Associate Professor of Literacy Education
Office: Schindler Educ Ctr 107, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Phone: (319) 273-2564
Email: tmatloob@uni.edu
Education: Ph.D. Reading Education - Children’s Literature, Oakland University, MI, M.A. Children’s Literature, Kansas State University, M.Sc. Computer Based Learning & Training, University of Southampton, UK, B.Sc. Computer Science, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Research Interests: Children’s Literature, Multicultural Children’s Literature, Digital Storytelling, Use of Technology in Teaching, Virtual Reality, Narrative Medicine
Dr. Taraneh Matloob embraces teaching multicultural children’s literature as a viable way to promote culturally inclusive pedagogies in early childhood and middle teacher education. Also, Dr. Matloob is an energetic member of the professional children’s literature as well as educational technology communities. She has an extensive local, national, and international conference presentation record. Most recently she published an article in the Journal of Educational Technology Systems. Additionally, she has co-authored a chapter of Encounters of the Playful Kind which will be published in Fall 2020 by Routledge. Dr. Matloob has served as a reviewer on School Library Journal, First Opinions―Second Reactions, the International Research Society for Children’s Literature, the Lion and the Unicorn and also as a cultural ambassador for the state of Iowa at the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).
Taraneh Matloob’s research interests include multicultural children’s literature, and emerging educational technology such as virtual reality and augmented reality. In the field of multicultural children’s literature, she seeks out intersectional approaches to explore how literary elements in multicultural texts are different from literary devices in mainstream children’s literature. Specifically, what characterizes a multicultural children’s book as a narrative, distinct from all other types of children’s narratives? Regarding emerging educational technology, she is interested in using VR technology to investigate the utility and transportability of viewing VR stories about cultural-specific characteristics, characters, and factors among pre-service teachers and their awareness, thinking, and behaviors. 2
Dr. Matloob completed her undergraduate degree in Software Engineering and her first master’s degree in Computer Based Learning and Training at the University of Southampton in Great Britain. For several years she was involved in designing learning management systems and courses in remote teaching. She is thoroughly familiar and comfortable with technology in various pedagogical forms and can utilize multimedia to most efficiently deliver educational content. In 2019, Dr. Matloob received the University at Buffalo Special Collections Fellowship and in 2018 she received Nextant Medallion from the Virtual World Society at Augmented World Expo (AWE). In 2017, she received an Outstanding Dissertation Award from Oakland University. Additionally, during her time at UNI as well as her graduate studies in OU and KSU she has established a preliminary record of awards, scholarships, and grants. In 2008, she was awarded a three-month prestigious fellowship for specialists in the field of children’s literature at the International Youth Library (IYL) in Munich, funded by the Federal Republic of Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also, her first master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Southampton in Great Britain was supported by British Council’s $20,000 Chevening scholarship, which is awarded to only ten applicants each year.