Category: Research Partner Spotlights

Name: Sheila Conway, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Sheila Conway, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Practice in the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Sheila coordinates special education teacher preparation programs and teaches within those programs. She is interested in the experiences of novice special education teachers to inform teacher preparation and induction programming. All four of Sheila’s children attend/ed Pitt and stop by her office regularly.

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

As clinical faculty, I find it difficult to lead large independent research projects, given my teaching and administrative responsibilities. As a partner on SERA collaborative projects, I can make contributions in a feasible and impactful manner.

Name: Kimberley Davis, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: Arkansas State University

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Kimberley Davis, Ph.D is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Interim Department Chair in the Department of Educational Leadership, Curriculum, and Special Education at Arkansas State University. She has a B.S. in Secondary Education-Social Studies, a M.Ed. in both Special Education and Educational Leadership, and a Ph.D. in Special Education (Mild Moderate Disabilities). Dr. Davis has served in the field of education as a special education teacher, coordinator, consultant, educational diagnostician, and Special Education director (LEA). Her research interests include multi-tiered levels of intervention and support, teacher preparation, inequities in special education, inclusive practices, and culturally responsive teaching.

Dr. Davis is the proud mother of Autumn Grace, a junior middle level education candidate at Arkansas State University and Aiden Nicholas, a 7^th grade student in the  Nettleton Public Schools. She enjoys reading, traveling, and participating in service learning projects in her community.

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

The opportunity to work with the [SERA Science Education Instruction for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities] project would provide collaborative opportunities to address the needs for students with exceptional learning and behavioral needs through evidence-based interventions and supports.

Name: Michael Dunn, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: Washington State University Vancouver

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Dr. Michael Dunn, is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Literacy at Washington State University Vancouver (near Portland, Oregon). His areas of research interest include: skills/strategies for struggling readers and writers, and response to intervention (an intervention/assessment process for classifying students with a learning disability).

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

My research interests focus on developing interventions and offering them to students to apply in their learning. This project also offers me the opportunity to collaborate with other researchers across the US.

Name: Jared R. Morris, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: Brigham Young University

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Dr. Jared Morris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education at Brigham Young University. Jared completed his Ph.D. in special education with a minor in educational psychology at The Pennsylvania State University. He also completed a graduate certificate in applied behavior analysis at The Pennsylvania State University. He received a master’s degree in special education from The University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University. Jared taught students with disabilities in a variety of settings for five years.

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

I became interested in SERA seeing a need to help further the research base for students with disabilities. Accelerating research through systematic large scale replications using the SERA model has potential to increase the research base by providing more robust data because of the increased quantity and diversity of the research samples.

Name: Chris J. Lemons, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: Stanford University

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Christopher J. Lemons, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Stanford University. His research focuses on improving academic outcomes for children and adolescents with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities. His recent research has focused on developing and evaluating reading interventions for individuals with Down syndrome. His areas of expertise include reading interventions for children and adolescents with learning and intellectual disabilities, data-based individualization, and intervention-related assessment and professional development. Lemons has secured funding to support his research from the Institute of Education Sciences and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, both within the U.S. Department of Education and from the National Institutes of Health.

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

The idea to crowdsource special education research is innovative and well-aligned with other initiatives focused on open science and replication. This project is moving our field forward in creative, meaningful ways and I’m happy to be involved.

Name: Nathan A. Stevenson, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: Kent State University

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Dr. Stevenson is an Assistant Professor in the area of mild/moderate educational needs at Kent State University. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in core instruction, classroom management, inclusive practices, and instructional methods for struggling learners. He earned his doctorate in special education from Michigan State University. Dr. Stevenson began his career as an elementary classroom teacher with New York City Public Schools. His research interests include classroom behavior management, inclusive practices, and adoption of evidence-based instruction. 

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

Being a part of SERA is truly a unique opportunity to draw on the collective expertise of scholars and speed the pace of research in critical areas. I am delighted to be working with such a distinguished group of scholars.

Name: Amelia K. Moody, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: University of North Carolina-Wilmington

Additional Research Team Members: James Stocker, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Sharon Richter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Amelia Moody received her Ph.D. in special education from the University of Virginia and currently works as a Professor in the Watson College of Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Moody is the director for the Center for Assistive Technology and serves as a member of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Cooperative. Current grant work surrounds the research of innovative technologies that enhance educational outcomes for children with disabilities, with a focus on students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. 

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

Our team is interested in participating in SERA because we are dedicated to improving educational outcomes for students with ASD. This project allows for accelerated data collection on innovative educational interventions in efforts to determine how to best meet the needs of this population of students.

Name: Elizabeth Talbott, Ph.D.

Institution/Organization Affiliation: William & Mary

Additional Research Team Members: Heartley B. Huber, Ph.D.

SERA Research Partner Bio:

Elizabeth Talbott is Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development in the School of Education at William & Mary. She earned her B.S. degree in psychology from Virginia Tech and her M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees in special education from the University of Virginia. She has worked in adult psychiatry at UVA hospital and has taught young people with and without learning and behavioral disabilities in the upper elementary grades. Her research seeks to improve the use of evidence by school and pediatric professionals in assessment, intervention, and public policy for young people with behavioral and mental health disabilities.

What made you interested in partnering with SERA?

I’m excited about the opportunity to work with a diverse team of special education researchers in the inaugural year of the special education research accelerator.