Dr. Gillespie Rouse’s research focuses on writing development and instruction. Her approach to understanding writing and how to best prepare teachers to provide writing instruction has been multifaceted. She has conducted meta-analyses and systematic reviews to examine effective writing interventions for struggling writers and students with disabilities, analysed interview responses to understand students’ knowledge of the writing process and different writing genres, conducted surveys to document teachers’ use of evidence-based writing instruction, and provided professional development to assist teachers in implementing evidence-based writing instruction in their classrooms. She has also developed interventions to support primary students’ use of writing as a tool for learning in math and science. Most recently, Dr. Gillespie Rouse and her colleagues have used mixed-reality simulations to support primary pre-service teachers’ development of effective writing instruction and pedagogy.
In addition to research, Dr. Gillespie Rouse teaches courses focused on primary literacy. Prior to UQ, Dr. Gillespie Rouse was an associate professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas (USA). She earned her doctorate in Special Education, with a focus in Quantitative Methods, from Vanderbilt University, where she was an Institute of Education Sciences predoctoral fellow. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Master of Teaching in Special Education from the University of Virginia. Prior to her time in academia, Dr. Rouse was a primary special education teacher in the United States.
Her work has been published in various journals including Educational Research Review, Frontiers in Psychology, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Exceptional Children. In 2020, her publication earned recognition by the National Science Teachers’ Association (USA) for being “Worth-Reading Research for Practitioners”. In 2018, one of her publications was Wiley’s top-20 most downloaded article of the year in Learning Disabilities Research and Practice.
Dr. Gillespie Rouse serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Learning Disabilities and sits on editorial boards for Exceptionality, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Journal Article: Exploring relationships between pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for writing and instruction provided in simulated elementary writing conferences
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Young, Murphy K. and Gifford, Diane (2023). Exploring relationships between pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for writing and instruction provided in simulated elementary writing conferences. Frontiers in Psychology, 14 1214086. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1214086
Journal Article: Taking the maker movement to school: A systematic review of preK-12 school-based makerspace research
Rouse, Rob and Rouse, Amy Gillespie (2022). Taking the maker movement to school: A systematic review of preK-12 school-based makerspace research. Educational Research Review, 35 100413, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100413
Journal Article: Writing interventions for students with learning disabilities: a scoping review
Young, Murphy K., Rouse, Amy Gillespie and Datchuk, Shawn (2022). Writing interventions for students with learning disabilities: a scoping review. Learning Disabilities, 20 (2), 129-148.
Journal Article: Writing-to-learn in elementary classrooms: A national survey of U.S. teachers
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Kiuhara, Sharlene A. and Kara, Yusuf (2021). Writing-to-learn in elementary classrooms: A national survey of U.S. teachers. Reading and Writing, 34 (9), 2381-2415. doi: 10.1007/s11145-021-10148-3
Journal Article: Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge
Kiuhara, Sharlene A., Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Dai, Ting, Witzel, Bradley S., Morphy, Paul and Unker, Becky (2020). Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112 (3), 584-607. doi: 10.1037/edu0000391
Book Chapter: Instruction for students with special needs
Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2019). Instruction for students with special needs. Best practices in writing instruction. (pp. 361-384) edited by S. Graham, C. MacArthur and M. Hebert. New York, NY, United States: Guilford Press.
Journal Article: Third graders' use of writing to facilitate learning of engineering concepts
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Rouse, Rob (2019). Third graders' use of writing to facilitate learning of engineering concepts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56 (10), 1406-1430. doi: 10.1002/tea.21581
Book Chapter: Scientifically supported writing practices
Graham, Steve, Rouse, Amy Gillespie and Harris, Karen R. (2018). Scientifically supported writing practices. The Oxford handbook of educational psychology. (pp. 1-44) edited by Angela O'Donnell, Nicole C. Barnes and Johnmarshall Reeve. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199841332.013.40
Journal Article: SRSD in Writing and Professional Development for Teachers: Practice and Promise for Elementary and Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Kiuhara, Sharlene A. (2017). SRSD in Writing and Professional Development for Teachers: Practice and Promise for Elementary and Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 32 (3), 180-188. doi: 10.1111/ldrp.12140
Journal Article: A meta-analysis of writing interventions for students with learning disabilities
Gillespie, Amy and Graham, Steve (2014). A meta-analysis of writing interventions for students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 80 (4), 454-473. doi: 10.1177/0014402914527238
Investigating the role of Disillusionment in Early Career Teacher Experiences
Master Philosophy
Student-centred packaging of the Australian Curriculum for the High Impact Engagement Strategies classroom in a Catholic middle school.
Doctor Philosophy
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Young, Murphy K. and Gifford, Diane (2023). Exploring relationships between pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for writing and instruction provided in simulated elementary writing conferences. Frontiers in Psychology, 14 1214086. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1214086
Taking the maker movement to school: A systematic review of preK-12 school-based makerspace research
Rouse, Rob and Rouse, Amy Gillespie (2022). Taking the maker movement to school: A systematic review of preK-12 school-based makerspace research. Educational Research Review, 35 100413, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100413
Writing interventions for students with learning disabilities: a scoping review
Young, Murphy K., Rouse, Amy Gillespie and Datchuk, Shawn (2022). Writing interventions for students with learning disabilities: a scoping review. Learning Disabilities, 20 (2), 129-148.
Writing-to-learn in elementary classrooms: A national survey of U.S. teachers
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Kiuhara, Sharlene A. and Kara, Yusuf (2021). Writing-to-learn in elementary classrooms: A national survey of U.S. teachers. Reading and Writing, 34 (9), 2381-2415. doi: 10.1007/s11145-021-10148-3
Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge
Kiuhara, Sharlene A., Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Dai, Ting, Witzel, Bradley S., Morphy, Paul and Unker, Becky (2020). Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112 (3), 584-607. doi: 10.1037/edu0000391
Instruction for students with special needs
Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2019). Instruction for students with special needs. Best practices in writing instruction. (pp. 361-384) edited by S. Graham, C. MacArthur and M. Hebert. New York, NY, United States: Guilford Press.
Third graders' use of writing to facilitate learning of engineering concepts
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Rouse, Rob (2019). Third graders' use of writing to facilitate learning of engineering concepts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56 (10), 1406-1430. doi: 10.1002/tea.21581
Scientifically supported writing practices
Graham, Steve, Rouse, Amy Gillespie and Harris, Karen R. (2018). Scientifically supported writing practices. The Oxford handbook of educational psychology. (pp. 1-44) edited by Angela O'Donnell, Nicole C. Barnes and Johnmarshall Reeve. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199841332.013.40
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Kiuhara, Sharlene A. (2017). SRSD in Writing and Professional Development for Teachers: Practice and Promise for Elementary and Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 32 (3), 180-188. doi: 10.1111/ldrp.12140
A meta-analysis of writing interventions for students with learning disabilities
Gillespie, Amy and Graham, Steve (2014). A meta-analysis of writing interventions for students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 80 (4), 454-473. doi: 10.1177/0014402914527238
Improving Writing Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities
Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2024). Improving Writing Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Disability. (pp. 1-16) Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-40858-8_18-1
Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2023). Fidelity of implementation. Conceptualizing, Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating Writing Interventions. (pp. 154-172) edited by Fien De Smedt, Renske Bouwer, Teresa Limpo and Steve Graham. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004546240_009
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Sandoval, Ashley and Young, Murphy K. (2023). Examining the Impact of an Integrated STEM and Writing-to-Learn Unit on Third Graders’ Writing Knowledge and Writing Performance. The Hitchhiker's Guide to Writing Research. (pp. 97-118) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-36472-3_6
Instruction for students with special needs
Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2019). Instruction for students with special needs. Best practices in writing instruction. (pp. 361-384) edited by S. Graham, C. MacArthur and M. Hebert. New York, NY, United States: Guilford Press.
Scientifically supported writing practices
Graham, Steve, Rouse, Amy Gillespie and Harris, Karen R. (2018). Scientifically supported writing practices. The Oxford handbook of educational psychology. (pp. 1-44) edited by Angela O'Donnell, Nicole C. Barnes and Johnmarshall Reeve. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199841332.013.40
Teaching writing to adolescents: the use of evidence-based practices.
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Graham, Steve (2017). Teaching writing to adolescents: the use of evidence-based practices.. Adolescent literacy: a handbook of practice-based research. (pp. 443-456) edited by Kathleen A. Hinchman and Deborah Appleman. New York, NY, United States: Guilford Press.
Best Practices in Writing Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Graham, Steve (2016). Best Practices in Writing Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities. Interventions in Learning Disabilities: A Handbook on Systematic Training Programs for Individuals with Learning Disabilities. (pp. 175-190) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-31235-4_11
Effective and ineffective writing practices for students with disabilities
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Collins, Alyson (2016). Effective and ineffective writing practices for students with disabilities. Instructional practices with and without empirical validity. (pp. 61-84) edited by Bryan G. Cook, Melody Tankersley and Timothey J. Landrum. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing. doi: 10.1108/S0735-004X20160000029004
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Young, Murphy K. and Gifford, Diane (2023). Exploring relationships between pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for writing and instruction provided in simulated elementary writing conferences. Frontiers in Psychology, 14 1214086. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1214086
Conner, Carlin, Allor, Jill H., Stewart, Jennifer, Kearns, Devin M. and Rouse, Amy Gillespie (2022). A Synthesis of Reading Comprehension Interventions and Measures for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intensive Support Needs. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10 (4), 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s40489-022-00321-x
Taking the maker movement to school: A systematic review of preK-12 school-based makerspace research
Rouse, Rob and Rouse, Amy Gillespie (2022). Taking the maker movement to school: A systematic review of preK-12 school-based makerspace research. Educational Research Review, 35 100413, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100413
Wang, Min, Walkington, Candace and Rouse, Amy (2022). A meta-analysis on the effects of problem-posing in mathematics education on performance and dispositions. Investigations in Mathematics Learning, 14 (4), 265-287. doi: 10.1080/19477503.2022.2105104
Writing interventions for students with learning disabilities: a scoping review
Young, Murphy K., Rouse, Amy Gillespie and Datchuk, Shawn (2022). Writing interventions for students with learning disabilities: a scoping review. Learning Disabilities, 20 (2), 129-148.
Joshi, R. Malatesha, Wijekumar, Kausalai and Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2021). International Perspectives on Spelling and Writing in Different Orthographies: Introduction to the Special Series. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 55 (2), 83-86. doi: 10.1177/00222194211059836
Writing-to-learn in elementary classrooms: A national survey of U.S. teachers
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Kiuhara, Sharlene A. and Kara, Yusuf (2021). Writing-to-learn in elementary classrooms: A national survey of U.S. teachers. Reading and Writing, 34 (9), 2381-2415. doi: 10.1007/s11145-021-10148-3
Graham, Steve, Hebert, Michael, Fishman, Evan, Ray, Amber B. and Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2020). Do Children Classified With Specific Language Impairment Have a Learning Disability in Writing? A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53 (4), 292-310. doi: 10.1177/0022219420917338
Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge
Kiuhara, Sharlene A., Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Dai, Ting, Witzel, Bradley S., Morphy, Paul and Unker, Becky (2020). Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112 (3), 584-607. doi: 10.1037/edu0000391
Third graders' use of writing to facilitate learning of engineering concepts
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Rouse, Rob (2019). Third graders' use of writing to facilitate learning of engineering concepts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56 (10), 1406-1430. doi: 10.1002/tea.21581
Engineering Encounters: Authors and Engineers
Rouse, Rob and Gillespie Rouse, Amy (2019). Engineering Encounters: Authors and Engineers. Science and Children, 56 (6), 58-63. doi: 10.2505/4/sc19_056_06_58
Exploring differences in measurement and reporting of classroom observation inter-rater reliability
Wilhelm, Annie, Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Jones, Francesca (2019). Exploring differences in measurement and reporting of classroom observation inter-rater reliability. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 23 4. doi: 10.7275/at67-md25
Elementary Grade Intervention Approaches to Treat Specific Learning Disabilities, Including Dyslexia
Al Otaiba, Stephanie, Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Baker, Kristi (2018). Elementary Grade Intervention Approaches to Treat Specific Learning Disabilities, Including Dyslexia. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49 (4), 829-842. doi: 10.1044/2018_lshss-dyslc-18-0022
Writing Interventions for Students With Learning Disabilities: Characteristics of Recent Research
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Sandoval, Ashley (2018). Writing Interventions for Students With Learning Disabilities: Characteristics of Recent Research. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 23 (2), 1-17. doi: 10.18666/ldmj-2018-v23-i2-8990
Gillespie Rouse, Amy and Kiuhara, Sharlene A. (2017). SRSD in Writing and Professional Development for Teachers: Practice and Promise for Elementary and Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 32 (3), 180-188. doi: 10.1111/ldrp.12140
Writing to learn in science: Effects on Grade 4 students' understanding of balance
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, Graham, Steve and Compton, Donald (2016). Writing to learn in science: Effects on Grade 4 students' understanding of balance. The Journal of Educational Research, 110 (4), 366-379. doi: 10.1080/00220671.2015.1103688
The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders' writing performance
Olinghouse, Natalie G., Graham, Steve and Gillespie, Amy (2015). The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders' writing performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107 (2), 391-406. doi: 10.1037/a0037549
A meta-analysis of writing interventions for students with learning disabilities
Gillespie, Amy and Graham, Steve (2014). A meta-analysis of writing interventions for students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 80 (4), 454-473. doi: 10.1177/0014402914527238
High school teachers use of writing to support students' learning: A national survey
Gillespie, Amy, Graham, Steve, Kiuhara, Sharlene and Hebert, Michael (2014). High school teachers use of writing to support students' learning: A national survey. Reading and Writing, 27 (6), 1043-1072. doi: 10.1007/s11145-013-9494-8
Fifth-grade students' knowledge about writing process and writing genres
Gillespie, Amy, Olinghouse, Natalie G. and Graham, Steve (2013). Fifth-grade students' knowledge about writing process and writing genres. Elementary School Journal, 113 (4), 565-588. doi: 10.1086/669938
Comparing effects of different writing activities on reading comprehension: A meta-analysis
Hebert, Michael, Gillespie, Amy and Graham, Steve (2013). Comparing effects of different writing activities on reading comprehension: A meta-analysis. Reading and Writing, 26 (1), 111-138. doi: 10.1007/s11145-012-9386-3
Writing: Importance, development, and instruction
Graham, Steve, Gillespie, Amy and McKeown, Debra (2013). Writing: Importance, development, and instruction. Reading and Writing, 26 (1), 1-15. doi: 10.1007/s11145-012-9395-2
Stressors and life goals of caregivers of individuals with disabilities
Raver, Sharon A., Michalek, Anne P. M. and Gillespie, Amy M. (2011). Stressors and life goals of caregivers of individuals with disabilities. Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 10 (2), 115-128. doi: 10.1080/1536710X.2011.571536
Gillespie, Amy and Rowe, Deborah W. (2012). Becoming a writer: Examining preschoolers' interactions, modes of participation, and use of resources at a science writing center.
Investigating the role of Disillusionment in Early Career Teacher Experiences
Master Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Student-centred packaging of the Australian Curriculum for the High Impact Engagement Strategies classroom in a Catholic middle school.
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors: