Raphael E. Rogers received his bachelor's degree from Clark University in 1994 and a master's degree at Northeastern University in 1998. He has completed a dissertation titled Slavery on Their Minds: Representing the Institution in Children's and Young Adult Literature and plans to receive his doctorate later this year from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Raphael has worked in and with schools throughout the past seventeen years. Starting with his work at the Dynamy Youth Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts, he has worked to help young people thrive academically and to improve their educational settings. Raphael has worked as a teacher in the Newton, Amherst, and Springfield, Massachusetts public schools, and has served as literacy coach, consultant, and a university supervisor of student teachers in a number of urban schools in Western Massachusetts. Throughout the past three years, Raphael has also been involved in a number of efforts that have focused on engaging young people in development of their urban communities and supporting youth leaders who are interested in being critical participants in urban and metropolitan change. As a researcher, Raphael is exploring interventions and methods that enhance student engagement with school and learning. Raphael also has research interests in critical literacies, critical multicultural analysis of children's and young adult literature, curriculum development, literacy education, and community/school/university collaboration.
Courses Currently Taught or Co-Taught
. Graphic Novels in the Classroom
. Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary Practicum
. Teaching and Learning II & III
. Ways of Knowing: History and the Social Sciences (Secondary)
Papers and Presentations
Slavery on Their Minds: Representing the Instituion in Children's and Young Adult Literature. American Literature Association 24th Annual Conference, Boston, MA May 24, 2013.
Presenting Historical Discourses of Slavery in Contemporary Picture Books. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, March 6, 2013.
Connecting the Promise of Brown vs. the Board of Education and Martin Luther King to My Career Path. Clark University, Worcester, MA, January 21, 2013.
Engaging Students with Comtemporary YA Literature in Urban Schools. Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, November 9, 2012.
Incorporating Graphic Novels into the Social Studies and ELA Studies Classroom. Springfield, MA, May 10, 2012.
Using Historical Fiction in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom. Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MA, March 23, 2012.
An Intertextual Approach to YA Neo-Slave Narratives. University of Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, February 15, 2012.
Becoming an Urban School Teacher. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, April 10, 2011.
Using Children's Literature in the High School Classroom. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, November 15, 2010.
Teacher Expectations of Urban Students of Color. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, May 3, 2010.
The Black Image in Children's Literature. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, October 4, 2009.
It's All About Me: Ruminations of a Novice Ethnographer's First Foray in the Field. University of Pennsylvania Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA, February 27-28, 2009.
Responsive Inquiry: Researching the Self, Teacher Education and Supervision through Four Ethnographic Perspectives. University of Pennsylvania Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphis, PA, February 27-28, 2009.
Teaching in Urban Schools. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, Amherst, MA, November 14, 2008.
Approaching Language, Literacy & Culture through Researching of Teachers and Teacher Education. University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education Centennial Conference, Amherst, MA, June 13-14, 2008.