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 factors. Dr. Clarke leverages his research interests to teach and work with school psychology and special education students to integrate an understanding of mathematics development within school based service delivery systems. He currently serves or has served as a Principal Investigator on twenty federally funded research grants (apx. 55 million in funding) in the area of mathematics instruction focused on the development and efficacy testing of intervention programs spanning the K-6thgrade spectrum in both traditional and technology based formats. In addition, Dr. Clarke’s work has focused on developing assessment materials examining early mathematics knowledge and number sense with a focus on identifying and preventing later mathematics difficulty. He has published articles and book chapters on mathematics instruction and assessment and developing multi-tiered instructional models including the IES practice guide “Assisting students struggling with mathematics: Response to Intervention for elementary and middle schools”. Dr. Clarke was a practicing school psychologist for three years where he led district efforts to implement multiple tier instructional models in reading and mathematics.Resources from this episode: (clickable links)Ben’s faculty pageThe IES Practice Guide Ben wrote: Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention for Elementary and Middle SchoolsDynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills DIBELSNational Association of School Psychologists (NASP)To read: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)Related Services in Special Education: Working Together as a Team by Lisa Goran & David F. Bateman - available for preorder from AmazonThe New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers

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 research grant funding from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). She is Primary Investigator (PI) on an IES-funded project. This project is a meta-analysis of writing interventions for students in Grades K-5. Before joining Texas State University, Alyson earned her doctorate in Special Education from Vanderbilt University. Websites: (with clickable links)Alyson’s faculty pageAlyson on Twitter: @alysonacollinsTurning the TIDE (IES-funded research)A recent conversation with Dr. Collins on her researchInstitute of Education SciencesNational Center for Special Education ResearchDLD’s page: www.TeachingLD.org   Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD): https://srsdonline.org/Another Think Aloud worth a listen: Stephen Ciullo - Episode 35To read: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)The Harry Potter series

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, Intervention, and Policy.His projects address four aspects of this topic. He and his colleagues:explore the cognitive mechanisms that predict individual differences in reading (with Jay Rueckl),examine the effects of reading instruction on neurobiological processing during reading in the CARING Project(with Ken Pugh at Haskins Laboratories) and the brainCAMP project (with Fumiko Hoeft, Director of the UConn Brain Imaging Research Center).), anddesign tests to understand and screen for dyslexia in the APPRISE Project (led by Fumiko Hoeft).Resources from this episode (clickable links):Devin’s faculty page (UConn)Devin’s website: devinkearns.orgDevin on Twitter: @devin_kearnsAnother Think Aloud worth a listen...Sarah Powell - Episode 28: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1783421/11765704 

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 HebertProject WORDS (Workshop on Reading Development Strategies) for Pandemic Recovery in NebraskaProject ViewInstitute of Education SciencesNational Center for Special Education ResearchWe mentioned...Sarah Powell - Ep 28David Scanlon - Ep 25To read: Writing and Reading Connections: Bridging Research and Practice edited by Zoi A. Philippakos and Steve GrahamSoon I WIll Be Invincible by Austin Grossman

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 teachers’ effectiveness in the area of writing and content-area knowledge.Stephen has received three research grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). He is Primary Investigator (PI) on an IES-funded project that explores the extent to which effective writing instructional practices are used by special educators and general educators who teach writing to students with disabilities. This project also examines differences between the writing instruction of special educators and general educators. Stephen serves as Co-PI on a second IES-funded grant with Dr. Linda Mason (PI). This project explores relationships between middle school social studies and science teachers' use of evidence-based writing practices, teachers' beliefs about adapting instruction for students with disabilities, and students' writing outcomes. Additionally, Stephen is Co-PI on a recently funded IES grant (PI Alyson Collins, Texas State University). This project is a meta-analysis of writing interventions for students in Grades K-5. Stephen teaches undergraduate as well as graduate-level special education courses. His courses focus on Learning Disabilities, and instructional practices that improve reading and writing outcomes for students who receive special education services.Before joining Texas State University, Stephen earned his doctorate in Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin. He was also a Special Education teacher in New York for six years.Websites: (with clickable links)Stephen’s faculty pageDLD’s page: www.TeachingLD.org   CLD’s page: www.//council-for-learning-disabilities.org Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD): https://srsdonline.org/To read: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)Books by Erik LarsonCurrently reading The Splendid and the VileBooks about StoicismCurrently reading The Stoic Teacher: Ancient Mind Hacks to Help Educators Foster Resiliency, Optimism, and Inner Calm by Ryan Racine

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 field.Websites: (with clickable links)Mitch’s faculty pageSpEd Law Blog: www.spedlawblog.com   Minnesota Twin Study: https://mctfr.psych.umn.edu/To read: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)The Law and Special Education by Mitchell L. Yell Works by:Kurt VonnegutThomas PynchonHermann Hesse

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 Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Special Education at the University of Missouri. Dr. Lewis directs the University of Missouri Center for School-wide Positive Behavior Support, is Co-Director of the national OSEP Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and former Co-Director of the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools. His specialty areas include social skill instruction, functional assessment, and proactive school-wide discipline systems.Websites: (with clickable links)Tim’s faculty page: tim-lewisPBIS: www.pbis.org Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support: https://pbismissouri.org/Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Division of Emotional Behavioral Health (DEBH): https://debh.exceptionalchildren.org/To read: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)Alexander Hamilton by Ron ChernowThe Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson Made in America by Bill Brysonanything by John Steinbeckanything by Ernest Hemingway

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: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arther Andersen by Barbara Ley Toffler and Jennifer ReingoldThe Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion by Eliot Brown and Maureen FarrellThe Spider Network: The Wild Story of a Math Genius, a Gang of Backstabbing Bankers, and One of the Greatest Scams in Financial History by David EnrichPresidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

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 interventions for students with reading disabilities, with a particular focus on data-based decision-making processes and motivation. Dr. Toste was trained in reading intervention research as a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University (2011-2013) and as a Fulbright scholar/visiting researcher at the Florida Center for Reading Research (2008-2009). She has worked as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.Websites and clickable links:Jess’s website: https://www.jessicatoste.com/Instagram: www.instagram.com/tosteteam Project EXPERT YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@project_expert Jess’s faculty page: https://education.utexas.edu/faculty/jessica_tosteDLD’s website: https://www.teachingld.org/To read: (Check out your local bookstore or favorite online provider)What’s Mine and Yours by Naima CosterThe Design of Everyday Things by Don NormanDemystifying Disability by Emily Ladau

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 Designed Instruction (SDI). Peggy shares insights from her experiences and the power of making connections within the field of special education. You’ll likely recognize many of the names mentioned in this episode, and I hope you’re inspired by how she frames conversations on effective teaching, co-teaching, and Specially Designed Instruction (SDI). Websites and clickable links:Peggy’s faculty pageDLD’s website: https://www.teachingld.org/TED’s website: https://tedcec.org/CEC’s website: https://exceptionalchildren.org/Topics to read/explore: Perspective Identity WorkAdult Learning TheoryReflective Practice in Critical ThinkingAdaptive Expertise