Think Aloud with Dr. G.

Bill Therrien is the Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Education at the University of Virginia. He also is the coordinator of the Research in Practice group for the STAR (Supporting Transformative Autism Research) project and is Co-PI for the Special Education Research Accelerator (SERA). He is the co-editor of Exceptional Children, the flagship research journal of the Council for Exceptional Children...

Dr. Endia Lindo. Endia is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Texas Christian University. She also is an executive board member and past president of the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL). Her research focuses on improving the reading comprehension of students with learning difficulties and disabilitie...

Dr. Elizabeth Hughes is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Penn State University. Her current research line overlaps her love for reading, writing, and mathematics by evaluating the role of language in learning and communicating mathematics.  She has developed interventions to support students’ language when learning mathematics and answering open-response word problems in mathematics....

Angus Kittelman is an assistant professor within the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri. His research areas include positive behavioral interventions and supports with an emphasis in high schools, implementation science and systems change, and implementing and evaluating school-based interventions for students with emotional and behavioral problems. Angus has received fu...

Kait Brennan is an experienced Policy Advisor and Lobbyist focused on addressing the critical shortage of special educators and lack of diversity in the field. She is the principal and founder of KB Strategies, a boutique government affairs and political strategy firm. At the federal level, she represents the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (TED - CEC) and the Hi...

Dr. Aaron R. Campbell is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Missouri. Her research involves equitable intervention delivery within a multi-tiered behavior support framework focused on preventative strategies for improving student academic, social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes, particularly in culturally and lingu...

Dr. Mark Schneider is the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences for the Department of Education. ( For those who are unfamiliar, this is the federal Department of Education for the entire United States of America. ) Before joining IES, Mark Schneider was a vice president and an Institute Fellow at American Institutes for Research (AIR) and President of College Measures. Prior to joining...

Dr. Beth Stormshak is a Knight Chair and Professor in the Counseling Psychology and Human Services department in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on understanding risk factors in early and middle childhood associated with the development of problem behavior in late adolescence, including substance use and delinquency. Her research focus includes testing th...

Dr. Ben Clarke is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Oregon. He is interested in mathematical development and the role of assessment, instruction, and school systems to support that development. Across his work, there is an emphasis on understanding the variables that impact student achievement and their interaction with critical ecological and cultural fa...

Alyson Collins is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Texas State University. Her research focuses on writing instruction provided to students with disabilities, and how observed instruction relates to students’ writing performance. Additionally, she is interested in interventions that enhance teachers’ effectiveness in the area of writing and content-area knowledge. Alyson has received...

Dr. Devin Kearns is an associate professor of Special Education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn). He is a research scientist for the Center for Behavioral Education & Research and Haskins Laboratories. He is an affiliated faculty member for the UConn Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) and the UConn Institute for Collaboration on Health, I...

Michael Hebert is an associate professor at the School of Education at University of California, Irvine, and the director of the UCI Writing Project. His research interests include reading and writing development, how writing instruction influences reading development, and the identification of effective “writing to read” practices.  Resources from this episode: More on Dr. Michael Hebert Project...

Dr. Stephen Ciullo is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Texas State University. His research focuses on two topics. First, he studies the extent to which classroom writing instruction provided to students with disabilities aligns with research evidence, and how observed instruction relates to students’ writing performance. Second, Stephen is interested in interventions that enhance te...

Dr. Mitchell L. Yell is the Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair in Teacher Education at the University of South Carolina. He is a leading voice in IEP development, legal issues in special education, classroom management, progress monitoring, and evidence-based practices in special education. His book, The Law and Special Education , is in its 5th edition and is the standard-setting text in our...

Dr. Tim Lewis has been involved with developing school-wide systems of behavioral support for over 20 years.  He has worked directly with school teams around the world, secured over $80 million in grants to support his research and demonstration efforts, and is a frequent contributor to the professional literature examining various aspects of Positive Behavior Support. At present, Dr. Lewis is a C...

Dr. John Jones is an associate professor and Chair of the Education Department at Truman State University. His research interests include the history of education, the history of special education, the history of disability, education policy, international education, and the intersection of science and religion. Website: John’s faculty page: https://www.truman.edu/faculty-staff/jjones/ To read: (C...

Dr. Jessica Toste is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin and a fellow of the Reading Institute within The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. She is the current President of the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Her research interests are related to intensive interventio...

Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Weiss is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. She  is actively involved in the Division of Learning Disabilities (DLD) and the current President-Elect of the Teacher Education Division (TED), both essential divisions within the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). She is an expert in co-teaching and Specially D...

Dr. Michael Solis is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of California, Riverside. His line of research focuses on vocabulary and reading comprehension interventions for students with reading difficulties in grades 4 -12. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals including Annals of Dyslexia, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Journal of Research on Educational E...

Sarah Powell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin and Associate Director of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. Her research, teaching, and service focus on mathematics, particularly for students who experience mathematics differently.  In this conversation, Sarah shares the importance of avoiding the all-to-common fa...

Dr. Miriam Ortiz is the CEO and Chief Consultant of K12 Matters, LLC. She also is the Executive Director of the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). She earned her Ph. D. in Education and Human Development from Southern Methodist University in 2017 with a focus on Special Education and Response to Intervention. She is passionate about improving ac...

Paul Riccomini is a Professor of Education at PennState. He is also the current President of the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Paul shares his family history of educators and his deep-seeded love of math (despite almost failing 9th grade Algebra). This love of math drives his passion for providing high-quality instruction for students as we...

David Scanlon is an Associate Professor at Boston College. He is also the editor of Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, the journal published by the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD). In this conversation, David shares his love of plants, reminds us of the power of connection and opportunity, and emphasizes the importance of a hand-written note.  Resources (Clickable links) from...

“I’m a better pastor because I’m a more authentic Paul.” Paul Klepees is a pastor, a nurse, and a parent of a child with disabilities. This episode highlights the power of connection with - and truly seeing - the people in our space. There’s a message here of hope, peace, and the power of being authentically and intentionally present. It seems like the perfect episode to share in this back-to-scho...

Dr. Matt Burns is a Professor in the Department of Special Education in the College of Education & Human Development at the University of Missouri. He is the Director of the Center for Collaborative Solutions for Kids, Practice, and Policy (SKiPP) . He is also the Co-Director of the Missouri Partnership for Educational Renewal (MPER). Matt is a prolific researcher (with more than 200 articles...