Adolescent Literacy: Strategies for Content Comprehension in Inclusive Classrooms

Sharon Vaughn, Ph.D., H.E. Hartfelder/Southland Corp. Regents Chair in Human Development and Executive Director, The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin, Sanchez Building, 1912 Speedway, Austin, Texas 78712 Sharon Vaughn is the executive director of The Meadows Center, an organized research unit at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the recipient of the American Education Research Association Special Interest Group Distinguished Researcher Award, the International Reading Association Albert J. Harris Award, the University of Texas Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Jeannette E. Fleischner Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Learning Disabilities from the Council for Exceptional Children. She is the author of more than 35 books and 250 research articles. Vaughn is currently the principal investigator on several research grants from the Institute for Education Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the U.S. Department of Education. Richard T. Boon, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Special Education at The University of Georgia. His research interests include cognitive strategy instruction, inclusion, and technology-based applications for students with mild to moderate disabilities. He has written more than 50 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. In addition, he has made more than 100 presentations at local, state, regional, national, and international conferences. In recognition of his accomplishments in research and teaching, Dr. Boon has received the Outstanding Teaching Award and was selected as a recipient of the Lilly Teaching Fellowship Award for 2006-2008, from the College of Education, both recognizing excellence in teaching and research, and more recently, was the recipient of the Sarah H. Moss Fellowship for 2008-2009 to serve as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Toronto. Vicky G. Spencer, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Division of Special Education and disability Research at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She also coordinates the Applied Behavior Analysis and the Autism certificate programs. Her research interests include cognitive strategy instruction, international issues in special education, inclusion, and autism. She has authored or edited numerous research articles and published four books that address differentiated instruction and teaching in the inclusive classroom. Dr. Spencer is a Fulbright scholar and works internationally to improve the identification and education for children with disabilities. Sheila R. Alber-Morgan, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Special Education, The Ohio State University, A356 PAES Building 305 W. 17th Ave. Columbus, OH 43210. Dr. Alber-Morgana (TM)s research focuses on multitiered reading and writing interventions in inclusive classrooms and programming for generalized outcomes. Ana Taboada Barber, Ph.D., Associate Professor, George Mason University, 4400 University Boulevard, Fairfax, VA 22030 Dr. Taboada Barber's research focuses on the examination of classroom contexts that support reading engagement for monolingual and second language learners. She is specifically interested in the psychology of literacy from a cognitive and motivational perspective. In the past, she worked on the development of the modeling of reading engagement as it applies to all learners (e.g., native-speakers of English and second language learners) in the late elementary grades. She is currently working on the development of frameworks within the engagement model as they apply to second language learners. Her research has been published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Journal of Literacy Research, Journal of Experimental Education, Instructional Science, Journal of Educational Research, and Lectura y Vida: Latin American Journal of the International Reading Association. She obtained her bachelor's degree in school psychology in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a master's degree in educational psychology at Temple University, and her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland. She was also a classroom teacher in bilingual schools in Buenos Aires before coming to the United States as a Fulbright scholar. Alison G. Boardman, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor, University of Colorado Boulder, School of Education, 247 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309. Dr. Boardman is an assistant research professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Currently, she is the co-principal investigator of a U.S. Department of Education-funded grant to study the schoolwide use of Collaborative Strategic Reading in urban middle schools. A former elementary and middle school special educator, she has extensive experience providing professional development to teachers to successfully teach comprehension strategies in their classrooms. Randall Boone, Ph.D., Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, College of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-3005. Dr. Boone is a professor of educational technology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research interests involve digital text, instructional design, and evaluating software for students with disabilities. He served as co-editor of the Journal of Special Education Technology for 6 years and currently co-edits Intervention in School and Clinic. Michelle M. Buehl, Ph.D., Associate Professor, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 6D2, Fairfax, VA 22030. Dr. Buehl is an associate professor at George Mason University and affi liated with the Educational Psychology program in the College of Education and Human Development. Her research focuses on the role of student and teacher beliefs in relation to learning and motivation. Stephen Ciullo, Ph.D., . Dr. Ciullo is an associate professor of special education at Texas State University. He earned his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on improving writing and reading outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Dr. Ciullo also conducts research to support the content-area literacy instruction of educators who teach students with learning disabilities. He was previously a special education teacher in New York. Sally Valentino Drew, Ph.D., Dr. Drew is an associate professor of Special Education and Interventions at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Her research examines writing instruction, disciplinary literacy, and professional development and serves as a bridge to connect general and special educators in supporting struggling learners. The goal of her research is to support teachers in improving studentsa (TM) writing outcomes through professional development and intervention research, specifically writing to learn and writing within the disciplines. Dr. Drew served as a literacy consultant for many districts including Boston Public Schools and Providence Public School District. Prior to joining CCSU, she taught middle school social studies and language arts in Massachusetts and has additional teaching experience at the preschool, elementary, and high school levels. Nancy Johnson Emanuel, M.Ed., Department Supervisor of Special Education, Osbourn High School, Manassas City Public Schools, Manassas, VA 20110. Ms. Emanuel graduated from Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, with a B.A. in history and secondary education. She went on to serve in the U.S. Navy for 9 years as a Russian linguist and has taught at both the secondary and elementary levels of public education. She received her mastera (TM)s degree in special education from the University of Virginia and is currently a doctoral student in special education and education leadership at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Ms. Emanuel is the department supervisor for special education in Manassas City, Virginia. Michael N. Faggella-Luby, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Connecticut, Department of Educational Psychology, Neag School of Education, 249 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2064, Storrs, CT 06269-2064. Dr. Faggella-Luby is also a research scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research and an associate research scholar at the Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability. Dr. Faggella-Luby conducts research on critical components of reading comprehension instruction with academically diverse students. Lindsay J. Flynn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001. Dr. Flynna (TM)s current research interests include assessment and intervention of reading diffi culties, responsiveness to intervention, and designing instruction for students at risk for and identifi ed with learning disabilities. Douglas Fuchs, Ph.D., Nicholas Hobbs Professor of Special Education and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Department of Special Education, 110 Magnolia Circle, Room 417C, Nashville, TN 37203. Dr. Fuchs is a former classroom teacher, special educator, and school psychologist. He directed the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic for 12 years. His current interests include reading and math disabilities, intensive instruction, service delivery options, urban education, and education policy. Lynn S. Fuchs, Ph.D., Nicholas Hobbs Professor of Special Education and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Department of Special Education, 110 Magnolia Circle, Room 417C, Nashville, TN 37203. Dr. Fuchsa (TM)s research addresses teachersa (TM) use of classroom-based assessment information and instructional practices for improving reading and mathematics performance. Meenakshi Gajria, Ph.D., Professor and Dean, St. Thomas Aquinas College, School of Education, 125 Route 340, Sparkill, NY 10976. Dr. Gajria received her Ph.D. in special education from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests focus on strategies to promote reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities and instructional practices of teachers. Kyle Higgins, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, College of Education, Department of Educational and Clinical Studies, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-3014. Dr. Higginsa (TM)s research interests involve digital text, evaluating software for students with disabilities, and the application of common core standards for students with disabilities. She served as co-editor of the Journal of Special Education Technology for 6 years and currently co-edits Intervention in School and Clinic. Asha K. Jitendra, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Department of Educational Psychology, 245 Education Sciences Building, 56 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Dr. Jitendra received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction (special education) from the University of Oregon. She is the Rodney Wallace Professor for Advancement of Teaching and Learning at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include academic and curricular strategies in mathematics and reading for students with learning disabilities, assessment practices to inform instruction, and instructional design and textbook analysis. Laurice M. Joseph, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director, School Psychology Program, The Ohio State University, 305 West 17th Ave., PAES Building, Room 460, Columbus, OH 43210. Dr. Josepha (TM)s research has involved examining the effectiveness and effi ciency of literacy interventions. Margaret E. King-Sears, Ph.D., is Professor in the Division of Special Education and disAbility Research at George Mason University, where she has taught since 2005. Prior to that, she developed and coordinated the inclusive education program at The Johns Hopkins University, where she taught from 1989 to 2005. Her research interests are in co-teaching, self-management, and universal design for learning. She is active in several national organizations, including the Council for Learning Disabilities and the Teacher Education Division of Council for Exceptional Children. She earned her doctorate from the University of Florida.. Janette K. Klinger, Ph.D., Professor, University of Colorado at Boulder, School of Education, 249 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309. Dr. Klinger was a bilingual special education teacher for 10 years before completing her Ph.D. in reading and learning disabilities at the University of Miami. She has been developing and conducting research on Collaborative Strategic Reading for almost 20 years. Joseph John Morgan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 453014, Las Vegas, NV 89154. Dr. Morgana (TM)s research areas of interest are social skills instruction for students with behavioral disorders, academic achievement of students with highincidence disabilities, and multicultural education. Leila Richey, M.A., Doctoral Student, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030. Ms. Richey taught high school social studies in a large Northeast urban district prior to obtaining a master of arts degree in the reading specialist program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently a doctorate student studying at George Mason University with a primary specialization in teacher education and secondary emphasis in literacy. Dr. Reutebuch holds a doctorate in special education with experience directing large-scale intervention, evaluation, and, professional development projects. She has served as a classroom teacher and reading coach before transitioning into higher education. Her areas of research include reading difficulty/disability in children and youth, including those targeting English learners and individuals with autism. Suzanne M. Robinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The University of Kansas, Department of Special Education, Joseph R. Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Rd., Room 544, Lawrence, KS 66045-3101. Dr. Robinsona (TM)s work is focused on teacher preparation in special education for K--12 students with high-incidence disabilities and doctoral student preparation for those who will become professors of teacher education at universities and colleges. She has spent over 25 years working with schools, school districts, state and regional agencies, and professional organizations in school restructuring activities to promote academic achievement for struggling learners. Dr. Robinsona (TM)s expertise is in collaboration (co-teaching, coaching, teaming) and evidence based academic instructional practices, with a focus on school restructuring through building responsive tiered student support structures. Karla Scornavacco, Ph.D., Research Associate, University of Colorado Boulder, 249 UCB Boulder, CO 80309. Dr. Scornavacco specializes in teacher support and school capacity building for Collaborative Strategic Reading Colorado. Her research investigates the positioning and academic preparation of adolescents in high-poverty classrooms, with a focus on what it takes for schools and teachers to support students in becoming college-bound and college-successful readers and writers. H. Lee Swanson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, University of California, Graduate School of Education, Riverside, CA, 92521. Dr. Swansona (TM)s research focuses on cognitive processes in children with learning disabilities. Jessica R. Toste, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Vanderbilt University, Department of Special Education, 110 Magnolia Circle, Room 401, Nashville, TN 37203. Dr. Toste is an elementary teacher and learning disabilities specialist. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology at McGill University. Her research interests are related to school success and psychosocial functioning of youth at risk, with a particular interest in struggling readers. Yan Wei, M.A., Doctoral Student, University of Connecticut, Department of Educational Psychology, Neag School of Education, 249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2064, Storrs, CT 06269. Ms. Wei is also a graduate assistant at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research. Her research interest focuses on literacy instruction and motivation for struggling adolescent readers.