard Education Review, Language Arts, Urban Education and International Journal of Educational Reform. Her edited book Literacy as Snake Oil: Beyond the Quick Fix addresses the problem of the commodification of literacy. She also co-edited the Handbook of Early Childhood Literacy. Her newest book is Making Literacy Real: Theories and Practices in Learning and Teaching, co-authored with Jackie Marsh.