Professor Susan D. Johnson is the chair of the Department of Education at Mercyhurst University. She specializes in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders and emotional and behavioral disorders of children and youth. Her scholarly interests include instructional design and development of pedagogical best practices for students with severe disabilities, in addition to, investigating innovative methods for preparing pre-service teachers.
Professor Johnson’s primary teaching areas are in low incidences disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders and behavior theories and practices. Previous to teaching at Mercyhurst, Professor Johnson spent 15 years working as a public school and private agency speech/language therapist and special education teacher. She has been at Mercyhurst since 2010.
EDUCATION:
Gannon University, Ph.D. Organizational Learning and Leadership (ABD, May 2016)
St. Bonaventure University, M.S. Ed., Special Education
Thesis: “Facilitating and Increasing Turn-taking Skills in Children with Autism Using Neurotypical Peers as Models for Communication”
State University of New York at Fredonia, B.S. Ed., Speech Pathology and Audiology
COURSES:
Undergraduate
ESPE 101: Psychology of Diverse Learners
ESPE 203: Behavior Theories and Practices
ESPE 305: Low Incidence Disabilities: Effective Instructional Practices
ESPE 306: Low Incidence Disabilities: Clinical Experience
Graduate
EDSP 540: Introduction to Autism
RECENT NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS:
VSA Intersections: Arts and Special Education Conference
Department of VSA and Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
August 1-2, 2016
Pittsburgh, PA
Presentation title: Gaining Access through Arts Integration: Literacy Instructions for Students with Severe Disabilities
Co-presenters: Katherine Brittner, Kaleigh Ruggerio, Elizabeth Stuehr, Kelsey Wilson, Jacob Washabaugh
Athens Institute for Education and Research
18th Annual International Conference on Education
May 16-19, 2016
Athens, Greece
Presentation title: Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Capacity for Collaborative Leadership: Peer-to-Peer Coaching in Clinical Experiences
Council for Exceptional Children-Teacher Education Division National Conference
November 4-7, 2015
Tempe, Arizona
Presentation title: Preparing "Digital Natives" to use Digital Gamification to Increase Opportunities to Respond
Association for Behavior Analysis International 41st Annual Convention
May 22–26, 2015
San Antonio, Texas
Poster title: A Parametric Evaluation of Backup Reinforcer Class Size
Council for Exceptional Children 2015 Convention and Expo
April 9-12, 2015
San Diego, California
Presentation title: Gaining Access through Arts Integration: Literacy Instruction for Students with Severe Disabilities
13th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education
January 3-6, 2015
Honolulu, Hawaii
Presentation title: Transforming the Field of Special Education Through the Redesign of the Pre-Service Teacher Early Clinical Experience