Milner, Joseph O.

Dr. Dr. Joseph O. Milner is Chair of the Department of Education at Wake Forest University. He has served as Chair of the Conference on English Education, Director of the North Carolina Writing Project, a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Math and Science Alliance, and a member of the National Humanities faculty. Dr. Milner was editor of North Carolina English Teacher from 1979-1994; has written books in English education, including Bridging English; has published critical essays on Wallace Stevens and James Agee; and pedagogical essays in English Journal, English Education, Children’s Literature, and other journals.

Act of Teaching English

2006 0-7734-5865-4
The 24 studies in this book explore discrete teaching acts such as proximity and use of touch, the first two minutes of class, question formation and creating authentic conversations. Each of the studies compares the responses of students in the four teachers’ classrooms. The major sections of the book investigate four crucial classroom concerns: Impinging Phenomenon, Structuring Instruction, Imposing, and Learning Dynamics. The studies are offered to help readers understand the impact that seemingly small teaching differences make as measured by their students’ responses. Because each of the studies examines the same teaching act in four teachers’ classrooms, some important differences are found that may cause readers to institute these teaching acts in their own classes and evaluate them by measuring the engagement of their own students.

Spiritual and Ethical Dimensions of Children’s Literature

2001 0-7734-7354-8
This study argues that children’s literature has a pronounced rhetoric which can be perceived as forming dichotomies within each of the eight classic genres of the field. Each chapter explores central dichotomies within a genre found in several important texts of that genre. Genres are: Science Fiction; Historical Fiction; Survival Fiction; Ethnic Fiction; Fantasy; Mystery; Contemporary Realism; Animal Stories. “. . . contributes significantly to theory and scholarship in the field of children’s and young adult literature. . . . Milner’s construct is thoughtfully and precisely developed. . . . it is undeniably a most valuable resource for academics and teachers alike.” – Wendy K. Sutton