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Dr. Alyson Alexander Collins

  • Associate Professor - Curriculum And Instruction
Portrait of Dr. Alyson Alexander Collins

Biography and education

Ph.D. 2015 Vanderbilt University, Special Education
M.Ed. 2002 University of Texas at Austin, Curriculum & Instruction (Language and Literacy)
B.S.2001 University of Texas at Austin, Applied Learning and Development (Early Childhood Studies with highest honors)

Bio
Dr. Alyson A. Collins is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State University (TXST). Prior to earning her doctoral degree from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Collins taught for nine years in Texas public schools. Her program of research focuses on exploring writing instruction for students with disabilities, effective interventions for these students, and professional development models that support teacher implementation of evidence-based practices. Dr. Collins has served as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on four Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grants aiming to improve writing instruction for students with disabilities. In addition, she leads two Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) preparation grants at TXST.
  • Collins, Alyson Alexander, Ciullo, Stephen P, Porterfield, Jennifer Allison. Project LEAD: Learning and education for all with dyslexia, Preparation of Special Education, Related Services, and Early Intervention, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Federal, $1223265. (Funded: October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2028). Grant.
  • Collins, Alyson Alexander (Principal), Percent Contribution: %25, Ciullo, Stephen P (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %25, Harris, R (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %15.8, Graham, Steve (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %15.8. Turning the TIDE: Building teacher capacity to accelerate text-based writing performance of students with and at-risk for disabilities, Institute of Education Sciences, Federal, $2999507. (Submitted: September 2021, Funded: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026). Grant.
  • Collins, Alyson Alexander (Principal), Percent Contribution: %13, Ciullo, Stephen P (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %13, Graham, Steve (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %25. Comprehensive meta-analysis of writing interventions for students in grades K to 5, Institution of Education Sciences (IES), Federal, $599953. (Funded: August 1, 2020 - July 31, 2024). Grant.
  • Collins, Alyson Alexander, Porterfield, Jennifer Allison, Thomas, C N, Lasser, J. Partnering assessment and intervention responsiveness in interdisciplinary teams (PAIR-IT, Preparation of Special Education, Related Services, and Early Intervention, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Federal, $1208096. (Funded: November 1, 2019 - October 31, 2025). Grant.
  • Mason, Linda H (Principal), Berkeley, Sheri (Co-Principal), Ciullo, Stephen P (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %16, Collins, Alyson Alexander (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %16. Writing in middle school science and social studies: Exploring instruction and support for students with disabilities (Project Explore), Institution of Education Sciences (IES), Federal, $1399887. (Funded: July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2023). Grant.
View all grants
  • Ciullo, S. P., Collins, A. A., Graham, S., Kosaraju, S., & Lee, J. won. (2025). Teaching Writing to Students With Learning Disabilities: An Observational Study of Classroom Practices. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 40(4), 232–243. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09388982251341363
  • Graham, S., Collins, A. A., & Ciullo, S. P. (2024). Evidence-based recommendations for teaching writing. Education 3-13, 1–14. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2357893
  • Graham, S., Ciullo, S., & Collins, A. A. (2024). Do special and general education teachers’ mindset theories about the malleability of writing and IQ predict their writing practices. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 57(2), 63–78. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194231181915
  • Collins, A. A., Ciullo, S., & Sandbank, M. (2023). Using generalizability theory to explore sources of variance on an observation tool of writing instruction. In K. Liu, M. Hebert, & R. A. Alves (Eds.), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Writing Research: A Festschrift for Steve Graham (Vol. 25, pp. 277–294). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36472-3_15
  • Tavsanli, O. F., Graham, S., Kaldirim, A., & Collins, A. A. (2023). The effect of sentence combining instruction with second-to fourth-grade children: A replication study in Turkey. Educational Psychology Review, 35(3), 1–25. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09806-5
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award in Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Education, Texas State University. 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award in Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Education, Texas State University. 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award in Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Education, Texas State University. 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award in Service, College of Education, Texas State University. 2024
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Favorite Professor, The Alfred H. Nolle Chapter of the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. September 2017
View all awards
  1. Editorial Review Board Member

    Learning Disabilities Research and Practice (LDRP)

  2. Member

    Scholarship Committee, College of Education

  3. Reviewer / Referee

    Assessment for Effective Intervention

  4. Secretary

    Executive Committee for the Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD)

  5. Member

    Library Committee

  6. Member

    Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) Research Committee

  7. View all activities