The “Blurring” of Special Education: Redefining the Role of Special
Education in an RTI Framework

Doug Fuchs
Professor and Nicholas Hobbs Chair in Special Education and Human
Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. March 23, 2010
WHERE: Room 242 JRP

In recent years, the role of special educators as experts who work with the
most difficult to teach students has become blurred as schools move toward a
new continuum of general education placements and services. Dr. Fuchs will
lead a discussion (via video conference) about response to intervention, the
role of special education, and the need for the profession to return to its
historic mission.

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER
Dr. Fuchs is co-director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic. He
has been principal investigator of 35 federally sponsored research grants
focusing on the development of pre-referral interventions, peer-assisted
learning strategies in reading and math, curriculum-based measurement
procedures, and methods of reintegrating students with high-incidence
disabilities into mainstream settings. Dr. Fuchs’s research interests
include instruction of students at risk for school failure because of
disability or poverty; peer-mediated learning; classroom assessment; school
improvement and school reform; urban education; and special education
policy.

Video of Jan Bulgren’s CRL Learns Workout session titled, Strategies: Domain General, Domain Specific, and Everything in Between, is now available.

Jan Bulgren, KU-CRL associate research professor, will be presenting a CRL Workout session on March 4th, 2010 starting at 11:30 a.m in room 146 JRP. The event will also be webcast live.Click here for more details…

Jan Bulgren, KU-CRL associate research professor, will present a CRL Workout session on higher order thinking. The session will take place in room 146 JRP from 11:30-12:45 on March 4, 2010. More details to come.

This session will encourage dialogue on the multiple meanings of “strategies” as used in content area classes. Issues and questions will include:

• domain general vs. domain specific strategies
• clarifying definitions to achieve common understandings
• deep structure reasoning strategies that could bridge the gap
• learning and instructional implications in content classes

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LIVE WEBCAST:
This event will be webcast live and will include a interactive chat session. To join, visit the link below and login as a guest. The room will be open to guests about 20 minutes before the event starts.

https://desktopconnect.ku.edu/crl-learns-bulgren/

Prior to connecting, visit the URL below to make sure your computers have adequate bandwidth/version of Flash installed:
https://desktopconnect.ku.edu/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Video of Geoff Knight and Jenny Peck’s CRL Learns guest lecture, Education in Rural Tanzania, is now available.

Education in Rural Tanzania
CRL Learns Guest Lecture – February 9, 2010

Geoff Knight and Jenny Peck
Foxes’ Community and Wildlife Conservation Trust

These two University of Kansas graduates talked about their time in East Africa, where they currently work with a non-governmental organization that, among other things, aims to improve the quality of education in the area. Jenny and Geoff talked about the challenges facing schools and administrations in their area and showed a video that further explained the work of their organization. They have lived in Tanzania for three years and will return in mid-February to continue their work.

Video of Neal Kingston’s CRL Learns guest lecture, National Science Foundation Review Panel Debriefing, is now available.

National Science Foundation Review Panel Debriefing
CRL Learns Guest Lecture – February 4, 2010

Neal Kingston
Director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation, University of Kansas

Video of Michael Faggella-Luby’s CRL Learns guest lecture, The End of an Error: Considering Disciplinary Literacy as Lever of Change in Secondary School Reform, is now available.

The End of an Error: Considering Disciplinary Literacy as Lever of Change in Secondary School Reform
CRL Learns Guest Lecture – February 2, 2010

Michael Faggella-Luby
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut

Dr. Faggella-Luby is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn). He is also a research scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER) and an associate research scholar at the Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED).

Dr. Faggella-Luby’s primary research interest focuses on embedding instruction in learning strategies into subject-area courses to improve reading comprehension for all levels of learners. He received the 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities and the 2007 Annual Dissertation Award from CEC’s Division of Learning Disabilities for his dissertation study Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction: Story-Structure Pedagogy in Secondary Classes for Diverse Learners. In 2009, he received the Neag School of Education’s Early Career Scholar Award for his continued work in this area.

Before joining the faculty at University of Connecticut, Dr. Faggella-Luby was a doctoral fellow at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning under the direction of Drs. Donald Deshler and Jean Schumaker. He earned his doctorate from the Special Education Department at the University of Kansas. Dr. Faggella-Luby is a former high school administrator and teacher of both English and Chemistry.