Introduction to Contemporary Special Education: New Horizons

An interactive, straightforward approach to special education from the directors of the IRIS Center

Introduction to Contemporary Special Education: New Horizons presents an introduction to the professional practices, trends, and research that define contemporary special education while also conveying the diversity and excitement of this changing field.

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Deb Smith was the recipient of the 2015 Pearson/International Council for Exceptional Children's Teacher Education Division (TED) 2015 Excellence in Teacher Education Award. She has also received distinguished alumni awards from two of her alma maters: Pitzer College and the College of Education at the University of Washington. She, with Naomi Tyler, co-directs the IRIS Center and is also Professor, School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. The IRIS Center is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP); Project Number H325E120002). The IRIS Center is charged with providing the nation's college faculty, professional development providers and independent learners with interactive modules and other training materials about evidence-based practices that improve results for all children and youth who struggle to learn, particularly those with disabilities.

In addition to 14 major textbooks, including Contemporary Special Education: New Horizons' first edition; seven editions of Introduction to Special Education: Making a Difference, which is translated into Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese; and Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Classrooms, she has authored multiple editions of two other texts. She also has written more than 31 chapters and book supplements, 60 refereed articles and reports as well as many instructional materials for children. Much of her research has focused on the supply and demand of special education faculty. Since 1984, Deb has served on the Board of Trustees for Pitzer College and Claremont Colleges and was recognized as a Life Trustee in 2003.

Naomi Tyler is an Associate Professor of the Practice in Special Education at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, consistently ranked as one of the top two special education programs in the country. Naomi teaches the Introduction to Exceptionality course, and much of her work on this text is based on her own classroom teaching and on feedback from her students. She has devoted her career to improving the education of students with disabilities. In her role as codirector of the IRIS Center, she ensures that instructional resources used in teacher education incorporate evidence-based practices via the translation of research to practice. IRIS Center resources are used worldwide, as evidenced by use in 226 of the 230 countries monitored by Google Analytics. Since 2013, educators worldwide have visited the IRIS website over 5 million times, accessing the instructional resources posted there. In 2015, over 84% of all colleges and universities in the US with approved special education teacher preparation programs used IRIS resources in their personnel development efforts.

She is the coauthor of the 7th edition of Introduction to Special Education: Teaching in an Age of Opportunity and the coauthor of the 1st edition of Introduction to Contemporary Special Education: New Horizons. She brings her skills, experience and expertise in technology applications to this new edition of New Horizons, making it an engaging and interactive experience for students. Prior to working in higher education, she spent 10 years as a special education teacher working with students from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, in both rural and urban settings.

Kim Skow is the program coordinator and a lead content developer for the IRIS Center at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Since 2004, Kim has translated research into practice through her lead role in creating, developing and producing dozens of instructional modules, the Center's signature resources. Because of her keen talent for providing clear and concise presentation of information, she has made difficult to understand content comprehensible, engaging and accessible to college students who possess a wide range of abilities and interests. She has brought those talents and skills to New Horizons, 2nd edition, across a wide range of topics about instructional and behavioral issues related to struggling learners and students with disabilities.

Previously, she worked on federally funded projects that investigated children's social development and adjustment, and those life experiences that increase the risk of developing conduct problems and antisocial behavior. Kim uses her practical experience in implementing academic interventions to help make examples found in this text real and proper models for others to follow when applying knowledge to skills in classroom settings.