Qualifications: B.Ed., PG Dip Language and Literacy, M.Ed, Ph.D
Papers Taught
About Wendy
Senior lecturer in literacy education papers within the Bachelor of Teaching (primary) and Masters of Education programmes. Supervisor Masters and Ph.D students
2021: Member Context Matters International Advisory Committee (CODE/ILA)
2018-2021:Elected member of the International Literacy Association's Board of Directors
2018-2021: Chair ILA Global Committee
2018: Nominated for Excellence in Tertiary Teaching and the Nola Campbell e-learning Excellence Awards.
Ongoing Member of the Waikato Literacy Association Member of the Editorial board for the NZLA journal, Literacy Forum NZ.
Previous Past President of the New Zealand Literacy Association (formerly NZRA) 2008-2012 Past member of the ILA International Development in Oceania Committee (IDOC), Past chair of IDOC 2012-2015.
Research Supervised
Motivating Year one students to write: using the teacher as writer strategy.
Engaging year 3 and 4 students in writing through play-based learning
A review of writing and effective strategies for teaching reluctant writers in upper-grade primary classrooms in China
Investigating reading identities of year one and two New Zealand primary school students: The formation and shifts in reading identity as literacy is acquired
Understanding how Kindergarten Teachers in China conceptualise Play-based Learning: A Learning Story Analysis
Research Interests
Currently working with educators in Kiribati to develop picture books for preschoolers (UNICEF project).
Classroom literacy practices: play-based pedagogies and literacy learning.
Beginning teachers and literacy
Ph.D research: Investigation into the beliefs and practices of first-year teachers of literacy in New Zealand primary classrooms
The use of digital technologies to support literacy development in primary classrooms.
Recent Publications
Hollier, C., & Carss, W. (2019). The teacher as a writer. Literacy Forum NZ, 34(2), 23-35. Open Access version: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/13733
Carss, W. (2019). Exploring the beliefs and practices of first year teachers of literacy in New Zealand primary schools. (PhD Thesis, Univerity of Waikato, Hillcrest Rd, Hamilton, New Zealand). Open Access version: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/12421
Carss, W. (2019). Student support in online teacher education. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Teacher Education (pp. 1-6). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_61-1
Carss, W. D., Tamata, A., & Exley, B. (2015). Catering for cultural and linguistic diversity: using teacher created information texts. Literacy Forum NZ, 30(3), 5-18.
