Master of Education in Special Education

Faculty

Dr. Laura E. Bray is an assistant professor of special education at Penn State and serves as one of the lead advisers and instructors for the online M.Ed. program in Special Education. Dr. Bray's research interests draw from organizational and learning theories to explore topics and issues related to the education of students with disabilities and at-risk students.

Dr. Dana M. Garner, BCBA-D, is an assistant professor of special education at Penn State and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with doctoral designation. Dr. Garner serves as the lead supervisor for our Practicum in Applied Behavior Analysis. During her career, she has served as therapeutic support staff, a behavioral specialist consultant, parent coach, school district trainer, and supervisor for numerous professionals seeking BCBA certification. Her areas of interest include development of ABA programming and intervention analysis, staff development and supervision, and adult higher education.

Dr. Joanne E. Gerenser, CCC-SLP, is the executive director of Eden II Programs, a not-for-profit organization that serves the autism community of Staten Island, New York City, and Long Island through education, adult day programs, residential care, and numerous other services. She co-authored the interactive CD-ROM titled Behavioral Programming for Children with Autism, and she has written several book chapters and articles on autism and developmental disabilities. Dr. Gerenser has also won numerous awards for her work with individuals with autism. She sits on a number of professional advisory boards for autism service providers.

Dr. Katie E. Hoffman is an associate professor of special education at Penn State and serves as the coordinator for the online M.Ed. program in Special Education offered via Penn State World Campus. Dr. Hoffman's research interests include teacher preparation, distance education, and progress monitoring through the use of curriculum-based measures. Prior to earning her doctorate, Dr. Hoffman was a special education teacher who worked with students with special needs at the K–3 level.

Dr. Elizabeth Hughes is an assistant professor of special education at Penn State. Her scholarship focuses on the role of language when learning mathematics, specifically for students with learning disabilities. Her research evaluates mathematical writing strategies, vocabulary supports, and video modeling as evidence-based practices to support learning mathematics.

Dr. Rick Kubina, BCBA-D, is a professor of special education at Penn State and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with doctoral designation. Dr. Kubina's research focuses on the science of individual measurement and performance/learning improvement. He is the co-author of The Precision Teaching Book and the co-founder of Chartlytics, a web application system for precisely pinpointing and recording behavior for making decisions and using repeated problem-solving to help learners experience effective and efficient learning outcomes.

Dr. David Lee, BCBA-D, is a professor of special education at Penn State and is the department head for Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education. He is also the director of the Applied Behavior Analysis program and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with doctoral designation. The focus of Dr. Lee’s research is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate programs to support students with or at risk for emotional/behavior disorders. His research draws upon a behavior analytic framework to create positive, function-based interventions for students, primarily in middle/high school.

Dr. Kate McKinnon is an associate professor of special education at Penn State where she serves as the undergraduate program coordinator and director of field experiences for special education majors. Her areas of expertise and research interests include early intervention and pre-service teacher preparation and supervision.

Dr. David McNaughton is a professor of special education at Penn State. His teaching and research focuses on the development of effective educational programs for individuals with severe disabilities. He is especially interested in the effective use of technology by individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and how AAC can be used to achieve important educational and vocational outcomes.

Dr. Kelly Mercorella, BCBA-D, is an assistant professor of special education at Penn State and teaches a variety of courses for the online M.Ed. program in Special Education. Dr. Mercorella's research interests center around facilitating reading comprehension for elementary students with disabilities, particularly designing interventions to instruct students on visualization strategies related to reading. Prior to earning her doctorate, Dr. Mercorella was a special education teacher in both self-contained and inclusive settings, serving students from Pre–K through fifth grade.

Dr. Tracy J. Raulston, BCBA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State. Her scholarship focuses on the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based practices for children with autism spectrum disorder and related developmental delays/disabilities. Specifically, she is interested in supporting caregivers to implement behavioral interventions in home, community, and school settings.

Dr. Paul J. Riccomini, an associate professor of special education at Penn State, began his career as a middle and high school general education and special education math teacher. His research focus is on effective instructional strategies and assessments for students with dyscalculia and students with learning disabilities in mathematics. He is a co-author of Response to Intervention in Math (Corwin, 2010) and Building Number Sense through the Common Core (Corwin, 2013), as well as three math intervention programs targeting fractions, integers, and algebraic equations.

Dr. Mary Catherine Scheeler is an associate professor of special education at Penn State.  Her research focuses on finding effective techniques to prepare teachers to work with children with special needs including the use of immediate feedback, the use of technology in teacher supervision, and generalization of teaching techniques. She was awarded the TED/Pearson Excellence in Teacher Education Award in 2019.

Dr. Jonte Taylor (“JT”) is an assistant professor of special education at Penn State. He taught for approximately 10 years with a variety of populations from pre-K to adult in settings ranging from inclusive classrooms to residential treatment facilities. His research interests include science education for students with disabilities, evaluating innovative classroom practices, and bullying issues for students with autism, learning disabilities, and emotional/behavioral disorders.

Dr. Pamela Wolfe is an associate professor of special education at Penn State and the director of the Educating Individuals with Autism certificate program. Her teaching and research center on work with persons having autism spectrum disorders (ASD), severe disabilities, and intellectual disabilities. Her research includes interventions related to social skills and sexuality for persons with ASD, as well as advocacy and transition. She has presented at international and national conferences on topics such as teacher training, application of evidence based instruction, and intervention models.