Amy Staples, PhD
Associate Professor, Special & Inclusive Education
Location
SEC 501
Phone
(319) 273-7468
Directory Contact
Amy Staples, PhD
Associate Professor, Special & Inclusive Education
Education
- PhD, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- MEd, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- BA, Augustana College in Rock Island, IL
Teaching Interests
- Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners
Research Interests
- Early Literacy
- Writing
- Literacy Assessment
- Literacy Methods and Access for Students with Complex Support Needs
- Assistive Technology as a Tool for Inclusion
Professional Accomplishments
- Tidwell, D., & Staples, A. (2016). The collaborative process in educators’ self-study of practice. In M. C. Dalmau, H. Guðjónsdóttir, & D. Tidwell (Eds.), Taking a fresh look at education: Framing professional learning in education through self-study. Boston, MA: Sense.
- Staples, A., & Edmister, E. (2014). The reintegration of technology as a function of curriculum reform: Cases of two teachers. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 39(2), 136-153.
- Staples, A. H., Edmister, E., Tidwell, D., & Garrett, J. (2014). Iowa Comprehensive Literacy Modules. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Education.
- Edmister, E., Staples, A., Huber, B., & Garrett, J. (2013). Creating writing opportunities for young children. Teaching Young Exceptional Children, 16(3), 24-35.
- Staples, A., & Edmister, E. (2012). Evidence of two theoretical models of writing in young children with disabilities who are beginning to learn to write. Topics in Language Disorders, 32(4), 319-334.
- Staples, A.H., Pugach, M.C., & Himes, D. (2011). Cases of technology integration in three urban elementary schools. In J Schrum (Ed.), Considerations on educational technology integration: The best of JRTE. ISTE.
- Statewide research and professional development project for educators of students with complex support needs. This was a multidisciplinary effort that positively impacted students' literacy experiences and learning, allowed for content to be integrated into our preparation programs at UNI, and resulted in several articles.
- Federal grant on integrating technology in teacher preparation programs that impacted preservice teachers'' preparation by shifting from a single standalone technology course to a "just in time, just enough" approach. An outgrowth of this grant was an article about effective technology integration at the school level that's been cited frequently.
- Big Paper research, presentations, and publications. Studying the implementation of Big Paper in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary classrooms and learning what students know and can do that far exceeds the expectations of adults and curriculum developers. Students from diverse backgrounds and intersectionality have thrived during this composition activity.