Assistant Professor of Special Education
Graduate Program Coordinator for Special Education programs
Office Location: Rounds Hall, 124E
Phone: (603) 535-2993
E-mail:  basweeneyfornauf@plymouth.edu

About Beth Fornauf

Dr. Fornauf’s teaching and research are focused on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Disability Studies, and inclusive education. Prior to coming to Plymouth State, she worked for a rural teacher residency program focused on recruiting and preparing teachers for rural New Hampshire schools. She has also worked as a project manager for the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), supporting a UDL professional learning network for New Hampshire educators.

Degrees and Education

PhD in Education, Curriculum & Instruction, University of New Hampshire
M Ed, Elementary Education, University of New Hampshire
BA, English, Villanova University

Research Interests

Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) in teacher education
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and inclusive education

Asset-based/equity-oriented approaches to curriculum in teacher education

Recent Publications

Fornauf, B., Higginbotham, T. Mascio, B., McCurdy, K., & Reagan, E.M. (2020). Analyzing Barriers, Innovating Pedagogy: Applying Universal Design for Learning in a Teacher Residency. The Teacher Educator.

Erickson, J.D., Ward, A., Chase, J., & Fornauf, B. (forthcoming) 5 Principles to Nurture Motivation within Early Reading Interventions. The Reading Teacher.

Fornauf, B. & Erickson, J.D. (2020). Toward an Inclusive Pedagogy Through Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability.

Graham, S., Evans, C., Fornauf, B. & Erickson, J. D. (2019). Methodological challenges in estimating effects of educational interventions for students with disabilities. Teachers College Record.

Reagan, E.M., Hambacher, E., Schram, T., Higginbotham, T., McCurdy, K., Lord, D., & Fornauf, B. (2019). Place Matters: Review of the literature on rural teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education.

Erickson, J. D. & Fornauf, B. (2017). Supporting primary students’ reading motivation over the summer: An investigation of teachers’ instructional literacy practices and perceptions in a thematic camp setting. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy.

Associations, Boards, and Committees

American Educational Research Association

American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE)

New England Educational Research Organization

Courses Taught

SE 6040 Curriculum Design in Special Education

SE 5400 Special Education Interventions and Strategies (Graduate)

SE 5765 Working with Families and Children: Legal and Ethical Issues

SE 5960/5961 Special Education Teaching Internship

RL 3070: Reading and Language Arts in the Elementary Classroom