Susan Porter

Biography

I have over sixteen years of experience teaching special needs students in a variety of settings working with children and adults with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.  I also maintained a private practice during this time, in which I taught intensive reading and study skills strategies for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities.

I also served as a program consultant at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), implementing policies pertaining to teacher preparation and assisting in teacher candidate test development.  A cross-section of some of my assignments during this time: the implementation of standards specific to teaching English learners as part of the 2042 Credential reforms; the development of new standards and test specifications for bilingual credentials and authorizations; the development of standards and test specifications for the California Subject Exams for Teachers (CSET); and the development of the California Teachers of English Learners (CTEL) Standards and exam specifications.

Most recently, I taught in the School of Education at California State University, Chico, where I taught education specialist methods courses and supervised education specialist candidates and interns in their field and teaching placements.  I also co-directed several state and federal grants aimed at improving the quality of teacher preparation for general and special education teachers. 

Areas of Research

• Literacy interventions, supports, and assessments for secondary students and English learners
• Teacher preparation and competencies for education specialists
• Design of language/literacy instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Courses Taught at Redlands

• Teacher Credenital and Special Education programs

Degrees Held

• B.A., Psychology, University of California, Davis, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Davis, CA
• M.A., Special Education, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
• Ph.D., Education with an Emphasis in Language, Literacy, and Culture, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA

Licenses & Credentials

• Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential (CA)
• Education Specialist Teaching Credential—Mild/Moderate (CA)
• Education Specialist Teaching Credential—Moderate/Severe (CA)
• Resource Specialist Certificate (CA)

Professional Honors & Affiliations

• Executive Board Member, Council for Exceptional Children’s California Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CA-DADD)
• Member, Council for Exceptional Children (Teacher Education Division; Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Division
• Member, California Educational Research Association
• Member, American Educational Research Association

Selected Publications & Scholarly Presentations

• Porter, S. G., Koch, S. P., & Henderson, A. (2010). What do all these numbers mean? Data visualization as an innovative methodology for making program decisions. Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, 6(13), 163-181.
• Porter, S. G. (2008). Exploring the effects of a phonological awareness intervention on literacy efficacy and literacy progress for two middle school English learners who are also struggling readers.  Presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Reading Association. Atlanta GA: May 4 – 9, 2008.
• Porter, S. G., (2007). Policy perspectives on preparing education specialists to teach English learners.  CERA Newsletter, California Education Research Association, 1(1), 5.  Available on line at: http://cera-web.org/
• Porter, S. G. and Vega, J. (2007).  Overview of existing English language proficiency assessments. In Abedi, J. (Ed.) English language proficiency assessment in the nation: Current status and future practice (pp. 93-102; pp. 133-189). Davis, CA: University of California at Davis. Available on line at: http://education.ucdavis.edu/research/ELP_Assessment.html