Melissa Bishop

Melissa Bishop serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education within Cape Breton University's School of Education and Health, where she leverages her background as a former kindergarten and elementary teacher to inform her academic work in early childhood education.

Her research program centers on transformative approaches to literacy development:

• Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) for early elementary instruction
• Land-based language learning methodologies
• Play-based literacy integration
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks
• MakerSpace pedagogy in English language arts

Through narrative inquiry, Bishop investigates how grades 1-3 teachers implement lived and planned curricula in digital spaces while championing Indigenous land-based literacy practices. Her work bridges classroom experience with innovative research to create inclusive early learning environments that connect children with natural ecosystems and multimodal expression.