Current Assignment in the College of Education and Human Sciences:
Associate Professor of School Psychology
COURSES TAUGHT:
EDPS 951--Academic and Behavioral Assessment
EDPS 957A--Clinic based Practicum
EDUC 900B--Small N Research Design
Advanced Practicum
Doctoral Seminar
EDPS 950--Intellectual Assessment
Philosophy Statement: It has always been important to me that my professional activities directly impact children and families. As a school psychologist, I have the opportunity to work with children, youth, and the systems around them. It is very rewarding to know that my expertise, knowledge, and research can directly impact a person’s quality of life, reduce family stress, and help children succeed. Given my interest in helping others, it is not surprising that my research, teaching, and service is applied and focused on the individual. As a researcher and a clinician, I am primarily interested in impacting individual student achievement. As a university professor, I believe that school psychology trainees learn best by using newly acquired skills in an applied setting. Didactic training serves as the foundation for the application of skills and students in my courses are constantly involved in practica that provide direct services to children, families, and schools.
My applied research in the area of reading and written language directly influences the future success of students. Although research has provided resources for improving reading skills, there is a great need for researchers to provide the field with information on writing interventions and reliable writing assessment procedures. Providing this knowledge to the field is the current emphasis of my research. In recent years, I have begun more in-depth examinations into the effectiveness of writing interventions and writing assessment techniques. At this point, very few researchers are investigating the area of written language, although many indicators point to the importance of student writing performance on academic and career success. In future years, my research will continue to focus on filling this gap in the research.
While developing my own research agenda, I feel that it is important to assist in the research development of our graduate students. I have conducted numerous research projects collaboratively with school psychology students and these students have been involved in almost all of my national presentations. Of the manuscripts in preparation, students have a role in all of them.
