Devin M. Kearns, Ph.D. is Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy at North Carolina State University at Raleigh and research scientist for the Haskins Global Literacy Hub affiliated with Yale University and the University of Connecticut. Devin has a Master’s degree in Elementary Literacy and Language Arts from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in Special Education from Vanderbilt University.

Devin researches how to increase the success of students in the acquisition of early literacy skills. His research addresses:

• Instructional design: Devin and his colleagues build novel literacy instructional systems to help students who require specialized support to learn earlyliteracy skills.
• Implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS): Devin works with colleagues across the nation to help practitioners more effectively implement evidence-based practices to support all students. His work has focused especially on data-based individualization (DBI) systems.
• Using neural network models to exploring the cognitive mechanisms involved in reading acquisition: He works with Matthew Cooper Borkenhagen (Florida State University [FSU] and Florida Center for Reading Research) and Nathan Crock (FSU, President of Emelex, Inc.), UConn colleague Jay Rueckl, and Elfrieda Hiebert, CEO of TextProject on projects to model reading cognition.
• Examining the effects of reading instruction on neurobiological processing and academic outcomes: With Fumiko Hoeft, Director of the UConn Waterbury Campus and Kenneth Pugh, Professor of Psychology at the UConn and Yale University, he has tested the relation between patterns of cortical activation and educational outcomes using event-related potentials from encephalograms, both magnetic resonance imaging, and near-infrared spectroscopy.

Devin and his colleagues have been supported in their research by the Institute for Education Sciences, the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, the Connecticut State Department of Education, private foundations, and national and local organizations.

Devin has published research in Exceptional Children, the Journal of Educational Psychology, the Journal of Learning Disabilities; Reading Research Quarterly, Scientific Studies of Reading, and other journals and papers for teachers in the TEACHING Exceptional Children, The Reading Teacher, The Reading League Journal, and other journals.

Devin is a member of the editorial board of Reading & Writing, The Reading Teacher, and several other journals. He is associate editor for The Reading League Journal.He is the Research-Track Chair for the International Dyslexia Association and president-elect of the IDA Scientific Advisory Board.

Devin has extensive experience as an educator and professional development provider with seven years of classroom experience. He has provided professional development for schools and other organizations across the U.S. and internationally. He does demonstration lessons in schools using effective literacy instructional practices and works with teachers and administrators to implement DBI.

Devin was the recipient of the 2024 John J. Russell Award for Advocacy in Education from the Windward Institute and of the 2017 Neag School of Education’s Early-Career Researcher of the Year award. At Vanderbilt University, he was a Learning Sciences Institute and IES predoctoral fellow and recipient of the Robert Gaylord-Ross Award for Writing Excellence.