Jennifer Desiderio

A photo of Jennifer Desiderio.

Associate Professor

Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders

128 John W. Porter Building

734.487.3302

[email protected]

Education

  • Doctorate in progress
  • Ed.S., School Psychology, Miami University (Oxford, OH), 1995
  • MS, School Psychology, Miami University (Oxford, OH), 1993
  • BA, Psychology, Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY), 1992

Biography

Before joining the faculty of the Department of Special Education at EMU, I served for almost 15 years in public schools as a school psychologist, educational trainer, and consultant. Throughout my school-based career, I worked directly with K–12 students certified with a wide variety of disabilities, both pre- and post-referral. My first eight years were spent in southwestern Ohio, where I was immersed in the Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model of service delivery. During my time in Michigan, I continued to assess and intervene with at-risk students but also presented county-wide and school-based workshops as well as consulted with multiple school districts in the areas of collaborative teaming and problem solving, scientifically-based academic and behavioral interventions, curriculum-based assessment, IEP goal writing, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I came to EMU in 2008 to educate future special education teachers with the hope of making a difference in students' lives on a larger scale.

Interests and Expertise

Research Interests

  • Higher education pedagogy
  • Universal design for learning
  • Response-to-intervention (academic and behavioral)
  • Collaborative problem solving
  • Curriculum-based measurement
  • Positive behavior supports
  • Universal design for learning

Courses

  • SPCI 240: Introductory Clinical Experiences in Cognitive Impairment
  • SPEI 240: Introductory Clinical Experiences in Emotional Impairment
  • SPGN 3232W Writing for Professionals in Special Education
  • SPGN 390 Measurement and Diagnosis in Special Education
  • SPGN 461 Classroom Management and Intervention Strategies for Students with Disabilities
  • SPLI 396: Assessment Methods for Students with Learning Disabilities and Other Mild Disabilities
  • SPLI 678: Assessment and Advanced Diagnostic Prescriptive Programming for Special Education Students

Publications and Presentations

Selected Publications

  • "Abolishing the Myths of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder"
          Michigan Council for Exceptional Children (Grand Rapids, Michigan) March 2012
  • "Bricks and Mortar: The Integral Relationship Between Universal Design for Learning and Learning Styles"
          International Learning Styles Network Conference (Bronx, New York) July 2012
  • "The Fantastic Four (and a Little Bit More): Evidence-Based Reading Interventions for Home and School"
          Michigan Council for Exceptional Children (Grand Rapids, Michigan) March 2012
  • "Revolutionary Redesign: An Extreme Makeover of a Core Teacher Preparation Course"
          Michigan Association of Teacher Educators Fall Conference (Livonia, Michigan) October 2011
  • Lilly Conference on College & University Teaching – South (Greensboro, North Carolina) February 2012
          The Teaching Professor Conference (Washington, DC) June 2012

Memberships

  • Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD)
  • Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
  • National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)