Differentiating Science Instruction and Assessment for Learners With Special Needs, K–8 (ePub)

education from Emporia State University and a Bachelors degree in psychology and special education from Emporia State University. As a faculty member in special education, she teaches an undergraduate introductory special education course and graduate special education methods and research courses.

With over two decades in the profession she has established a consistent record of scholarly publications and presentations, which address her interests in providing strategies and supports for teachers who work with children with learning and/or behavioral concerns. Specifically, her research has focused on collaborative processes including peer coaching, co-teaching, and preassessment.

Dr. Ormsbee is very active in teacher education. She is serving on her second term as a commissioner on the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation, is a member of the Oklahoma P-20 Education Council and serves on the advisory board for the State Board of Educations’ State Improvement Grant. Ormsbee served as an Associate Editor of the journal Intervention in School and Clinic until 2009 and now serves as a field reviewer for this journal and other special education-related journals.



Dr. Mary Jensen has been a professor of Special Education at Western Illinois University (WIU) in Macomb, IL since 1990. She teaches college students to be outstanding special education teachers for students with mild to moderate disabilities. The special education courses she teaches are related to behavior management methods and characteristics and teaching methods for students with mild to moderate disabilities. Dr. Jensen’s past experience includes teaching special education students in the elementary grades in public school and high school students in residential treatment.

Dr. Jensen has been honored to receive the Outstanding Teacher award at WIU in 1993 and 2006. In 2008, she won the Teaching with Technology Award and the WIU Provost’s Award for Teaching with Technology. In 2009 and 2010, Dr. Jensen was a recipient of the WIU Honoring our Professors of Excellence (HOPE) Award

Dr. Jensen makes presentations for professional development at schools, conferences, and for other organizations on a variety of special education topics for teachers and parents. Topics include proactive and positive behavior management methods, differentiated instruction methods, ADHD, social skills, and bully behavior. The programs focus on practical yeaching and management skills and content that will help students with mild to moderate disabilities increase academic achievement and improve social skills and behavior.