Overview
Jenell Krishnan’s work is at the intersection of literacy, language, and technology. She strengthens the connection between research and practice by engaging educators, school leaders, and university faculty in working together to improve literacy teaching and learning.
As the developer of Writing Apprenticeship, Krishnan supports educators in improving their writing instructional practice in discipline-specific ways. The Writing Apprenticeship framework builds on Reading Apprenticeship’s established history in the field of adolescent literacy of improving secondary teaching and learning through school and district partnerships across the United States.
Before joining WestEd, Krishnan served on the leadership team at the National Writing Research to Improve Teaching and Evaluation (WRITE) Center housed at the University of California, Irvine. As an educator, program designer, and writing researcher, Krishnan is committed to improving literacy learning opportunities for adolescents through high-quality, evidence-based teacher professional learning.
Education
- PhD in education, University of California, Irvine
Select Publications
Krishnan, J., Friedrich, L., Sailors, M., Cole, M., & Howlett, H. (2025). Meaning‐based, code‐based, and vocabulary‐based instruction in middle and high school classrooms: The case for attention to all three. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 68(4), 400–407.
Krishnan, J., Maamuujav, U., & Collins, P. (2021). Multiple utilities of infographics in undergraduate students’ process-based writing. Writing & Pedagogy, 12(2-3), 369–394.
Krishnan, J., Schleppegrell, M., Collins, P., & Warschauer, M. (2020). Supporting a language-focused approach to close reading. Voices from the Middle, 27(4), 56–62.
Krishnan, J., Zinger, D., Gilbertson, N., & Harris, K. (2019). Leading teacher professional learning: Shared language for shared goals. In Handbook of research on strategic communication, leadership, and conflict management in modern organizations (pp. 177–197). IGI Global.
Krishnan, J., Cusimano, A., Wang, D., & Yim, S. (2018). Writing together: Online synchronous collaboration in middle school. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(2), 163–173.
Honors, Awards, and Affiliations
Outstanding Paper Award, American Education Research Association
Invited Panelist, Transformative Research in the Education Sciences
