Biography and education
Gwynne Ellen Ash is in her third decade as a professor at Texas State University. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary and middle school literacy methods, literacy assessment and instruction for students who struggle with school-based literacies, and creating and evaluating professional development for literacy educators. A former middle school English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) teacher in San Antonio, TX, Gwynne’s research is related to teaching literacy in the middle and high school, creating frameworks for literacy instruction in the middle and high school, and critiquing and analyzing children’s and young adult literature. Recent publications include an invited chapter on vocabulary and reading comprehension in The Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension (3rd Ed.), and peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Children's Literature in Education, and the Middle School Journal. She was recently selected as the Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading by the International Literacy Association.
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Ash, Gwynne (Principal). Common Experience Program Development Grant, Texas State University, Institutional (Higher Ed), $6000. (Submitted: 2007). Grant.
- Ash, Gwynne (Principal). Research Enhancement Grant, Texas State University, Institutional (Higher Ed), $8000. (Submitted: 2005). Grant.
- Jacobson, Jodi Arlene (Principal), Percent Contribution: %90, Ash, Gwynne Ellen (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %10. Texas Preservation Trust Fund Grant, Texas Historical Commission, State, $16951. (Funded: October 29, 2020 - 2022). Grant.
- Ash, Gwynne (Principal). Improving Teacher Quality Grant, Title II, Part A of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Higher Education Component, Federal, $120000. (Submitted: 2004). Grant.
- Ash, Gwynne (Principal). CHEP Instructional Improvement Grant, University of Delaware, Institutional (Higher Ed), $7000. (Submitted: 2002). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Ash, G. E., Holschuh, J. P., & Baumann, J. F. (n.d.). Vocabulary and comprehension: More than a simple equation. In Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension (3rd Ed.). Guilford.
- Ash, G. E., & Woodall, J. (2025). Veiled advertising: Teaching digital literacy in the modern age. Literacy Today.
- Ash, G. E., Baumann, J. F., & Bason, J. (2020). Understanding literacy trends in survey research. In Literacy Research Methodologies (3rd Ed.). New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press.
- Ash, G. E., & Saunders, J. M. (2018). From “I don’t like Mondays” to “Pumped Up Kicks”: Rampage school shootings in young adult fiction and young adults’ lives. Children’s Literature in Education, 49, 34–46.
- Saunders, J. M., Ash, G. E., Salazar, I., Pruitt, R., Wallach, D., Breed, E., … Szachacz, A. (2017). “We’re already somebody”: High School Students Practicing Critical Media Literacy IRL [in real life]. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 60, 515–526.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading, International Literacy Association. July 2024
- Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching: Associate/Full Professor, College of Education. May 2024
- Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Award for Excellence in Service, Associate/Full Professor, Texas State University. August 2018
- Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Service, Associate/Full Professor, College of Education, Texas State University. January 2013
- Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, Associate/Full Professor, College of Education, Texas State University. January 2012
Featured service activities
- Member
International Literacy Association National Recognition Review Panel: Teacher Education and Reading Specialist Programs
- Member
TEA/SBEC ELAR Supplemental IMRA Rubric Development Committee
- Member
TEA/SBEC Reading Specialist Educator Standards Advisory Committee
- Member
Adolescent Literacy Committee, International Literacy Association
- Officer
Board of Directors, International Literacy Association
- Member
Faculty Senate