Erin Washburn

Erin K. Washburn is an Associate Professor in the Reading and Elementary Education department. She received her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University. She has worked as a preschool teacher, English/language arts teacher, and reading specialist in middle and high schools in Texas. Dr. Washburn’s research interests include teacher knowledge related to teaching literacy, literacy teacher preparation and professional learning, and the efficacy of school-based literacy interventions for striving readers and writers. During her time in higher education, she has taught courses in literacy research, assessment, and intervention, teaching multilingual learners, disciplinary literacy, doctoral research methods, and has coordinated university-school partnerships. Dr. Washburn is an Associate Editor of the international journal, Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal.

Education
Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction, Literacy Education – Texas A&M University, 2009
M.A., Curriculum & Instruction, English Language Arts – Texas A&M University, 2004
B.S., Speech Communications – Baylor University, 2000

Teaching
Teaching Assessment, Design, and Implementation of Classroom Reading Instruction

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise
Teacher knowledge and preparation; literacy assessment and intervention; data-based decision making

Community Involvement
Dr. Washburn provides professional development in literacy assessment, instruction, and data-based decision making for educators and instructional leaders, and serves as a consultant and literacy expert to a variety of local, state, and national literacy organizations.

Recent Publications

Washburn, E. K., Gesel, S. A., Fitzgerald, M. S., Beach, K. D, & Kingsbery, C. R. (2023). The impact of a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to summer literacy intervention on the K-3 reading skills of economically and culturally diverse students. Reading and Writing Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2022.2147463

Binks-Cantrell, E., Hudson, A., Washburn, E.K., Contesse, V., Peltier, T., & Lane, H. (2022). Teaching the teachers: The role of teacher education and preparation and the reading science. The Reading League Journal, September/October, 20-27.

Washburn, E.K., Bailey, K., Pierce, A., Stewart, C., Hawley, J., Blackman, J., & Fenty, N. (2022). Collaborative professional development on data-based decision making for primary teachers of struggling readers: Responding and refining. Journal of Research in Reading, 45(3), 425–446. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12396

Fitzgerald, M.S., Bismack, A., Wright, T., Gotwals, A., & Washburn, E.K. (2022). Modeling, reading, and talking, oh my! Using multiple modes to promote sensemaking and scientific literacy in the early elementary grades. Science and Children, 59(60), 27-32.

Peltier, T., Washburn, E.K., Heddy, B., & Binks-Cantrell, E. (2022). What do teachers know about dyslexia? It’s complicated! Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-022-10264-8

Washburn, E.K., Abdullah, S., & Mulcahy, C. A. (2021). Effects of a paraphrasing strategy on the text comprehension of fourth grade striving readers. The Elementary School Journal, 121(4), 586-608. https://doi.org/10.1086/714035

Washburn, E.K., Beach, K.D., Gesel, S.A., Billingsley, M., Howard, C., King, S., & Vintinner, J.P. (2021). Zooming into summer: Key takeaways from a virtual summer intervention. The Reading Teacher, 74(6), 812-818. https://doi:10.1002/trtr.2000

Beach, K. D., Washburn, E. K., Gesel, S. A., & Williams, P. (2021). Pivoting an elementary summer reading intervention to a virtual context in response to COVID-19: An examination of program transformation and outcomes. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 26 (2), 87-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2021.1906250