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Dr. Sonya Armstrong

  • Professor - Curriculum And Instruction
Portrait of Dr. Sonya Armstrong

Biography and education

Dr. Sonya L. Armstrong is a Professor in the Graduate Program in Postsecondary Student Success in Learning, Literacy, and Mathematics. She earned her doctorate in literacy education with a focus on postsecondary literacy from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to that, she trained in English and earned two M.A. degrees (in literature and editing and publishing). Dr. Armstrong is a practitioner-researcher, and her scholarly endeavors are guided by over twenty years of designing and teaching developmental reading, composition, and learning strategies courses in community colleges and universities. Her research focuses on improving postsecondary literacy and learning pedagogy and practice to more effectively facilitate students’ college literacy transitions, thereby increasing access and potential for success for all within higher education. With colleagues she is currently undertaking an investigation of the literacy practices and expectations in community college career technical education courses.

Teaching Interests

Research Interests

  • Armstrong, S. L., Tufano, V. E., Dyer, J. M., Le, H. T., Layegh, N., & Leibold, A. M. (2026). From Text To Practice: Literacy Readiness In Nursing Education. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 1–16. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2026.2714764
  • Armstrong, S. L., Mahdavivand Fard, S., & Lampi, J. (n.d.). The Main Idea Hunt: A Staple of Postsecondary Developmental Literacy Instruction…But Should It Be? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 69(5). https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jaal.70035
  • Lampi, J., Armstrong, S. L., & Das, P. (2025). Normalizing the productive struggle: Reading development in postsecondary contexts. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 69(4). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.70033
  • Armstrong, S. L., Lampi, J., LeBlanc, T. R., & Bartlett, A. (2025). An Invitation for Learning Assistance Professionals: Ten Recommendations for Supporting Students’ Reading. Learning Assistance Review (TLAR), 29(3), 97–123.
  • Lampi, J., Armstrong, S. L., Talwar, A., & Magliano, J. (2023). Reading matters in supporting  students: The role of complex literacy tasks in academic success. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice, Online First. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251231214557
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Robert Griffin Award for Long and Outstanding Service, College Reading and Learning Association. November 2024 - 2024
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Honorary Professor of International Studies, Center for International Studies, Texas State University. February 2025 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Cynthia Peterson 2024 Outstanding Article Award, College Reading and Learning Association. November 2024 - 2024
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Alpha Chi Honor Society Favorite Professor. October 2024 - 2024
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award for Excellence in Service, College of Education, Texas State University. February 2021
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  1. Editorial Review Board Member

    International Journal of Qualitative Methods

  2. Chair

    General Education Council Subcommittee on Assessment

  3. Editorial Review Board Member

    Adult Literacy Education: The International Journal of Literacy, Language, and Numeracy

  4. Member

    FirstGen Proud

  5. President

    College Reading and Learning Association

  6. Editor

    Journal of College Reading and Learning

  7. View all activities