Susan Rook

Dr. Susan Rook is a Lecturer in Literacy at RMIT University's School of Education since July 2023. Previously, she served as a Senior Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University (2018-2023) and held teaching roles in primary schools from 2001-2018. She earned her doctorate in January 2024, focusing on inference teaching methodologies in primary schools and the role of process drama in fostering student engagement. Her research emphasizes creative pedagogies, student agency in literacy practices, and promoting reading for pleasure.

• Education: Awarded PhD in January 2024 (thesis: inference teaching strategies and text selection).

Research interests include postmodern children’s literature, challenging gender stereotypes, AI applications in language education, and inclusive pedagogy. She actively collaborates with schools to implement innovative teaching methods and is a member of UKLA, ALEA, PETAA, and other literacy organizations.

Teaching focuses on early literacy, reading/writing pedagogy, and literature-based learning. Supervised projects include an exploration of single-sex education and gender identity representation in cinema (December 2024). Courses developed include Teaching Upper Primary Literacy and English and Teaching Early Literacy.