Elementary Education & Reading Faculty & Staff

Dr. Barbara Vokatis is an Associate Professor in our department. She is a native of Poland. She completed her BA in English at Foreign Language Teachers College, Bielsko-Biala, Poland. She also holds two Master’s degrees: MA in English from the University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland and MS in Literacy B-12, from University at Albany. She completed her doctoral studies in Reading (Literacy) through University at Albany.

Dr. Vokatis’s research and teaching addresses three innovative fields: children’s knowledge building across various disciplines in creative learning spaces, the development of online literacy clinic courses, and innovative dog therapy in educational settings. She is also a self-published author in the area of dog therapy. Her latest book showcases how simple but creative dog therapy can enhance children’s well-being and literacy and how to start dog therapy for children.

With the expertise of teaching literacy clinics in various settings (on campus and in public school settings), she transferred them to an online format and sought grants to implement her course design to include the voices and expertise of classroom literacy coaches to augment her online clinic courses. As a result, SUNY Oneonta is the first campus in the SUNY system offering online literacy Master’s. She has also published articles in an international journal, Journal of Literacy Practice & Research, that reflect this complex process. In regards to the inquiry, she has published her research on the identity of innovative teachers who teach inquiry in an international journal focused on research on edge-cutting practices, Frontline Learning Research.

Her current research area involves innovative inquiry teaching and learning at the elementary level, teaching literacy clinic courses, and children's experiences of dog therapy. She provides regular updates in the dog therapy area of her work via her website.

Courses taught by Dr. Barbara Vokatis

EDUC 3035, Reading and Literacy I (Pre-methods, Undergraduate Level)
EDUC 6410, Literacy Coaching and Assessment Practicum B-6 (Graduate Level)
EDUC 6360, Literacy Coaching and Assessment (Graduate Level)