March 27, 2015

Budig Special Education Teaching Professorship Award

Department of Special Education
University of Kansas
Dear Chair and Members of the Honors and Awards Committee,
I am nominating myself, Suzanne Robinson, for consideration of the Budig Teaching Professorship in
Special Education. I believe that I exemplify the values and mission of this department to advance
academic excellence in teaching with respect for and about individuals with dis/abilities. I am a tenured
Associate Professor of Special Education (1.0 FTE) with 30 years of experience at the University of
Kansas. In the following paragraphs, I would like to reflect on my commitment to quality teaching
organized by the criteria for this award (noted in bold print) and grounded in my philosophy of teaching.
Demonstrated Commitment to the Departments Preparation of Special Education Professionals
Over my tenure at KU I have taught primarily in the High Incidence disabilities teacher preparation
program. I have taught the introductory Characteristics course, all of the Instructional Methods courses,
the Professional and Family Collaboration course, and Practica. Besides teaching these core special
education teacher preparation classes, I have also taught the initial course in Special Education for general
educators, and doctoral courses on Special Education Teacher Preparation.
Beyond delivering these courses, I designed them, and the programs in which they embed for both special
and general education preparation programs at KU. I have employed a reciprocal process of research and
development with engagement of educators in the field and school systems in which effective instruction
is enacted. As examples, I designed the course on Professional Collaboration before collaboration entered
into Kansas teaching standards but an obvious need in the field. Our KU Special Education students
needed to understand and practice effective collaboration if they were to be successful in facilitating
inclusive environments for students with disabilities. I brought master teachers from the field in to work
with KU faculty on developing practica expectations so that learning experiences were situated in real
contexts and informed by challenges practicing teachers faced.
All of these experiences are components that emanate from a coherent conceptual framework centered on
the importance of life-long learning by teachers and the responsibilities of teaching students who struggle
within schools situated in unique families and communities. Some experiences focus on the individual preparing KU students, regardless of their path, to be highly effective educators in addressing the needs of
students with and without disabilities. Other experiences focus on the development of teacher preparation
programs and systems that develop or support teachers, instruction, and learning. My philosophy of
teaching is grounded by the goals and desired outcomes for students enrolled in our program, their
professional practice as teachers/leaders, knowledge about special education pedagogy and research, and
the systems that support effective learning and teaching. With these goals and outcomes in mind, my
approach to instruction is based on student engagement, development of critical thinking, knowledge
acquisition of evidence-based practice, proficiency in the application of evidence-based practices, and
dispositions toward social justice and advocacy for those who struggle in school, specifically those with
disabilities.

Exemplified the responsibilities and qualities commensurate with aspects of the Departments
mission statement.
Not only have I focused my teaching efforts on developing highly effective special educators, I have also
contributed to national leadership on innovation and best practice in special education. I served as VicePresident through President of the Teacher Education Division of CEC 2010-2013. Im completing a
model demonstration research study on tiered supports at the HS level (OSEP, 2010-2015). Currently I
am PI for KU as part of the CEEDAR Center (a national technical assistance center to states on Teacher
Preparation policy and practice) funded by OSEP, serving as a state lead in Connecticut and Missouri
educator preparation reforms, as well as on the CEEDAR national leadership team. These are a few
examples of how I enact the departments mission to promote education as a fundamental right of all
through engagement with political, social, and institutional interests, while grounding innovation in
practice and partnership with teachers, schools, districts, state, and national institutions.
Evidence of teaching excellence at KU for at least the past five years, including evidence of quality
instruction, interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation and creativity of instruction methods, and
the incorporation of scholarship, originality of thinking, and research in teaching efforts.
Most often, students come to our programs with experience as teachers, as employees within public
school systems, and certainly as products of schools and with personal experience as K-12 students. Yet
their cognitive schema about disability in the context of current society, educational systems, their
potential role and responsibilities to students, families, and other educators is often inaccurate or limiting
of individuals, or at a minimum, incomplete. Therefore, it is important to both assess the prior knowledge
of my students and build on it. It is also important for my students to understand their instructional
contribution in the larger context of societal expectations of schooling as well as their responsibility in
informing others about the social construct of disability, its fluidity, and the impact of disability on the
lives of individuals. Thus, my approach to instruction is to nest learning the knowledge and skills of
teaching literacy and other academic disciplines, learning about collaboration with others in creating a
universally designed and accessible learning environment in this larger context.
Engagement is critical to learning. Therefore my instruction incorporates many opportunities for students
to engage by: summarizing what one understands, participating in critical discourse with peers, practicing
learned strategies with others and by ones self, with their students in classrooms, receiving feedback, and
reflecting. I provide multiple pathways for students to engage in knowledge acquisition (text, web, video,
audio, etc.), to choose source material and learning opportunities that best meet their needs, and to select
from multiple options to demonstrate mastery.
Students also need to develop critical thinking skills in the context of their potential roles and
responsibilities as educators in the area of special education. In this regard, it is important that they
develop a clearly and specifically articulated schema about how learning occurs, how to scaffold learning,
and how to support the development of confident and independent learners. To assist students in
developing this understanding, I use concept formation strategies and techniques, and then provide
practice opportunities with specific case studies to ground their understanding in practical applications.
Regularly, I model the strategies I want them to use with their students in our learning, so that they can
see, experience, and reflect on what strategy instruction looks like and feels like.
I strive to be current and informed about evidence-based and emerging directions in scientifically sound
practice. Students must have access to the best information the field has to offer, understand the science
that underlies what they are reading, hearing or seeing, and learn how to translate research into practices
that are individually and developmentally appropriate to the learners they will teach, or that will inform
the research in which they will engage.
Am I successful? My course ratings are consistently higher than the department average across all of the
classes Ive taught. Some example comments grabbed verbatim from course evaluations over the past
five years: Provided modeling. Encouraged active engagement. The material I learned in her class, I

could immediately apply or use in my classroom. And lastly, Shes an awesome instructor. And Dr.
Robinson is an amazing professor, who truly wants to support students.
I share with my students that I am a learner also, and am constantly incorporating new information into
the courses I teach so that what students learn is evidence based, relevant, and will lead to their being
highly effective special education teachers.
Demonstrated interest and commitment to the teaching mission of the Department and the School
Beyond the evidence listed previously, I facilitated Professional Development School engagement by
Special Education at the inception of the KU PDS system acting as a school liaison, sitting on the PDS
governance committee as well as chairing it (1991-1996). Ive collaborated with our KU C & T faculty
over the decades on developing the special education minors (1980s), then special education course
sequences for the general educator preparation programs (1990s), co-taught on the topics of
accommodations and UDL planning in C & T methods courses as part of a State Improvement grant I
wrote (2000s), and am now collaborating with C & T faculty on the development of a blended
general/special education program leading to an initial teaching license in both areas (2010s). I have
served on the Special Education TEC as member and/or chair throughout my time at KU, and have served
on the SOE TEC committee as the departmental representative for over 10 years. In all of these venues, I
contribute to the department and school mission to address complex challenges by applying research to
practice in meaningful ways. Currently, I direct the development and management of our online Special
Education teacher preparation programs.
Mentored and advises student including chairing masters and doctoral research, along with
regular coursework advising responsibilities.
I advise two groups of graduate students; a) students completing a high incidence special education
endorsement/masters degree, and b) students completing a doctoral degree. I approach both groups with
a mentorship framework, providing accurate and timely information about their program, and then
support, experiences, and feedback that facilitate their reaching their goals. The range and intensity of
mentoring varies depending on student goals. However, by knowing my students, I strive to provide
what is needed. For masters students, besides providing guidance and support, I try to help them
envision their potential as teachers, change agents, or other leadership roles that might be in their future.
For doctoral students, mentorship is a critical component of the entire doctoral experience. I believe
doctoral education is equal parts coursework, engagement in ongoing knowledge creation work (research
and development), and mentorship in professional roles in higher education or education leadership.
Through attentive, informative, and collegial advising, my responsibility is to facilitate my students
accomplishing their goals.
My commitment to Special Education teacher preparation and quality general education teacher
preparation is clearly evident in my career-long work in every aspect of KU preservice teacher
preparation, and inservice/systems collaboration work with schools and districts across the nation. My
commitment to students and quality teaching is a current that flows through my years at KU and is
evident through past and present activities and responsibilities. I believe I exemplify what the Budig
Teaching Award is meant to recognize.
Respectfully,

Suzanne M. Robinson