The Use of Innovation Configurations to Improve Teacher Preparation in Critical Areas
Featured Experts
Liz Altieri, Ph.D.
Liz Altieri, Ph.D., is codirector of Project MERGE and an associate professor in special education within the School of Teacher Education and Leadership at Radford University. She is currently serving as the graduate coordinator for students in the Masters of Special Education program, concentrating in high-incidence disabilities, severe disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing, early childhood special education, and visual impairment. She is a member of the special education/elementary education collaborative coplacement research team and placement model. She also serves as faculty liaison for the Virginia Statewide Training Consortia in Severe Disabilities and in Visual Impairments. Dr. Altieri has a long-standing interest in the skills needed by general and special educators in supporting the academic success of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. She has worked for more than 12 years with general and special educators, cooperating teachers, and undergraduate and graduate student teachers and interns in elementary, middle, and high school general education and special education classrooms across southwest Virginia.
Daniel J. Reschly, Ph.D.
Daniel J. Reschly, Ph.D., is professor of education and psychology at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, where he is chair of the Department of Special Education. From 1975 to 1998, he directed the School Psychology Program at Iowa State University. He has published on the topics of response to intervention, special education system reform, overrepresentation of minority children and youth, and classification procedures. In addition, he has been active in state and national leadership roles, including president of the National Association of School Psychologists and editor of School Psychology Review. Dr. Reschly served on various National Academy of Sciences panels: Standards-Based Reform and the Education of Students with Disabilities (member), Minority Overrepresentation in Special Education (member), and Disability Determination in Mental Retardation (chair). He also is codirector of the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities. He earned his doctorate from the University of Oregon.
Moderator
Lynn Holdheide,
Lynn Holdheide, a Vanderbilt University research associate in the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, works on several projects related to improving the preparation of teachers for students with at-risk characteristics and disabilities. Holdheide coordinates the TQ Connection, an online resource designed to serve both general and special education teacher preparation. Her work also addresses Response to Intervention, inclusive services, and effective teaching practices. Prior to appointment to her current position at Vanderbilt University, Holdheide served as project coordinator and education consultant for nine years at the Indiana Department of Education, Division of Exceptional Learners. She served as the school-to-work transition consultant and directed a statewide study collecting postschool outcome data for students with disabilities. Data from this study were used to develop a statewide system to measure employability skills, modify curriculum, and direct state transition policy.
Holdheide has experience as a teacher, transition specialist, vocational specialist, and residential provider. She holds an undergraduate degree in special education from the Ohio State University and a master's degree from Eastern Illinois University.
