Special Education Teacher Leadership and Professional Development for Improved Instructional Practice

Dr. Jordan Shurr is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Founding Director of the ADD*Ed (Autism and Developmental Disabilities- Education; www.addedrg.ca) Research Group in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. He has worked for the past 20 years in various roles toward successful outcomes and inclusion of individuals with disabilities. His work in schools has included teaching students with significant support needs at the preschool and elementary levels in both inclusive and specialized settings. Additionally, Dr. Shurr served as an assistive technology consultant for students with a range of disabilities from preschool to high school. In this role, he collaborated with families and various specialized school-wide team members to assess, plan, and support the delivery of appropriate instruction and professional staff development. As a professor, Dr. Shurr has worked in both the USA and Canada. His university-level teaching for pre-service and in-service teachers and graduate student mentorship has included a range of topics in special education such as assessment, instructional methods, disability characteristics, intersectionality, universal design for learning, research methods, post-school transition, and early intervention. In terms of research, Dr. Shurr is focused on improving the opportunities and outcomes for individuals with disabilities through innovative academic supports and understanding the experiences and needs of teachers who support students with disabilities. He has published work on interventions for increased access to math and literacy skills for students with autism and intellectual disability, strategies for teacher self-development, as well as co-edited a volume of texts on research-based practices for the classroom. He is engaged in local, national, and international service through school training and research partnerships, his work as associate editor of Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, board leadership in the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children, and cross-national collaborations in Ghana, Denmark, and Sweden.