Special Education Faculty Advisers

Listed here are the faculty who teach and serve as advisers in the Master of Education program in Exceptional Children and Youth.

Gary S. Allison, Ed.D., Assistant Professor

Dr. Allison teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in special education methods, applied behavior analysis, severe and profound disabilities, diversity issues in the classroom and service learning. His instructional interests center around professional preparation and development of special education teachers. His clinical practice interests include: behavior change and support for students with severe/profound disabilities who exhibit health and life dangerous behaviors and the creation of meaningful educational experiences for students with severe/profound disabilities.

Al Cavalier, Ph.D., Associate Professor

Dr. Cavalier teaches courses in classroom management, behavior support, assistive technology, and distance education. His primary research interests are in assistive technologies to enhance the independence and productivity of persons with cognitive and physical disabilities, self-regulation techniques to teach children to monitor their use of cognitive strategies and manage their own behavior, and instructional design of distance-learning lessons. He is director of the Assistive Technology Laboratory and co-director of the Summer Institute on Instructional and Assistive Technology. He serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens and the editorial board of the journal Technology and Disability.

Laura Eisenman, Ph.D., Professor

Dr. Eisenman teaches courses on secondary special education and the transition from school-to-adult life for students with disabilities. Her research interests include inclusive high schools, understanding how schools can foster students’ self-determination, the social and community experiences of young adults with significant disabilities, and exploring the meaning of disability identity in educational contexts.

Ralph Ferretti, Ph.D., Professor

Dr. Ferretti teaches courses in special education research, applied human development, and special education technology. His primary research interests focus on understanding the characteristics of students with disabilities and their social and learning environments that contribute to difficulties in problem solving, on understanding the development of children’s argumentation in the context of ill-defined problems, and on developing instructional techniques and multimedia tools that promote the development of their critical thinking and argumentation skills. He is a frequent reviewer for the American Journal on Mental Retardation, Intelligence, and other professional journals.

Nancy C. Jordan, Ph.D., Professor

Dr. Jordan teaches courses in the characteristics, assessment, and diagnosis of children with learning disabilities. Her research program focuses on children with learning difficutlites in math. She is Principal Investigator of the Children’s Math Project, which is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Jordan has published in journals such as the Journal of Educational Psychology, the Journal of Learning Disabilities, and Child Development. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Learning Disabilities and Learning Disabilities Research and Practice.

Charles MacArthur, Ph.D., Professor

Dr. MacArthur teaches courses in literacy instruction for students with disabilities, curriculum and methods in special education, and the use of educational technology. His primary research interests include writing development and instruction for students with learning disabilities, the development of self-regulated strategies, and applications of technology in teaching reading and writing. He is Co-Editor of The Journal of Special Education and serves on the editorial boards of Exceptional Children, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Learning Disability Quarterly, and Learning Disability Research and Practice.

Kristen D. Ritchey, Ph.D., Professor

Dr. Ritchey teaches courses on instructional methods for elementary and intermediate students with disabilities. Her research interests are in the area of reading disabilities, specifically early identification and intervention for children in kindergarten and first grade.