Gwendolyn Deger is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education and a member of the Lab for School-Based Prevention at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include reducing special educator burnout, increasing teacher retention and effectiveness by cultivating teacher well-being through mentorship, social, and emotional support with experienced special educators. Additionally, her research interests include developing positive family-school connections and collaborations with individuals with disabilities, particularly through the individualized education plan (IEP) process. Her research specifically focuses on developing a needs assessment that mentors can utilize to provide individualize mentoring sessions and provide prioritized support for beginning special educators. She currently works with her advisor, Dr. Jennifer L. Frank, on multiple large-scale projects including Responding in Emotionally Supportive and Positive Ways in Educational Communications Skills Training Program–Project RESPECT (IES Goal 2) and a randomized control trial of a mindfulness-based intervention for individuals with Type 2 diabetes.
Prior to entering the Special Education doctoral program, Gwen spent five years as a high school Learning Support teacher and Reading Specialist at the Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania and two years as an elementary school Learning Support teacher at the Bellefonte Area School District in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. During her time at Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School, she was a key faculty resource in writing for the Keystones for Opportunities grant that helped target specific funds for the high school. She was also crucial in helping adapt, modify, and co-teach in multiple high school level mathematics courses as well as differentiating reading instruction in order to help meet all students’ learning needs.
Gwen received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in Special and Elementary Education from Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania and a Master of Education degree in Reading (Reading Specialist) from Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Jennifer L. Frank
Recent Presentation Activities:
Deger, G., Frank, J., & Bhana, N. (2019, November). ¡Escúchame!: Using simulations to prepare special educators to communicate positively with families with LEP. Presentation at the Teacher Educator Division Convention, New Orleans, LA.
Frank, J., Schussler, D., Kohler, K., Deger, G., Khan, L., Morris, J., & Sturtz, E. (2019, March). Development and preliminary evaluation of Project RESPECT on student and teacher outcomes using a multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) development framework. Presentation as part of a symposium (Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives to Enhance Social-Emotional Learning: Evidence for Three Randomized Control Trials) at the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
Deger, G. (2019, February). Examining Mentoring in Special Education and its Association with Special Educator Retention: A Review of the Literature. Presentation at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention, Indianapolis, IN.
Deger, G. (2018, October). Mentoring in Special Education: What Emotional Support Teachers Need. Presentation at the Teacher Educators for Children with Behavioral Disorders Conference, Tempe, AZ.
Deger, G. (2018, October). Exploring Parental Involvement: A Model for How Families of Children with High Incidence Disabilities are Involved. Presentation at the Teacher Educators for Children with Behavioral Disorders Conference, Tempe, AZ.
Deger, G. (2018, April). Exploring Epstein’s Types of Parental Involvement in Special Education. Presentation at the Behavior Analysis Research Colloquium, University Park, PA.
Deger, G. (2017, April). Mentoring in Special Education: Addressing the Needs. Presentation at the Behavior Analysis Research Colloquium, University Park, PA.