Dr. Alan Brown is Professor of English Education at Wake Forest University. A former high school English teacher and basketball coach, he is currently the graduate program director in the Department of Education and English education co-program coordinator in the Department of Education. He previously served as department chair from 2020 to 2026. He is the inaugural director for the Wake Forest Center for Literacy Education, director of the Skip Prosser Literacy Program, and co-PI for Winston-Salem TEACH, an inter-institutional teacher residency program among Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University, Salem College, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Dr. Brown teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on topics including action research, adolescent literacy, arts integration, educational leadership, English methods, secondary education, and young adult literature. His scholarly interests include critically examining the culture of sports in schools and society while connecting contemporary literacies to students’ extra-curricular interests. He is the co-author of Reading the World through Sports and Young Adult Literature (NCTE, 2024), co-editor of Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports (NCTE, 2016), and has published in numerous English language arts, education, and sport journals.
- Director of Graduate Education, Department of Education
- Director, Center for Literacy Education
- Professor, English Education
- Co-Program Coordinator, English Education
- Member, Graduate School Faculty
- Ph.D., The University of Alabama, 2012
- M.A.Ed., Wake Forest University, 2005
- B.S., Appalachian State University, 2003
- Chair, Department of Education, Wake Forest University
- Bryant/Groves Faculty Fellow, Wake Forest University
- Secondary Education Program Director, Department of Education, Wake Forest University
- English Teacher, Southwest Guilford High School, Guilford County Schools
- Basketball Coach, Southwest Guilford High School, Guilford County Schools
- University Liaison, Clinical Master Teacher Program, The University of Alabama
- University Supervisor, Secondary Education Program, The University of Alabama
- Instructor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, The University of Alabama
- EDU 101: Issues & Trends in Education: Sport, Education, & Society
- EDU 103B: Participating in Community Engagement
- EDU 222: Integrating Arts and Movement into the Elementary Curriculum (with Prof. Christina Soriano, Theatre & Dance)
- EDU 223: Theatre in Education (with Dr. Brook Davis, Theatre & Dance)
- EDU 231: Adolescent Literature
- EDU 309L/609L: Introduction to Secondary Education
- EDU 354/654: Content Pedagogy (English Methods)
- EDU 364L/664L: Student Teaching Internship: English
- EDU 368: Professional Experiences in Education
- EDU 715: Action Research
- EDU 716: Professional Growth Seminar: English
- Rodesiler, L., Lewis, M., & Brown, A. (2024). Reading the World through Sports and Young Adult Literature: Resources for the English Classroom. National Council of Teachers of English.
- Brown, A., & Rodesiler, L (Eds.). (2016). Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports: A Guide for the English Classroom. National Council of Teachers of English.
- Rodesiler, L., & Brown, A. (2022). Online and underground: Reconceptualizing a professional learning experience in times of change. English Leadership Quarterly, 44(4), 4-6.
- Brown, A., & Wilson, E. K. (2021). Classroom teaching and athletic coaching: Connecting social positions through interrole symbiosis. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 15(1), 1-26.
- Rodesiler, L., Lewis, M., & Brown, A. (2021). Portrayals of youth sports coaches in the movies. In K. Garland, K. S. Dredger, C. Beach & C. Leogrande. (Eds.), Stories of sport: Critical literacy in media production, consumption, and dissemination. (pp. 49-69). Lexington Books.
- Brown, A., Sieben, N., & Gordon, Z. (2019). Interest in teaching, coaching, and careers in education: A survey of university student-athletes. Teaching and Teacher Education, 83(1), 168-177.
- Rodesiler, L., Lewis, M. A., & Brown, A. (2024, November). Reading the world through sports and young adult literature. Panel presentation at the annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Boston, MA.
- Brown, A., Rodesiler, L. Lewis, M. A., Rosen, R., & Shanks, L. (2024, November). Spinning by Tillie Walden. In A. Brown, J. Mitchell, H. B. Wiley, & L. Schneider (Chairs), Eight great memoirs that capture the resilience of the human spirit. Roundtable presentation at the annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Boston, MA.
- Brown, A., & Davis, B. (2024, September). Lesson planning personified. Panel presentation at the annual fall forum of the North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NCACTE). Raleigh, NC.
- Brown, A., Thomas, R., Thompson, H., Wooten, K, & Mitchell, J. (2023, June). Exploring the intersections of college and university literacy education centers. Roundtable presentation at the bi-annual meeting of the English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE), Atlanta, GA.
- Brown, A., Sieben, N., & Gordon, Z. (2021, April). The acculturation of teacher-coaches: Examining initial pathways into careers in education. Roundtable presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).