Stephanie’s trainings and courses are currently focused on child development, teaching writing in Pre-K-8 classrooms, and using children’s and young adult literature in K-12 literacy instruction. If you would like to schedule a training, please use this form.
Selected Courses, Presentations, and Trainings
Storytelling in Pre-K Classrooms. Training under design.
Writing Play in After School Programs. Training under design.
Encouraging Emergent Writing. Training under design for Iowa CCR&R Region 5.
Conducting Observations of Infants. Training designed for Iowa CCR&R Region 5.
Conducting Observations of Toddlers. Training designed for Iowa CCR&R Region 5.
Child and Adolescent Development, EDUC 268. Course designed for Saint Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, 2025.
Conducting Observations and Communicating with Families. Training designed for Illinois Gateways to Opportunity, 2025.
Teaching with Young Adult Literature, EDUC 368. Course designed for Saint Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa, 2024.
Stories Unlocked: Building a Culture of Print Literacy. Research presented at the annual meeting of the National Council for History Education, Cleveland, Ohio, 2024.
Exploring Freedom in Picture Books. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council for History Education, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2023.
Writing with Others. Keynote presented at the annual Young Writers Conference, Port Angeles, Washington, 2023.
When History Rhymes. Training designed for Euclid City Schools, Euclid, Ohio, 2023.
Fostering Understanding in the Secondary Classroom. Training designed for Euclid City Schools, Euclid, Ohio, 2023.
Fostering Understanding in the Elementary Classroom. Training designed for Euclid City Schools, Euclid, Ohio, 2023.
Tell Me More: How Civil Discourse in the Classroom Supports Students’ Mental Health. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Classical Education Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2022.
Learning and Development, TEED 5012. Course designed for Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2022.
Child and Adolescent Development, EDUC 5110. Course designed for Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2022.
Creative Writing – Fiction, ENG 152. Course designed for South Seattle Community College, Seattle, WA, 2018.
Engaging At-Risk Teens in Reading and Writing. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Washington State Literacy Association, Everett, Washington, 2018.
Teaching with Children’s Literature, LITC 5210. Course designed for Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2018.
Seminar in Writing Instruction, LITC 5220. Course designed for Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2017.
Elementary Methods, Literacy/ELL, TEED 5210. Course designed for Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2016.
Creating Characters. Keynote presented at the annual Young Writers Conference, Bremerton, Washington, 2016.
Using Picture Books to Engage At-Risk Teen Writers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of International Literacy Association, St. Louis, Missouri, 2015.
Middle School Seminar, TEED 5023. Course designed for Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 2015.
Panel: From Critique to Collaboration. SCBWI Washington, Seattle, Washington, 2015.
Panel: Editing and Revising Your Writing. Burlington Public Library, Burlington, Washington, 2013.
Panel: Staying Sane in the Digital Age. Northwest Literary Festival, Kirkland, Washington, 2013.
Building Literacy with At-Risk Teens. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Reading Association, San Antonio, Texas, 2013.
Guerra, S. (2012). Using Urban Fiction to Engage At-Risk and Incarcerated Youth in Literacy Instruction, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (55)5, p 385-394.
Guerra, S. (2010). Reaching Out to At-Risk Teens: Building Literacy with Incarcerated Youth, PNLA Quarterly, 74:5.
Teaching with Urban Fiction. Paper presented at the annual meeting of WORD, Redmond, Washington, 2010.
The Transformative Potential of Young Adult Urban Fiction for Incarcerated Youth. Paper presented at the annual meeting of WLA/PNLA, Victoria, Canada, 2010.
Guerra, S. F. (2009). Colonizing Bodies: Biotechnology and Corporate Power in Young Adult Science Fiction, Children’s Literature in Education, 40: 275-287.