College of Education
Special Education
http://education.illinois.edu/edpsy/edpsy/frp/gaffneyj
Faculty Research Profiles: Janet Gaffney
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Professor
Special Education
270F Education Building
1310 S. 6th St. MC 708
Professor, Special Ed
Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning
Educational Psychology
Research Biography
Janet S. Gaffney is a professor in the Department of Special Education with affiliate appointments in the Departments of Educational Psychology and Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her research focuses on developing teachers' expertise to facilitate the independent literacy learning of children and youth with and without disabilities who are not making adequate progress. She works collaboratively with district partners to design organic, high-impact, system-wide, long-term, professional development opportunities that lead to documented and sustainable literacy outcomes for children. Her theoretical approach is that effective literacy learning-teaching interactions are grounded in purposeful oral and written communication (including assisted and augmentative communication) and that learning, including academic learning, begins prior to school and occurs across the lifespan.
She has co-edited two books and authored numerous articles and chapters, including "Trends in Reading Research in the United States" with Richard C. Anderson in the Handbook of Reading Research, Vol. III (2000). She is a past recipient of the Alan C. Purves Research Award of the National Council for Teachers in English and was appointed an Associate in the Center for Advanced Study at the University. She was also the recipient of the 2006 College of Education’s Graduate Teaching Award and the 2007 University’s Distinguished Graduate and Professional Teaching Award. She is Associate Chair of the Reading and Literacy White Paper for the National Academy of Education’s Transition in Education policy recommendations for the next presidential administration. She has been the PI, co-PI, or Senior Scientist of federal and foundation research and personnel preparation grants. Through multiple Spencer grants, she participated on the Learning-to-Read-Chinese research team. She is currently collaborating with faculty across campus on an National Science Foundation grant on Entrepreneurial Leadership in STEM teaching. She serves on the Editorial Boards of multiple journals including Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Literacy Research, and Teacher Education and Special Education. She is an active member of committees for the American Education Research Association, National Reading Conference, International Reading Association, and the Council for Exceptional Children.
Degrees
- Ph.D., Special Education, Arizona State University, 1984
- M.Ed., Special Education, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1975
- B.A., English, Saint Louis University, 1971
Key Professional Appointments
- Adjunct, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois, 2004--
- Affiliate, Curriculum & Instruction, University of Illinois, 2002--
- Associate Professor, Special Education, University of Illinois, 1994--
- Senior Researcher, Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois, 1988--
- Assistant Professor, Special Education, University of Illinois, 1988-1994
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Special Education, University of Illinois, 1987-1988
- Assistant Professor, Special Education, University of Mississippi, 1984-1987
Activities & Honors
- Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching, Office of the Provost, 2007-2008
- Editorial Board Member, Reading Research Quarterly, 2006-2008
- Graduate Teaching Award, College of Education, 2006-2007
- Faculty Associate, Center for Advanced Study, 2004-2005
- Recipient, Kay Meginnis Memorial Grant, 2004
- Editorial Board Member, National Reading Conference, Journal of Literacy Research, 2001- present
- Alan C. Purves Research Award, National Council of Teachers of English, 1999-2000
- Undergraduate Teaching Award, College of Education, 1998-1999
- Illinois Faculty Fellow in Service Learning, Illinois Campus Compact for Community Service, 1998-1999
- Board of Reviewers, Board of Reviewers, Teacher Education and Special Education Journal, 1984- present
Grants
- Principal Investigator, Availability and Use of Informational Texts in Second, Third, and Fourth Grade Classrooms, Campus Research Board, 2006
- Principal Investigator, Literacy Leadership & Curricular Access for All, Quincy Public School District # 172, 2006
- Co-Principal Investigator, Preparing Leaders in Access by Design (PLAD), U.S. Department of Education, 2006
- Principal Investigator, Project Jump Start: The Effects of Individual Tutoring on Preschool Children's Literacy Learning, Campus Research Board, 2005
- Senior Personnel, Effects of Group & Individual Interventions on Emerging Literacy Skills in Preschoolers, U.S. Department of Education, 2003
- Principal Investigator, Grade Retention and Special Education: Double Jeopardy, Campus Research Board, 2003
- Principal Investigator, Teaching for Access to Standards and Curriculum - Project TASC, U.S. Department of Education, 2000
Selected Publications
- March, E. Z., & Gaffney, J. S. (in press). Relational identities of students, families, and educators: Shaping educational pathways. Remedial and Special Education.
- Gaffney, J. S., Ostrosky, M., & Hemmeter, M. L. (2008). Books as natural support for young children's literacy learning. Young Children. 63 (4), 87-93.
- Wu, X., Anderson, R. C., Li, W., Shu, H., Jiang, W., Chen, X., Packard, J., & Gaffney, J. S. (in press). Morphological awareness and Chinese children’s literacy development: An intervention study. Scientific Studies in Reading.
- Ostrosky, M. M., Gaffney, J. S., & Thomas, D. V. (2006). The interplay between literacy and relationships in early childhood settings. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 22(2), 173-191.
- Packard, J., Chen, X., Li, W., Wu, X., Gaffney, J. S., Li, H., & Anderson, R. C. (2006). Explicit instruction in orthographic structure and word morphology helps Chinese children learn to write characters. Reading and Writing, 19(5), 457-487.
