Elizabeth Finnegan Ed.D. is the Director of Graduate Education and oversees the graduate programs in the School of Education. As an Assistant Professor of Special Education, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in special education and literacy. She earned a BA (Hons) in American Literature and American History from the University of Sheffield, England, a MEd. in Special Education from William Paterson University, NJ and a doctoral degree in Research in Special Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, NY.
Prior to coming to St. Thomas Aquinas College in 2009, Dr. Finnegan was a public school teacher, working with students with a range of disabilities, from autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities to emotional and behavioral disorders. She also has experience working with families in Early Intervention.
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Buckingham (England), B.A. in American Studies from University of Sheffield,
M.Ed. in Special Education from William Paterson University, Ed.D. in Research in Special Education from Columbia University
CURRENT INTERESTS
Reading Comprehension Children with Cognitive Impairments and/or Autism Spectrum Disorders
Teacher Preparation of Students with Mild/Moderate Disabilities
PUBLICATIONS
Finnegan E.G. & Accardo A.L. (in press) Written Expression in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Accardo A.L., & Finnegan E.G. (in press) Teaching Reading Comprehension to Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Discrepancies between Teacher and Research Recommended Practices. Autism.
Accardo A.L., Finnegan, E.G., Gulkus, S.P. & Papay, C.K. (February, 2017). Teaching Reading Comprehension to Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Predictors of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy. Psychology in the Schools.
Finnegan, E.G., & Mazin, A.L. (May, 2016) Strategies for Increasing Reading comprehension skills in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A review of the literature. Education and Treatment of Children.
Finnegan, E.G., & Mazin, A.L. (December, 2015). Teaching reading comprehension strategies to students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Initial analysis of a survey on current classroom practices. Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Online Journal.
Finnegan, E.G. (2012). Two approaches to phonics instruction: Comparison of effects with children significant cognitive disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
Finnegan, E.G. (2004). What does it mean to participate in a community of inquiry and for the community of inquiry to grow? Critical and Creative Thinking 12 (1).
Walker, E.G. (1993). Two minutes difference. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 18(5) 309.
PRESENTATIONS
Finnegan, E G. and Accardo, A. L. (2017, April) Written Expression in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-Analysis. Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention and Expo, Boston, MA.
Finnegan, E.G. (2016, November) GPA Matters: The relationship between student engagement, professional dispositions and academic achievement. 30th Annual TED Conference, Lexington, KY
Finnegan E., and Mazin, A.L. (2015, January) Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Current Classroom Practices. 16th International Conference in Autism, Intellectual Disability and Developmental Disabilities, Clearwater, FL.
Howorth, S., Finnegan E., and Mazin, A.L. (2015, January) Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What the research is really telling us? 16th International Conference in Autism, Intellectual Disability and Developmental Disabilities, Clearwater, FL.
Finnegan, E. (2015, January) Shared Values in US Special Education Community. Global Conference in Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Shared Values. A conference held at St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY.
Howorth, S., Finnegan E.G., Mazin, A.L, & Charles, S. (2014, November)Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Works? In this panel presentation researchers were able to describe and discuss their ongoing studies. New York State Council for Exceptional Children, Conference, Syracuse, NY.
Mazin, A.L, Finnegan E.G. and Marinelli, V. (2014, November) One for All or Just for One: Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies. This presentation explained different research-based strategies to teach reading comprehension to students with mild/moderate disabilities. New York State Council for Exceptional Children, Conference, Syracuse, NY.
Finnegan, E. (2014, June). Teaching Fractions Using Explicit Instruction. Workshop presented at Council for Exceptional Children New York State Student Leadership Conference, Buffalo, NY.
McAlenney, A., Finnegan, E., Gilson, J. and Mathison, A. (2014, April) Teaching Writing and Monitoring Progress for Diverse Learners. Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention and Expo,, Philadelphia, PA. This presentation focused on expository writing and the importance of assessment in making instructional decisions for struggling learners.
Finnegan, E. and Mazin, A.L. (2014, April) Reading in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Overcoming Barriers to Comprehension. Poster presented at Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention and Expo, Philadelphia, PA.
Finnegan, E.G. and Reynolds, S. (2014, January). Developing Ideas About Proportional Reasoning. The Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey, Jersey City, NJ.
Finnegan, E.G., Mazin A. L., and Smith, L. (2013, October). Reading Comprehension and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Problem of Understanding.New York State Council for Exceptional Children, Conference, Melville, NY.
Finnegan, E.G. (2013, February). Common Core Standards: Implications for Special Education. Rockland Reading Council, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY.
Finnegan E.G. and Reynolds, S. (2013, January). Success for Struggling Students: Addressing the Common Core in Designing Instruction in Fractions. Workshop presented at the Mathematics and Special Education Conference, The Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey, Jersey City, NJ.
EDSP 241 Exceptional Children
EDSP 344 Strategies for Behavior Management
EDSP 345 Autism and Low-Incidence Disabilities
EDSP 347 High Incidence Disabilities
EDSP 412 Teaching Methods: High Incidence Disabilities
GESP 5304/14 Literacy: Reading and Writing Instruction
GESP 5307/17 Instructional Strategies
GESP 5309 Collaboration Skills for the Special Educator
GESP 6105 Special Education Practicum (Childhood 1-6)
GED 2102 Reading and Language Development
GESP 2605 Autism and Low-Incidence Disabilities
GESP 2606 Mild/Moderate Disabilities: Teaching Methods
GESP 2703 Instructional Strategies: Secondary