Brian McKinney

Bio

Brian S. McKinney, Ph.D., is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Interim Director of the Writing Center at Oklahoma State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from Oklahoma State University, an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Dr. McKinney has worked in language and writing education for more than a decade. He began as a writing tutor and ESL conversation coordinator at UCO's Tutoring Central, then served as ELL Coordinator at Santa Fe South Charter High School in Oklahoma City, as Grant Coordinator for UCO's Project ENGAGE, and as Instructor and Assistant Director at OSU's English Language and Intercultural Center. He has helped develop and coordinate federal, state, and international grants supporting multilingual learners and community English programs.

Research Interests

Dr. McKinney's research examines the relationship between emotion, awareness, and learning in second language and writing development. Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory, and in particular the concepts of perezhivanie, obuchenie, and languaging, his work explores how contemplative and dialogic practices mediate students' development. His dissertation, Paths Through Perezhivanie: Mindfulness and Dialogue in Second Language Development, examines how mindfulness practice and dialogic instruction mediate international students' development in a university composition course. His broader interests include second language writing, writing center pedagogy, mindfulness-integrated and compassionate pedagogy, and curriculum development for multilingual and immigrant learners. He holds Level 1 Mindfulness in Education certification from WakeUp Schools and Mental Health First Aid Adult Provider certification.