Dr. Gwendolyn Deger
Lecturer
Teacher Education & Leadership Studies
Beeghly Hall 2401
phone: (330) 946-2441
Bio
Dr. Gwendolyn K. Deger received her Ph.D in Special Education at Pennsylvania State University with a focus on research methodology and statistics in 2021. Prior to her Ph.D., Dr. Deger taught for seven years as a learning support (special education) teacher in Pennsylvania where she worked with students with high incidence disabilities (specific learning disabilities, other health impairment, emotional behavioral disorders, autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, etc.). She is a big advocate for inclusive, culturally sustaining practices that revolve around trauma informed teaching.
Research Interests
Dr. Deger's research interests revolve around four main themes: teacher wellbeing, gamification, behavior, and parental involvement. The interest in these four areas stem from the current teacher shortage and experiences as a special education, her own experiences in teaching, and her own experiences of being a parent of three children with special education needs.
Recently, Dr. Deger introduced a themized gamified introduction to special education course where students explored a school with a Great Dane canine and his four adolescent friends on why students were being removed from the classroom. The initial findings revealed that students were more involved in class, had higher levels of enjoyment of the course, and had higher perceived value of inclusive practices for students with varying disabilities.
Dr. Deger also recently published a manuscript on the discussion topics in mentorship sessions for beginning special education teacher, particularly those at the highest risk of attrition.
Teaching Interests
Dr. Deger's teaching interests revolve around high engagement activities that allow for students to interact with peers to construct their learning, which includes embedding game-based elements into non-game settings. Dr. Deger's passion is working on preparing preclinical and student teachers for developing classroom and behavior management practices that are inclusive, culturally sustaining, restorative justice, and trauma informed. She currently teaches several courses in Behavior Management, IEP writing, Educational Teaching Strategies, Differentiated Teaching Practices, and Diagnosing/Intervening in Mathematics.