Assistant Professor of Teacher Education
neale@wittenberg.edu
Blair Hall 204
Erica Neal joined Wittenberg University’s Department of Education in August of 2026. Her primary research interests include effective literacy instruction, student reading engagement, and preservice teacher preparation. She teaches courses in English Language Arts methods, math for elementary teachers, and science methods.
Before coming to Wittenberg, Erica taught for fourteen years as a classroom teacher, teaching English Language Arts, science, and mathematics. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Middle Childhood Education (Grades 4-8), with concentrations in English Language Arts and mathematics, from Ohio University, her master’s degree in Reading Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in Curriculum and Educator Development from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her dissertation, Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge Regarding Text Selection in the English Language Arts Classroom, examined how preservice ELA teachers understand their preparedness to select texts and how teacher preparation programs can better prepare future educators to make meaningful, responsive text-selection decisions.
Outside of work, Erica enjoys spending time with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. She enjoys reading adult fiction and young adult literature, boating, and spending time with family and friends.