Webinar: The Impact of Self-contained special education classes on academic outcomes
Join us for an online webinar with keynote speakers from York University’s Faculty of Education
Dr. Aaron Richmond, Dr. Nancy Marshall, PhD candidate Ryan Collis, and PhD candidate Katherine Barron will be presenting a Systematic Literature Review titled “Examining the Impact of Self-Contained Special Education Classes on Students’ Academic Achievement, Social Belonging, and Engagement in School.”
About The Presenters
Dr. Aaron Richmond (he/him) earned his PhD in Education from York University. As a visually disabled person who attended a residential special education school, and inclusive school placements, Aaron experienced ableism throughout his education, due to the impact that teacher’s attitudes, placement decisions, as well as their curricular, and pedagogical choices (particularly in the language arts classroom) had on him. As a result of these experiences, Aaron’s scholarship focuses on the representations of disabled characters in the children’s and young adult novels that are currently being taught in Ontario schools. As part of his recently completed doctoral dissertation, Aaron has developed a new approach to culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, through which he demonstrates how teachers can challenge ableism by selecting and teaching disability themed children’s and young adult literature in a disability culturally affirming manner in the language arts classroom.
Ryan Collis (he/him) is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University, working at the intersection of education, critical disability studies, and science and technology studies. Autistic, and the father of an autistic son, Ryan focuses his research on how to improve the academic and social support provided to autistic high school students.
Ryan is a high school teacher who loves teaching and learning. He has collected a variety of degrees to make his email signature look more impressive. Ryan holds a BScH in Computer and Information Science and a BA in English Language and Literature from Queen’s University, a BEd from OISE/University of Toronto, and a BScH and MA in Science and Technology Studies at York University. His PhD research is funded through a Canada Social Science and Humanities Research Council doctoral fellowship and uses cultural probes, the shared reading of science fiction, and collaborative worldbuilding with autistic participants to examine how autistic students navigate a world that was not designed for them.
Outside of his own work, Ryan is a founding co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity, Occasional Teacher Branch President and a member of the OSSTF District 16 Teacher/Occasional Teacher Bargaining Unit executive, a member of the OSSTF provincial Equity Advisory Working Group, and first vice president of the Linitzer Society. He lives in Ajax, Ontario with his wife, son, and two cats he is allergic to.
Dr. Nancy Marshall (PhD, MA CYC, RSW) (she/her) earned her PhD in Education from York University. Her research examined lived experiences and perspectives of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) using a transformative mixed methods study design. In her roles as a youth worker and English as a Second Language teacher, she has over 30 years experience supporting children and youth in a variety of settings including schools (locally and abroad), hospitals, group homes, and other community settings. She has supported students with disabilities in special education programs for most of her career.
Currently, Nancy teaches Inclusion, Disabilities, and Education in the Bachelor of Education (BEd) program at York University. She also works as a neurodiversity-affirming child and family therapist at Ripple Effect Services in Toronto, Ontario. This year, she is launching AffirmAbility in Practice – a neurodiversity-affirming consulting business aimed to equip educators and families with practical tools to support young people using neurodiversity-affirming care and the presumption of competence.
As a neurodivergent individual with attention regulation differences, Nancy’s interests tend to fluctuate greatly. At the moment, she is obsessed with bird watching and nature.