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Dr. Steffany Comfort Maher Ph.D.

Hillside Hall 04
Phone: (812) 941-2603
stmaher@iu.edu

Biography

Dr. Steffany Comfort Maher has been an educator for over 23 years, teaching middle and high school students English and social studies in Michigan for 12 years; college students in writing, literature, and education methods courses at Western Michigan University for five years; and pre-service and in-service teachers at Indiana University Southeast for six years (and counting). While she has earned several awards for her teaching, her greatest reward is seeing former students make a difference in their classrooms, schools, communities, and wider world!

Currently Assistant Professor of English Education at IU Southeast, Dr. Maher supervises pre-service teachers in their clinical practice and teaches courses in secondary reading methods, advanced English language arts methods, and young adult literature. She serves as Coordinator of Secondary English Language Arts Education and Director of the Indiana University Southeast Writing Project (IUSWP), which provides professional development in writing and reading to P-12 educators and students in Southern Indiana through local programming and the training of over 250 local Teacher Consultants. 

Dr. Maher has published scholarly articles, books, and book chapters on teaching young adult literature and writing in secondary classrooms. An active member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Assembly on Literature of Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN), Children’s Literature Association (ChLA), Indiana Council of Teachers of English (ICTE), and National Writing Project (NWP), Dr. Maher also disseminates her research at national, state, and local professional conferences. Her research interests include critical inquiry approaches to teaching young adult literature, critical youth studies, and teaching for social justice.

Outside of academia, Dr. Maher continues to coach volleyball and enjoys walking, hiking, and watching many different sports, especially when her four daughters are playing volleyball, basketball, or softball. She also loves to travel, and she and her family have had the privilege of serving others in Paraguay. Dr. Maher looks forward to traveling abroad with her family—and with her students—in the future.

Academic Background

  • Doctorate

    • Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
    • Doctorate in English Education
  • Masters

    • Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
    • M.A. in English Teaching, Major in English, Minor in Education
  • Bachelors

    • Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL, USA
    • B.A. in English Education, Major in English Education, Minor in Social Sciences

Professional Interests

Teaching

  • Methods of Teaching Reading and Literature
  • Methods of Teaching Writing
  • Advanced Methods of Teaching English Language Arts
  • Young Adult Literature

Research

  • critical inquiry approaches to teaching young adult literature
  • critical youth studies and youth cultural studies as applied to the teaching of young adult literature
  • critical youth studies and critical inquiry in teacher education
  • teaching for social justice

Campus Events

CAB Meeting

CAB Meeting

March 28th, 2024

All day event

Pre-Connect

Pre-Connect

March 28th, 2024

6:15 PM - 7:00 PM

CSF Dinner & Connect

CSF Dinner & Connect

March 28th, 2024

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

CAB Meeting

CAB Meeting

March 29th, 2024

All day event

SAFE Zone Training 2023-24

SAFE Zone Training 2023-24

March 29th, 2024

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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Indiana University Southeast

4201 Grant Line Rd.
New Albany, IN 47150
(812) 941-2333

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