Special Education

Peabody College of education and human development has long had a partnership with the Murrell School, an East Nashville school for students with extreme emotional and learning disabilities. Vanderbilt now supplies more than 90 percent of student teachers to the school, which is led by principal Susan Siegel, BS’78, and assistant principal Tyisha Walker, PhD’25, and counts numerous Vanderbilt alums on the teaching staff. Read More

By Jenna Somers A successful classroom-based reading program designed by researchers at Vanderbilt University is under consideration for a large-scale evaluation in England. Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) in Reading is a peer-mediated approach that encourages students to practice important reading skills together. A recently funded evaluation of… Read More

The Vanderbilt Graduate Student Council has announced the winners of the 2024 Graduate Leadership Anchor Awards, honoring the hard work and leadership of Vanderbilt graduate students schoolwide. This year’s awards recognize outstanding service, mentorship, departmental leadership, research and best overall. Read More

This research study investigates brain-based reading comprehension enhancement through a non-invasive brain stimulation method called high-definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS). Read More

By Jenna Somers ChatGPT is here to stay, and educators need to adapt to their students using it—at least, that’s what news headlines have suggested for almost a year following ChatGPT’s unveiling. Much of the coverage has given voice to worries about the possibility that AI will hinder learning… Read More

By Jenna Somers Meghan Burke Public schools’ resources for students with disabilities are critical tools for empowering their educations, especially when families have the knowledge to advocate for their children and partner with their children’s schools to create support plans. However, research suggests that some schools may be falling… Read More

Each spring, U.S. News & World Report releases its rankings of various professional schools and disciplines, including graduate schools of education. For 2023-2024, Vanderbilt Peabody College received an overall score of 98 out of a possible 100, resulting in a 6th place ranking. Peabody has been ranked among the… Read More

Researchers in the labs of Laurie Cutting and Bennett Landman recently published a study in Magnetic Resonance Imaging exploring a new tool for imaging the brains of neurofibromatosis type 1 patients and its significance in assessing their symptoms.  Read More

Melvyn Ivan Semmel of Santa Barbara, Calif., a researcher, educator and 2007 Peabody Distinguished Alumnus, who helped shape the nation’s understanding and policies relating to students with disabilities, died Feb. 25. Read More

A November article published in Rehabilitation Psychology reviews research on disabilities and COVID-19 to help rehabilitation psychologists mitigate the effects of the added stress of the pandemic. In addition, the work addresses how systemic discrimination against people with disabilities intersects with other forms of inequity. Read More

Rachel Schles, MEd’12, is Peabody College’s new coordinator for its master’s program in visual disabilities in the Department of Special Education. By Jane Sevier Professor Rachel Schles knows she has big shoes to fill, and she’s eager to take up the challenge. In assuming the… Read More

Under Jack Elder, EdS’73, the Tennessee Special Olympics program became recognized as one of the strongest and best managed. For athletes then and now, after five decades, Special Olympics is a chance to prove what they can do when given the opportunity. Read More

In recent years a cadre of energetic, productive faculty members have joined Peabody's special education department, building on the legacy of high-caliber research and teaching that began in the 1950s with Lloyd Dunn and developmental psychologists Nicholas Hobbs and Susan Gray. Read More

Faye and Joe B. Wyatt Center at Peabody College. U.S. News & World Report has announced its annual rankings of graduate schools, including graduate schools of education. Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development moved up to the No. 4 spot and continues to be… Read More

The federal Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has selected Tennessee as both a Core and Vision Quest state to receive technical assistance and training under the Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program (EFSLMP) for FY 2018. The Vanderbilt Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities through its leadership of the TennesseeWorks partnership is a part of this program. Read More

A grant of more than $100,000 from Sesame Workshop will support a study by researchers at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development measuring the effects of watching Sesame Street on young children’s understanding of kindness and emotions. Read More

Seven professors on the faculty at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development are once again included in an annual listing of the most influential public scholars in education. Read More

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities has named three Vanderbilt scholars in its annual awards for outstanding contributions to the field. Read More

The Response to Intervention initiative, commonly known in education circles as RTI, is being regarded unfairly in the wake of a negative national evaluation, according to Vanderbilt researchers. Read More

K–12 schools in districts in Nashville, Tenn., and Iowa City, Iowa, will soon benefit from an iPad app designed by Vanderbilt professors to help students modify their own problem behavior. A self-monitoring intervention, MoBeGo (Monitoring Behavior on the Go) will provide critical support to teachers working with students who have challenging behaviors. Read More