I am a literacy educator with a passion for intervention work, both directly supporting students and preparing teachers to provide effective, evidence-based instruction. My experience as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and private literacy interventionist has deepened my commitment to meeting diverse learner needs. In my current role at GVSU, I teach the complexities of literacy through the lens of assessment and intervention, helping current & future educators design responsive instruction that supports all K–12 students.

• Literacy Studies
• General Education

Courses

EDR 320: Language and Literacy: Development, Assessment, and Instruction

EDR/EDS 323: Teaching Students with Language and Literacy Learning Difficulties

EDR 612/613: Reading Assessment: Elementary & Secondary Teacher

EDR 626: Field-Based Literacy Assessment for Learning

EDR 632: Field-Based Literacy and Language Interventions

• M.A., Grand Valley State University
• B.A., Cornerstone University

• Vanderground, Jennifer L. (2026) "Building Self-Efficacy in Students with Dyslexia: A Practice-Forward Framework for Classrooms, Families, and Teacher Preparation," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 58: Iss. 2, Article 6 https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol58/iss2/6
• Stoetzel, L., Vanderground, J., & Abraham, K. (2025). Recentering Family-Teacher Partnerships Through the Lens of Unconditional Positive Regard. Michigan Reading Journal, 57(3), Article 1. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol57/iss3/1
• Petroelje Stolle, Elizabeth and Vanderground, Jennifer L. (2024) "Building a Beloved Community of Literacy in Professional Spaces," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 56: Iss. 2, Article 9. Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol56/iss2/9

Structured Literacy and Dyslexia-Responsive Instruction

• As a literacy studies scholar with expertise in structured literacy and the science of reading, my work focuses on preparing teachers to deliver explicit, systematic instruction to students with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties. I have been involved in developing a donor-funded structured literacy and dyslexia initiative at GVSU, building a tiered framework for professional learning and family-facing resources that connects directly to Michigan's new science of reading legislation and its implications for teacher preparation. This work is grounded in building teacher candidates' capacity to recognize and respond to students' literacy learning needs.

Literacy Intervention Design within MTSS

• My research also examines how Tier 2 literacy interventions can be designed with greater instructional precision within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports. In an article currently in preparation, I argue that effective Tier 2 intervention requires qualitative intensification, meaningful shifts in instructional design and delivery, rather than simply reducing group size. This work offers practical guidance for practitioners and researchers seeking to move beyond surface-level notions of "more support" toward intervention that is responsive to how students actually learn to read.

Literacy Assessment

• I teach and research in the area of language and literacy assessment, with particular attention to how informal as well as curriculum-based measures, including DIBELS 8th Edition and MAP Reading Fluency, can be used to guide instructional decision-making for PK-12 students. My work with teacher candidates emphasizes building assessment literacy alongside intervention skill, so that data collection is tied directly to responsive teaching.

Field-Based Teacher Education

• In collaboration with colleagues in Literacy Studies, I develop clinically rich, field-based learning experiences for pre-service teachers that bridge theory and practice in foundational and disciplinary literacy. Through co-planning, modeling, scaffolding, and feedback loops in clinical intervention practica, this work supports teacher candidates in building pedagogical content knowledge and the confidence to respond to the diverse needs of PK-12 learners.

Student Self-Efficacy

• My research also examines how self-efficacy develops in students with dyslexia and how classrooms, families, and teacher preparation programs can work together to support it. In Vanderground (2026), I present a practice-forward framework for building self-efficacy in students with dyslexia, drawing on the work of self-efficacy theorists such as Bandura and Dweck to translate research into concrete strategies teachers and families can use. This work reflects my broader commitment to ensuring that literacy instruction for students with dyslexia attends not only to skill development but to students' beliefs about themselves as readers and learners.