Transforming Teacher Preparation Through Identity, Development, and Effective Technologies

Dr. Denise Sargent is a Professor of Special Education at Fitchburg State University where she teaches various teacher preparation courses in special education including the math methods course for teaching students with disabilities. She supervises and observes pre-practicum and practicum students in K-12 schools. Dr. Sargent is currently the Chair of the Education Department. She also teaches Understanding Diversity and Disability and Assessment for Students with and without Disabilities. Dr. Sargent has extensive experience in differentiated curriculum, testing for special education eligibility, and inclusion. She has taught in various special education settings in K-8 public schools. In addition, she has experience in educational policy and with teacher education programs. Dr. Sargent has taught in the Massachusetts Licensure Academy SE3: Mathematics for Special Educators - Content and Pedagogy. Dr. Murphy has nearly twenty years of experience in Special Education in varied teaching, research, and policy roles. She is currently an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research primarily focuses on teacher quality and professional development for teachers and administrators working with students with disabilities in both inclusive and exclusionary settings. She has also served as a researcher on two different federal research grants funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. She teaches coursework at the undergraduate and Master's level in Special Education and supervises Master's students in Special Education pursuing initial and professional licensure in Massachusetts. She has published about teacher preparation and professional development in Special Education in journals including Teacher Education and Special Education, Focus on Exceptional Children, Journal of Special Education Leadership, and Preventing School Failure. She has expertise in special education law, inclusive teaching strategies, qualitative research methodologies, and designing, implementing, and researching mixed reality simulations (i.e., Mursion, TeachLivE) as a teaching and learning tool. Prior to her career in higher education, Dr. Murphy worked for the New York City Department of Education for five years, first as a Special Education teacher and then on No Child Left Behind related operations and dissemination that pertained to students with disabilities. Dr. Murphy is an award-winning professor, and has been recognized at both the campus-level and UMass system-wide level for innovative and exemplary teaching and mentorship spanning her work with undergraduates, master's students, and doctoral-level students. She also regularly provides professional learning opportunities for Boston Public School educators about special education law, and has worked with hundreds of inservice educators across Boston.