The San Diego Comic Fest is pleased to announce that Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan will be moderating a panel on the use of graphic novels in the K-12 classroom.
Dr. Loh-Hagan is a Research Fellow for the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Learning (IFL). Prior to joining IFL, she was a K-8 teacher, community college reading instructor, and program chair for an online university. She also teaches graduate classes in the teacher education programs at the University of Pittsburgh, San Diego State University, and University of San Diego. She has a wide range of experience in the public school, e-Learning, and higher education/teacher preparation settings.
She has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education, specializing in Learning Disabilities (K-12), from the University of Virginia. Upon graduation, she received the “Outstanding Woman Scholar in Education” award. She earned her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Literacy from SDSU-USD in May 2008; her dissertation—for which she received a ChLA Beiter Graduate Student Research Grant award from the Children’s Literature Association and for which she has published peer-reviewed articles and conducted presentations—was a qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian-American children’s literature.
She is also a multi-published author; she has a mid-grade chapter book with Candlewick Press, a picture book with Sleeping Bear Press, and several academic publications about children and young adult literature with Guilford Press, Pearson Education, and various professional journals. She blogs for Annenberg Learner, presents/keynotes at professional conferences, and conducts author visits at schools. She has served on the Literature List Update Committee for the California Department of Education and is serving on various book award committees (NAPPA, Eureka, APALA). She is the Cover Editor for The California Reader, the peer-reviewed journal for the California Reading Association. She is also an alumna of the San Diego Area Writing Project. She is actively involved with the community serving on several local boards and has a mayoral-appointed position as a Library Board of Trustee member. She currently lives in North County San Diego with her low-maintenance husband and high-maintenance dog.