Erica Ringelspaugh

BIO

Erica Ringelspaugh joined the UWSP Department of English faculty in 2016 after a decade teaching in a small, rural school district. Her Ed.D. dissertation was “Novice Teacher’s Experiences Implementing Critical Literacy in Rural Schools.” A highlight each year is the formation of the Connections Project as part of English 381, Reading for the English Teacher. Ringelspaugh now leads the program, launched in 2006. It includes a semester of virtual UWSP student teaching in collaboration with rural high school classes to develop their reading comprehension skills. Students, working with their faculty mentors, finalize the session by evaluating the work of their high school students.  It ends with an on-campus day of workshops and presentations at the conclusion of the session. View CV

Outside of classes, Ringelspaugh loves to read pretty much anything, walk the Green Circle Trail, and quilt blankets she promptly gives away. She is the mom of two small humans. Her favorite superhero is Super Grover.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Teaching in rural schools
• Novice teachers
• Critical literacy
• Balanced assessment and grading theory

AWARDS

• University Excellence in Teaching (2022)

I hope students come away from my classes with a
lifelong love of reading and writing, even if they
didn’t especially enjoy reading and writing before the
class began. I hope they find their own voice and identity
as readers, writers, and teachers.
-Erica Ringelspaugh