T. Philip Nichols, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. His research focuses on how science and technology condition the ways we practice, teach, and talk about literacy, and the implications for equitable public education.
Dr. Nichols is currently working on several projects. First, he examines how the concept of "innovation" gets mobilized in public school reform, and the competing interests and imperatives that drive these efforts. This is the focus of his recent book, Building the Innovation School: Infrastructures for Equity in Today's Classrooms (Teachers College Press, 2022). Second, he explores emerging platform architectures (e.g., hardware, software, algorithms, data, code) and their uneven impacts on literacy education and civic learning. And third, he is studying the political history of "media education" and its work in bridging Cold War social science, aesthetics, and English/literacy pedagogy. This was the focus of his 2021 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship.
He holds a Ph.D. in Literacy, Culture, and International Education from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned an M.A. in History and Sociology of Science.
Dr. Nichols is currently accepting new Ph.D. students.
Ph.D., Literacy, Culture, and International Education
2018
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
M.A., History & Sociology of Science
2016
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
M.A.Ed., English Education
2010
Arcadia University
Glenside, PA
De-escalating Dataveillance in Schools (Phi Delta Kappan)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published De-escalating Dataveillance in Schools, 12/2022, with co-author(s) Dr. Alexander Monea, George Mason University.
Platform Studies in Education (Harvard Educational Review)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Platform Studies in Education, with co-author(s) Dr. Antero Garcia, Stanford University.
Building the Innovation: Infrastructures for Equity in Today’s Classrooms (Teachers College Press)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Building the Innovation School: Infrastructures for Equity in Today's Classrooms, 05/2022.
Media Education and the Limits of Literacy (Curriculum Inquiry)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Curriculum Inquiry, 2021, with co-author(s) Dr. Robert Jean LeBlanc, University of Lethbridge.
Innovating from the Ground Up (Educational Leadership)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Innovating from the Ground Up in Educational Leadership, 05/01/2021.
Writing Machines: Formative Assessment in the Age of Big Data (Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Writing Machines: Formative Assessment in the Age of Big Data in Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 04/15/2021, with co-author(s) Dr. Robert Jean LeBlanc, and David Slomp.
Digital Platforms Aren’t Mere Tools — They’re Complex Environments (Phi Delta Kappan)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Digital Platforms Aren't Mere Tools -- They're Complex Environments in Phi Delta Kappan, 03/01/2021, with co-author(s) Dr. Antero Garcia.
Rethinking ‘Availability’ in Multimodal Composing: Infrastructures of Digital Design (Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Rethinking 'Availability' in Multimodal Composing: Infrastructures for Digital Design in Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, October 1, 2020, with co-author(s) Dr. Kelly Johnston.
Innovation from Below: Infrastructure, Design, and Equity in Literacy Classroom Makerspaces (Research in the Teaching of English)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Innovation from Below: Infrastructure, Design, and Equity in Literacy Classroom Makerspaces in Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 55, Issue 2, August 1, 2020.
Beyond Apps: Digital Literacies in a Platform Society (The Reading Teacher)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Beyond Apps: Digital Literacies in a Platform Society in The Reading Teacher, with co-author(s) Dr. Robert Jean LeBlanc, University of Lethbridge.
School Makerspaces: Beyond the Hype (Phi Delta Kappan)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published School Makerspaces: Beyond the Hype in Phi Delta Kappan, 05/01/2020, with co-author(s) Kurt Salisbury, ph.d. candidate.
Feeling Worlds: Affective Imaginaries and the Making of “Democratic” Literacy Classrooms (Reading Research Quarterly)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Feeling Worlds: Affective Imaginaries and the Making of "Democratic" Literacy Classrooms in Reading Research Quarterly, with co-author(s) Dr. James Joshua Coleman, San Jose State University.
The Racializing Forces of/in AI Educational Technologies (Learning, Media, & Technology)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published The Racializing Forces of/in AI Educational Technologies in Learning, Media, and Technology., with co-author(s) Dr. Ezekiel Dixon-Román, University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Ama Nyame-Mensah, University of Pennsylvania.
Assembling “Digital Literacies”: Contingent Pasts, Possible Futures (Media and Communication)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Assembling "Digital Literacies": Contingent Pasts, Possible Futures in Media and Communication, Vol. 7, Issue 2, 03/01/2019, with co-author(s) Dr. Amy Stornaiuolo, University of Pennsylvania.
Successes and Challenges of the “New” College- and Career-Ready Standards: Seven Implementation Trends (Educational Researcher)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Successes and Challenges of the "New" College- and Career-Ready Standards: Seven Implementation Trends in Educational Researcher, Vol. 48, Issue 3, p. 167-178, April 17, 2019, with co-author(s) Dr. Laura Desimone, University of Delaware, Dr. Amy Stornaiuolo, University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Nelson Flores, University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Katie Pak, University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Adam Edgerton, University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Emily Plummer, University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Andrew Porter, University of Pennsylvania.
Cosmopolitanism and Education (Oxford Handbook of Educational Research)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Cosmopolitanism and education in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education, March 1, 2019, with co-author(s) Dr. Amy Stornaiuolo, University of Pennsylvania.
Composing Proximity: Teaching Strategic Distance to High School Writers (English Journal)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, published Composing Proximity: Teaching Strategic Distance to High School Writers in English Journal, Vol. 108, Issue 3, p. 67-73, January 31, 2019, with co-author(s) Charlie McGeehan, The U School, and Samuel Reed III, The U School.
Learning by Doing: The Tenuous Alliance of the “Maker Movement” and Education Reform (Making Our World: The Maker and Hacker Movements in Context)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, published Learning by Doing: The Tenuous Alliance of the "Maker Movement" and Education Reform in Making Our World: The Hacker and Maker Movements in Context, 2018, with co-author(s) Dr. Debora Lui, University of Pennsylvania.
Building Spaces for Literacy in School: Mapping the Emergence of a Literacy Makerspace (English Teaching: Practice & Critique)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, published Building Spaces for Literacy in School: Mapping the Emergence of a Literacy Makerspace in English Teaching: Practice and Critique, Vol. 17, Issue 4, p. 357-370, 2018, with co-author(s) Dr. Amy Stornaiuolo, University of Pennsylvania, and Veena Vasudevan, American Museum of Natural History.
Making Publics: Mobilizing Audiences in High School Makerspaces (Teachers College Record)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, published Making Publics: Mobilizing Audiences in High School Makerspaces in Teachers College Record, Vol. 120, Issue 8, 2018, with co-author(s) Dr. Amy Stornaiuolo, University of Pennsylvania.
Mobilizing Public Alternative Schools for Post-Neoliberal Futures: Legacies of Critical Hope in Philadelphia and Toronto (Policy Futures in Education)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, published Mobilizing Public Alternative Schools for Post-Neoliberal Futures: Legacies of Critical Hope in Philadelphia and Toronto in Policy Futures in Education, 2018, with co-author(s) Rhiannon Maton, SUNY Cortland.
Posthumanism and Literacy Studies (Language Arts)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, published Posthumanism and Literacy Studies in Language Arts, Vol. 94, Issue 4, p. 245-251, 2017, with co-author(s) Dr. Gerald Campano, University of Pennsylvania.
Learning Analytics as Assemblage: Criticality and Contingency in Online Learning (Research in Education)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, published Learning Analytics as Assemblage: Criticality and Contingency in Online Education in Research in Education, Vol. 98, Issue 1, p. 1-23, 2017, with co-author(s) Dr. John Scott, University of California, Berkeley.
Early Career Achievement Award (Literacy Research Association)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, received Early Career Achievement Award from Literacy Research Association, December 5, 2022.
National Academy of Education / Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, received NAEd / Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Academy of Education and the Spencer Foundation, 09/01/2021.
National Academy of Education / Spencer Dissertation Fellowship
Dr. T. Philip Nichols, assistant professor, received the NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship from the National Academy of Education / Spencer Foundation, 2017.
Editor, Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education (English) (2021-2024)
Dr. T. Philip Nichols; Editor, Current Issues in Technology & Teacher Education (English/Language Arts); National Council of Teachers of English / Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education.
Issues in Diversity (Doctoral Seminar)
Young Adult Literature (Undergraduate)
Advanced Qualitative Methods (Doctoral Seminar)
Design-Based Research (Doctoral Seminar)
Social Issues in Education (Undergraduate)
Media Literacy (Graduate Seminar)
Fundamentals of Curriculum (Doctoral Seminar)