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Faculty Bio

Laurie U. deBettencourt, Ph.D., Professor, serves as Chair of Department of Special Education at the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. She also serves as the Program Coordinator for the Mild/Moderate Masters Degree Programs and for the partnerships with Montgomery County Public Schools. She is co-editor (with Michael Rosenberg) of Teacher Educatrion and Special Education (The Journal of the Teacher Educaton Division of the Council for Exceptional Children beginning July 1, 2009. Their term will be for three years ending in 2013. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1984 and completed a post doctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh in 1985. Dr. deBettencourt is co-author of several textbooks. Her most recent book, Teaching students with mld and high- incidence disabilities at the secondary level (3rd ed., 2009) is co-authored with Edward Sabornie and puiblished by Pearson. She has presented on and written numerous articles related to instruction of students with mild to moderate disabilities. She has conducted a workshop on Teaching Study skills to Students in Mixed Ability Classes for the past 8 summers.

Areas of Specialization Personnel preparation for programs serving students with mild moderate disabilities including learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, emotional disabilities, and mild mental retardation

Current Projects and Research Interests Alternative licensure programs for individuals seeking to become special educators Mentoring and supervision of beginning special educators Effective instructional procedures for inclusion classrooms especially at the secondary level Workshops for teachers and parents seeking to teach study skills to students within diverse classroom settings Statewide workshops for parents of children with disabilities on advocating for their child

Program Adviser Teachers of students with Mild Moderate Disabilities

To contact Dr. deBettencourt, call 301-294-7054 or email her at debetten@jhu.edu.

Faculty CV

EDUCATION

University of Pittsburgh, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1985 Area of Specialization: Cognitive Studies of Students with Learning Disabilities

University of Virginia, Ph.D., 1984 Major: Special Education; Minors: Child Development, Research and Statistics

University of Virginia, M.Ed., 1979 Major: Special Education, Endorsements: LD & ED

University of Virginia, B.S., 1976 Major: Special Education, Endorsement: MR

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Professor and Chair, Department of Special Education, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Rockville, MD 2008- present.

Associate Professor and Coordinator of Mild/Moderate Disabilities Program, Department of Special Education, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Rockville, MD 2006 - 2008.

Associate Professor and Program Director, Special Education Masters' Degree and Initial Licensure Programs, University of Virginia Northern Virginia Center, Falls Church, VA, 1997 - 2006.

Visiting Professor, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 1996- 1997. Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 1989-1996.

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1987.

Research Associate, Institute for Practice and Research in Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 1986-1988.

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Pittsburgh, 1984-1985.

Teacher, Oakland School, Boyd Tavern, VA; private school, serving students ages 7-17 with learning and emotional disabilities, 1979-1987.

Teacher, Scottsville Elementary School, Scottsville, VA; self-contained class, serving students ages 7-12 with educable mental retardation, 1976-1979.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Selected Books

Sabornie, E.J., & deBettencourt, L.U. (2009). Teaching students with mild and high- incidence disabilities at the secondary level (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill / Prentice Hall/Pearson.

deBettencourt, L. U., & Howard, L. (2007). The Effective Special Education Teacher: A Practical Guide for Success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill / Prentice Hall/Pearson.

Sabornie, E.J., & deBettencourt, L.U. (2004). Teaching students with mild and high- incidence disabilities at the secondary level (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill / Prentice Hall/Pearson.

Vallecorsa, A.L., deBettencour, L.U., & Zigmond, N. (2000). Organizing and managing instruction for students with disabilities in the mainstream. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill / Prentice Hall.

Sabornie, E.J., & deBettencourt, L.U. (1997). Teaching students with mild disabilities at the secondary level. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill / Prentice Hall.

Vallecorsa, A.L., deBettencourt, L.U., & Garris, E. (1992). Evaluation of special education programs. Newberry Park, CA: Corwin Press.

Selected Articles

deBettencourt, L. U., & Howard, L. (in review). Alternatively licensed special educators: Attitudes of principals. The National Association for Alternative Certification Online Journal.

Kortering, L. J., deBettencourt, L. U., & Braziel, P. M. (2005). Improving performance in high school algebra: What students with learning disabilities are saying. Learning Disability Quarterly, 28, 191-203.

deBettencourt, L. U. (2004). Critical issues in training special education teachers. Exceptionality, 12, 193-194.

deBettencourt, L. U., & Howard, L. (2004). Alternatively licensing career changers to be teachers in the field of special education: Their first-year reflections. Exceptionality, 12, 225-238.

deBettencourt, L. U. (2002). Understanding the differences between IDEA and Section 504. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 34(3), 16-23.

Cooke, N. L., & deBettencourt, L. U. (2001). Using distance education technology to train teachers: A case study. Teacher Education and Special Education, 24, 220-228.

deBettencourt, L.U., & Allen, J. (2000). Programming for middle and secondary school: A study skills clinic approach for preparing teachers. The Teacher Educator, 35(1), 8-18.

Selected Book Chapters

deBettencourt, L.U. (1993). Teaching reading to students with mild disabilities. In L.W. Searfoss & J.E. Readence, Helping Children Learn to Read (3rd ed., pp. 393-409). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

deBettencourt, L.U. (1990). Cognitive strategy training. In P.I. Meyers & D. D. Hammill (Eds.), Learning disabilities: Basic concepts, assessment practices, and instructional strategies (pp. 243-267). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

Vallecorsa, A.L., & deBettencourt, L.U. (1990). Revised standards and indicators of quality for special education programs (provided for the public schools of the state of Georgia). In Standards and Indicators of Quality for Selected Programs. Center for Educational Research and Evaluation, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Co-editor, Teacher Education and Special Education, 2010-
• Past President of Division For Research, Council For Exceptional Children, 1995-1996
• President of Division For Research, Council For Exceptional Children, 1994-1995
• Program Chairperson, Division For Research, Council For Exceptional Children, 1994
• President-Elect, Division For Research, Council For Exceptional Children, 1993-1994
• Vice-President North Carolina Division of Learning Disabilities, 1993-1996