Renée Casbergue

Vira Franklin & James R. Eagles Professor

Bachelor's Degree(s): Elementary Education, University of New Orleans, 1976

Master's Degree: Curriculum and Instruction, Reading Specialist, University of New Orleans, 1980

PhD: Curriculum and Instruction, University of New Orleans, 1984

Phone: (225) 578-6660

Fax: (225) 578-2267

Email: rcasberg@lsu.edu

Office: 113E Peabody Hall

Biography

Renée Casbergue's research interests focus on early literacy, with an emphasis on children's writing development as supported at home and in early childhood educational settings, and the influence of professional development on preschool teachers' ability to impact children's early language and literacy development. She is director of an Early Reading First project funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support the development of centers of early literacy excellence in preschool classrooms serving high poverty families in New Orleans.

She has been engaged in the field of literacy education and learning for over twenty five years, first as a teacher and reading specialist for children in second through tenth grades, and then as a faculty member at Tulane University and the University of New Orleans before joining the faculty at LSU. She is a past president of the Literacy Development in Young Children special interest group of the International Reading Association, and is currently chair of the Early Literacy Study Group for the national Literacy Research Association. She co-edits the  Focus on Pk&K quarterly for the Association of Childhood Education International (ACEI). She serves on editorial boards for The Reading Teacher, ACEI (Childhood Education, and the Journal of Research in Childhood Education), and Reading Psychology.

Her work has been published in the Journal of Reading Behavior (now Journal of Literacy Research), the Journal of Reading, the Journal of Education, and Teaching and Teacher Education among others.  She teaches in the graduate literacy program and works extensively with the undergraduate PK-3 Early Childhood teacher preparation program.

Selected Publications

Schickedanz, J. & Casbergue, R. (2005; 2009). Writing in Preschool: Learning to Orchestrate Meaning and Marks. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Casbergue, R. & McGee, L. (2010). Shifting perspectives in emergent literacy research. In R. Allington (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Reading Disabilities, pp.185-195, New York: Guilford.

Buchannan, T., Casbergue, R., & Baumgartner, J. (2009). Consequences for classroom environments and school personnel: Evaluating Katrina’s effect on schools and system response. In R. Kilmer, V. Gil-Rivas, R. Tedeschi, & L. Calhoun (Eds.), Meeting the Needs of Children, Families, and Communities Post-Disaster:  Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath. Washington, DC:  American Psychological Association.

Buchanan, T., Casbergue, R., & Baumgartner, J. (2009). Young children's demonstrated understanding of hurricanes.  In K. Cherry (Ed.), Lifespan Perspectives on Natural Disasters: Coping with Katrina, Rita, and Other Storms. New York: Springer.

Casbergue, R. (2010). Assessment and instruction in early childhood education: Early literacy as a microcosm of shifting perspectives. Journal of Education.

Selected Presentations

Casbergue, R. & Bedford, A. Building Toward Sustainability in Early Reading First: Preliminary Investigation of Impact on Child Outcomes. National Reading Conference Annual Meeting, Fort Worth, TX, December, 2010.

Casbergue, R. & Bedford, A., & Burstein, K. CLASS Reliability Training as Professional Development. LDYC Research Symposium Presentation, International Reading Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, May, 2010.

Casbergue, R. & Bedford, A.  Early Reading First Study Group (Study Group organizer). Presentation: The Impact of CLASS Reliability Training on Teachers' Professional Development. National Reading Conference Annual Meeting, December, 2009, 2010.

McGee, L. & Casbergue, R.  Monitoring Teachers’ Growth in Literacy Instruction. Research Symposium, International Reading Association, Minneapolis, MN, May, 2009.

Casbergue, R., McGee, L., Bedford, A., & Dail, R. Teacher Change as Indicated by Preschool Children's Language and Literacy Gains Over 3 Years. American Education Research Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, April, 2009.

Casbergue, R. & Dail, R.  Lessons Learned from Six Years of Early Reading First. International Reading Association, Phoenix, AZ, February, 2009.

Selected Grants/Funded Projects

Project Recovery: Early Reading First Initiative, New Orleans Schools. U.S. Department of Education. $3,600,000. Principal Investigator.