Special Education
College of Education :: UNLV

 

Faculty Members	Areas of Expertise
Thomas Pierce, Ph.D. Department Chair, Professor	Mental Retardation
Keri Altig, Ed.S. Faculty in Residence	Early Childhood Special Education
Beatrice Babbitt, Ph.D. Associate Professor	Learning Disabilities, Assistive Technology
Mary Banbury, Ph.D. Visiting Professor	Gifted, Differentiated Curriculum
Regina Brandon, M.Ed. Visiting Instructor	Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation
Nancy Brown, M.Ed. Faculty in Residence	Emotional Disturbance
Pamela Campbell, Ph.D. Associate Professor	Learning Disabilities
Debra Cote, M.Ed. Teacher on Special Assignment	Mental Retardation, Learning Disabilities
Nasim Dil, Ph.D. Professor	Early Childhood Special Education, Severe Emotional Disorders
Nicole Dobbins, M.Ed. Teacher on Special Assignment	Emotional Disturbance, Autism
John Filler, Ph.D. Professor	Early Childhood Special Education
Jeffrey Gelfer, Ph.D. Professor	Early Childhood Education
Kyle Higgins, Ph.D. Professor	Learning Disabilities
Catherine Lyons, Ph.D. Visiting Faculty in Residence	Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Special Education
Susan Miller, Ph.D. Professor	Learning Disabilities
Rebecca Nathanson, Ph.D. Associate Professor	Emotional Disorders
Lori Navarrete, Ph.D. Associate Professor in Residence	Learning Disabilities, English as Second Language
Nancy Sileo, Ed.D. Associate Professor	Early Childhood Special Education
Terry Smedley, M.Ed. Teacher on Special Assignment	Emotional Disturbance, Mental Retardation
Sherri Strawser, Ph.D. Associate Professor	School Psychology, Learning Disabilities
Jennifer Stringfellow, M.Ed. Visiting Instructor	Learning Disabilities, Emotional Disturbance
Matthew Tincani, Ph.D. Assistant Professor	Autism, Applied Behavior Analysis
Renee Van Norman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor	Mental Retardation, Applied Behavior Analysis

Over the past 5 years the faculty members of the Department of Special Education have published scholarly research in over 39 journals.

Journals: (2000-2005)

Action in Teacher Education	Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education	Journal of Special Education Technology
American Secondary Education	Learning Disabilities Online
Childhood Education	Learning Disabilities Research & Practice
Children's Law Manual	Learning Disability Quarterly
College Teaching	Mental Retardation
Diagnostique	Professional School Counseling
Early Childhood Education Journal	Reading and Writing Quarterly
Early Development and Care	Remedial and Special Education
Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities	Remediation and Special Education
Family Law Psychology Briefs	Research in Developmental Disabilities
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities	Rural Special Education Quarterly
Gifted Child Quarterly	Southern Nevada Family Magazine
Guidance & Counseling	Teacher Educator
Intervention in School and Clinic	Teaching Exceptional Children
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis	TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus
Journal of Direct Instruction	Teaching Exceptional Students
Journal of Early Childhood Development and Care	TESOL Quarterly
Journal of Family Violence and Sexual Assault	The Behavior Analyst
Journal of Health Education	The Professional Educator
Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention Education for Children	Topics in Early Childhood Education
Journal of Psychiatry & Law	Topics in Language Disorders

 

The Department of Special Education has many faculty members that have held positions as journal editors and as members of editorial review boards for the past five years.

• American Council on Rural Special Education
• Council for Learning Disabilities website
• Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
• Intervention in School and Clinic
• Journal of Learning Disabilities
• Journal of Science for Persons with Disabilities
• Journal of Special Education Technology (for The Technology and Media division of the Council for Exceptional Children)
• Learning Disabilities Quarterly
• Nevada Family Magazine
• Remedial and Special Education
• Research in the Schools
• Southern Nevada Family Magazine
• Teaching Exceptional Children Online

 

Faculty members have been asked to be guest reviewers for many journals between 2000 and 2005.

• AERA Research Journal
• Behavior Analyst Today
• Bilingual Research Journal
• Education and Treatment of Children
• Exceptional Children
• Gifted Child Today
• Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
• Journal of Special Education Technology
• Learning Disabilities Research & Practice
• Rural Educator
• School Psychology Quarterly
• School Psychology Review
• Teacher Education and Special Education
• Teaching Exceptional Children
• The Scope and Purpose of Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies

 

In the past 5 years the distinguished faculty members of the Department of Special Education have composed numerous book publications .

Books written (2000-2005)

• Autism spectrum disorders handouts: What parents need to know
• Designing and implementing mathematics instruction for students with diverse learning needs
• How to help students complete class work and homework assignments
• Lessons on the lake "An educator's guide to the Pontchartrain Basin"
• The Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice
• Validated Practices for Teaching Students with Diverse Needs and Abilities

 

Many of the faculty members are frequently published in monograph materials.

Monographs (2000-2005)

• Mentoring: Monograph III
• Milken Monograph on Teacher Quality
• Occasional Paper: Seattle Washington: Institute for Educational Inquiry

 

In addition to writing books, the faculty members of the Department of Special Education have contributed to other book publications.

Book Chapters (2000-2005)

• Adapting challenging textbooks to improve content area learning
• Adapting instruction for children with disabilities
• Autism and technology: Current practices and future directions
• Choice making in educational settings
• Curriculum for students with special needs: Issues for educational administrators
• Designing digital materials for students with disabilities
• HIV/AIDS: A global human rights issue
• Plato's allegory of the cave revisited: Disciples of light appeal to the pied pipers and prisoners in the darkness
• Prioritizing the professional with the personal
• Teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities: An applied approach for inclusive environments
• Using technology to enhance collaboration to benefit all students
• Voice and validation: Creativity and bilingualism

 

Over the past 5 years the faculty members of the Department of Special Education have contributed to various grants totaling almost 2 million dollars. The following organizations sponsored these grants (2000-2005).

• Clark County School District
• Community foundations
• Junior League of Las Vegas
• Nevada Arts Council
• Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation
• Nevada Regional Service District
• Nevada State Department of Education
• The State of Nevada
• U.S. Department of Education
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas

 

Every year the faculty members are invited to numerous national and international conferences throughout the world. The following are the conferences we have contributed to in the last 5 years.

International Conference Presentations (2000-2005)

• 21 st Century Vision and Enactment of Special Education and Rehabilitation Symposium
• China-US Conference on Education
• Conference on Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities
• Fulbright Hays International Conference, Korea
• Hawaii International Conference
• Inclusive and Supportive Education Conference, Scotland
• International Association of Special Education
• International Conference of the Council for Exceptional Children
• International Conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
• International Conference on Learning Disabilities
• International Council for Learning Disabilities
• International Dyslexia Association
• International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women
• International Special Education Conference on Inclusive Education

National Conference Presentations (2000-2005)

• Access to Equal Justice Conference
• American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
• Association Childhood Education International
• American Council on Rural Special Education
• American Educational Research Association
• American Evaluation Association
• American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
• American Psychological Association
• Assistive Technology Innovation Association
• Association for Behavior Analysis
• Association for Childhood Education International
• Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps
• Association for Positive Behavior Support
• Child Abuse and Family Violence Conference
• Clark County School District
• Conference on Abuse of Children and Adults with Disabilities
• Conference on Effective Practices in Special Education and
• Rehabilitation
• Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
• Council for Educational Diagnostic Services
• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
• Council for Learning Disabilities
• Council of Great City Schools
  • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners Division
• DLD Research to Practice Conference
• Farwest/Midwest Regional Learning Strategy Conference
• Hispanic Leadership Summit
• HIV/AIDS Wellness Conference
• Learning Disability Association of America
• Michigan Association for Behavior Analysis
• National Association for Bilingual Education Conference
• National Association for Gifted Children Conference
• National Association of Social Workers Conference
• National Children's Law Conference of the National Association
• of Counsel for Children
• National Conference on the Individuals with Disabilities
• Education Act
• National Education Computing Association
• National Education Latino Summit
• National Network for Educational Renewal
• National Reading Conference
• National Rural Education Association
• National. Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
• Nevada Desert Regional Center and Nevada Easter Seals
• Foundation
• Nevada Early Childhood Education Conference
• Ohio Coalition for Children with Disabilities
• Ohio Council for Learning Disabilities
• Research-Based Literacy Conference
• Rocky Mountain Legal Clinical Conference
• San Diego Conference of Child & Family Maltreatment
• Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education
• Southwest Education Research Association
  • Teacher Education Division
  • Technology and Media Division
• Technology for People with Disabilities
• The Association for Severe Handicaps (TASH) Conference
• The Young Children with Special Needs National Conference
• U.S. Department of Education
• United States Conference on AIDS
• Virginia Council for Learning Disabilities
• Western Region SIM Trainer's Conference
• Western State Leadership Network

 

Many of the faculty members have been recognized by National, State and Local Institutions for their commitments to the field of Special Education.

Honors and Awards (2000-2005)

• Clark County School District Recognition Award (2000, 2002, 2003)
• Directory of American Scholars (2000, 2003)
• John E. Fintz Scholarship (2002)
• Strategy Instruction Model National Leadership Award (2000)
• Vance W. Cotter Fellowship (2002, 2005)
• Who's Who in America (2000, 2002-2004)
• National Institute for Urban School Improvement (2005)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources Certificate of Appreciation (2002)
• Seraphia D. Leyda University Teaching Fellow Award (1995 - present)
• Super Nova award for the preschool director of the year form the Southern Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children (2003)
• UNLV Alumni Association Student Focused Faculty Award (2003)
• UNLV Faculty Merit Award (2000-2002)
• UNLV Learning Enhancement Services Certificate of Appreciation (2002)
• UNLV Planning Council Leadership Award (2003-2004)
• Who's Who of American Women (2003)
• Zenith Award for contribution to the field for early childhood from the Southern Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children (2003)

The distinguished faculty of UNLV's Department of Special Education are members of numerous professional organizations throughout the world.

Professional Organizations (2000-2005)

• American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
• American Association on Mental Retardation:
  • Community Options Division
  • Education Division
  • Law Division
  • Legal Process and Advocacy Division
• American Council on Rural Special Education
• American Educational Research Association (AERA)
  • SIG-Special Education Research Division
  • Teacher Education Division
  • Teaching Division
• American Evaluation Association
• American Professional Society on Abuse of Children
• American Psychological Association
• American Reading Forum
• Association for Behavior Analysis
• Association for Children with Learning Disability
• Association for Childhood Education International
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
• Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.
• Council for Exceptional Children:
  • Behavior Disorders Division
  • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners
  • Early Childhood Division
  • Education Diagnostic Services Division
  • International Special Education and Services Division
  • Learning Disabilities Division
  • Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Division
  • Physical/Health Disabilities Division
  • Research Division
  • Teacher Education Division (TED)
  • Technology and Media (TAM) Division
• Council for Learning Disabilities
• Easter Seal Society
• International Dyslexia Association
• International Reading Association
• Kansas CEC
• Learning Disabilities Association
• National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN)
• National Association for Gifted Children
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• National Association of Bilingual Education
• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
• National Coalition for Campus Childcare
• National Council of States on Inservice Education (NCSE)
• National Network for Educational Renewal
• Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children
• Nevada CEC
• New England CEC/TED
• Northeast Educational Research Association (NERA)
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Phi Delta Kappa
• Phi Kappa Phi
• Psi Chi
• Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA)
• The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH)
• The Day Care and Child Development Council of America, Inc.
• The Holmes Partnership
• Western Psychological Association (WPA)
• Association for Behavior Analysis: Positive Behavior Support Special Interest Group
• Association for Positive Behavior Support
• Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
• Nevada Association of School Psychologists
• Phi Kappa Phi
• Positive Behavior Support - Nevada
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

Many faculty members of the Department of Special Education have held offices in various organizations.

Organizations Office Held (2000-2005)

Organizations	Office Held (2000-2005)
American Association on Mental Retardation	Implementation Committee of the New Definition (2003)
American Council on Rural Special Education	Executive Board (1999-2002)
Association for Behavior Analysis	Student Representative to Executive Council (2001-2003)
Positive Behavior Support Special Interest Group	President and Founder (2005)
Council for Educational Diagnostic Services	President (2002-2004)
	Vice President (2000-2002)
Council for Exceptional Children:        - Teacher Education Division	Treasurer (2001-present)
	Executive Board (2001-2004)
	Student Representative (2005-2007)
- Conference Advisory Committee	Chair (2000-2004)
- Division for Learning Disabilities	Vice President (2001-2002)
- Division of International Special Education	Awards Committee Chair (2003-present)
International Council for Learning Disabilities	Secretary (2005-2007), Co-Chair of Local Arrangements (2004 conference)
Positive Behavior Supports-Nevada	State Team Leader (2003-2005)
State of Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children	President Elect (2005)