Kristen Nichols-Besel

Academics Faculty

Kristen Nichols-Besel

Email: kmn39985@bethel.edu

Job Titles

Highlight

Nichols-Besel's areas of interest include Literacy Education, Writing Centers, Education for Multilingual Learners, Academic Writing, Qualitative Research.

Started at Bethel

2015

Education

  • University of Northern Iowa - B.A. in English Education, 2000
  • Iowa State University - M.A. in English Literature, 2005
  • University of Minnesota - Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Literacy Education, 2015

Publications

*Nichols-Besel, K., Levin, K., & Jamsen, K. (2019). Student identity disclosed: Analysis of an online student profile tool. Praxis, 17(1), 72-83.

Nichols-Besel, K., Scharber, C., O'Brien, D. G., & Dillon, D. R. (2018). A space for boys and books: Guys Read book clubs. Children and Libraries: The Journal of ALSC, 16(2), 19-26.

Dillon, D. R., O'Brien, D. G., Scharber, C., & Nichols-Besel, K. (2017). Guys Read: A summer library reading program for boys. Children and Libraries: The Journal of ALSC, 15(2), 3-8.

Hansen, M., Hartley, D., Jamsen, K., Levin, K., & Nichols-Besel, K. (2015). So much more than just an "A": A transformative high school and university writing center partnership. In J. S. Blumner & P. B. Childers (Eds.), WAC partnerships among secondary and post-secondary institutions. Fort Collins, CO: WAC Clearinghouse.

Nichols-Besel, K. (2015). "A very likable person": Character development in Louis Sachar's There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom. The ALAN Review, 43(1), 23-31.

Presentations

*Jamsen, K., & Nichols-Besel, K. (2020, March). International students, identity, and accessibility: Clients’ perspectives of our Student Profile Tool. Presentation at the Midwest Writing Centers Association regional conference, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Nichols-Besel, K. (2019, April). Reading and writing support on exams for multilingual learners at the college level. Presentation at the Minnesota Writing and English Conference. Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Jamsen, K., Levin, K., & Nichols-Besel, K. (2018, March). From client to co-investigator: How might we engage clients in research to improve writing center access and inclusion? Presentation at the Midwest Writing Centers Association regional conference, Omaha, Nebraska.

Jamsen, K., & Nichols-Besel, K. (2016, November). Here's what I want YOU to know about ME!: Using optional student profile data to explore student writers' identities. Presentation at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing annual conference, Tacoma, Washington.

Hansen, M., Jamsen, K., Nichols-Besel, K., & Shea, M. (2016, March). Conversation to confidence: Cultivating high school and university writing center collaborations to renew and sustain our work. Presentation at the Midwest Writing Centers Association regional conference, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Nichols-Besel, K. (2015, June). Forming friendships, creating crisis, overcoming obstacles: Textual features of YAL that support adolescents' engagement with texts. Presentation at the Louisiana State University Young Adult Literature Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.   

O'Leary, H., Nichols-Besel, K., Bruce, E., & Lang, U. (2015, April). Mentoring Initiative - Dissertation writing: From impossible to invaluable. Presentation at the Central States Anthropological Society annual meeting, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Bruce, E., & Nichols-Besel, K. (2015, March). From the outside in: Disciplinary approaches to writing center research. Presentation at the International Writing Centers Association Collaborative at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Tampa, Florida.

Certificates and Licenses

Standard License (Issued by the State of Iowa Board of Educational Examiners): 5-12 English/Language Arts, 5-12 Reading, K-12 Athletic Coach [8/30/2018-7/31/2024]