Ellen Ashburn
Hometown : Pittsburgh, PA
Joined Chatham : 2002
ACADEMIC AREAS OF INTEREST
Reading specialist, English as a Second Language, ESL, ELL, language development, reading specialist, literacy, teacher preparation, elementary education, student teaching supervisor, secondary English education
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Ellen M. Ashburn's experience as an educator includes teaching students at the kindergarten, elementary, secondary, undergraduate and graduate levels. Her professional credentials include a doctorate in the Psychology of Reading from Temple University; current Commonwealth of Pennsylvania supervisory certifications as a Reading Specialist (K-12) and in Curriculum and Instruction (K-12); current Commonwealth of Pennsylvania teaching certifications in elementary education (K-8), reading specialist (K-12), English (K-12), and Program Specialist in ESL/bilingual education (K-12). She also completed master's level studies for certification as an elementary and secondary school principal. Her public school experience includes elementary classroom teacher, ESL teacher, reading specialist, ESL testing specialist, supervisory experience as a language arts supervisor, Director of Language Arts, Director of Federal Programs, Director of ESL/Bilingual Education. In higher education she has taught courses in literacy development, language development, teaching English language learners, perspectives of education, and student teaching. Dr. Ashburn earned her undergraduate degree from Carlow University, a Master of Education degree as a reading specialist at Temple University, and a Master of Education Equivalency in elementary education at Penn State University. She completed her studies for elementary and secondary principal certification at Widener University. She was selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to participate in a teaching exchange program with teachers in Omiya City, Japan. She also enjoyed the opportunity to participate in an educational travel program to China where she visited schools and other cultural and civic institutions. Dr. Ashburn has been a member of the education faculty at Chatham University since 2002 and she currently teaches courses in literacy instruction and teaching English language learners (ELL). She also supervises student teachers who are preparing for certification in elementary education and certification in English at the secondary level. Dr. Ashburn has presented at state and national conferences on the topics of literacy, language development, teaching English language learners, and teacher preparation. She has also taught graduate level courses at Kutztown University and Waynesburg University. She received the Outstanding University Supervisor Award at the National Conference on Student Teaching and Supervision in 2008.
EDUCATION
- Doctor of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- M. Ed., Reading Specialist, Temple University, Philadephia, PA
- Master's Equivalency in Elementary Education, Penn State University
- B.A. in English and Elementary Education, Carlow University, Pittsburgh, PA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Dissertation: “A Comparative Study of Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Low-income English-dominant Fourth Grade Remedial Readers Residing in Spanish-dominant vs. English-dominant Households"
- Library of Congress Primary Sources Book Back-Drop for Three Golden Rivers at https://tps.waynesburg.edu/book-backdrops
- “Creating a Structured and Reflective Assessment Process for Student Teaching,” the Fall 2008 edition of The Field Experience Journal.
- “A Collaborative Evaluation Model of Student Teacher Competence: Using the PDE 430,” October 2007 issue of Pennsylvania Teacher Educator.
CERTIFICATIONS
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania areas of professional certification: elementary education, reading specialist, reading supervisor, secondary English, program specialist in ESL/bilingual, supervisor of curriculum and instruction
AWARDS
- Outstanding Teaching Supervisor Award, National Student Teacher Supervision Conference, Slippery Rock University, May, 2008.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Team Reviewer of the initial proposal for a Pennsylvania university‘s “Master of Arts in Teaching English As a Second Language” degree program for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, October, 2011.
- Pennsylvania Department of Education Program Approval Advisory Group to refine the student teacher evaluation process and to revise the university/college education program review process (2008).
- Pennsylvania Department of Education Committee of Practitioners to collaborate on the “Pennsylvania NCLB Consolidated Application” and future regulations proposed for implementing the No Child Left Behind Consolidated State Plan (2002-2004).
- Selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to review second language acquisition strategies at the U. S. Army Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
- “Literacy Lessons for Pre-Service and Classroom Teachers in Early Childhood Education,” National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Orlando, Florida, November 19, 2010.
- “Developing First Graders’ Speaking, Listening and Reading Competencies through Writing,” American Teacher Educators Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., August, 2008.
- “A Collaborative Evaluation Model of Student Teacher Competence: Using the PDE 430,” the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators Conference, Penn State University, October, 2007.
- “Rationales and Protocols for Extracting Student Teachers from Field Placement,” National Student Teacher Supervision Conference at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, May 2008.
- “Putting the Student Teacher in the Driver’s Seat of the 430,” National Student Teacher Supervision Conference at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, May 2008.