Dr. Stephanie Peterson, Ph.D. - Department Chair-Professor and Program Leader for the Special Education Program
Stephanie Peterson earned her Ph.D. in Special Education at The University of Iowa in 1994. Her dissertation focused on how different dimensions of reinforcement (e.g., duration of reinforcement, quality of reinforcement) affected children’s choices between displays of communication and displays of problem behavior. She became so interested in this area that she has continued this line of research and is currently working on a research project that will evaluate how different dimensions of reinforcement can affect children’s choices between displays of communication, problem behavior, and engagement in classroom tasks. On a practical level, Dr. Peterson hopes that this line of research will help classroom teachers develop choice-making interventions that are positive in nature, that produce increases in classroom skills, and that produce decreases in problem behavior without using punitive procedures.
Before coming to Idaho State University, Dr. Peterson taught in the Special Education programs at Gonzaga University, Utah State University, and The Ohio State University. She left the East to come to Idaho State University because she missed the mountains, arid climate, and the culture of the intermountain west. Idaho State University also offered Dr. Peterson and her husband, Dr. Lloyd Peterson (who also has his doctorate in Special Education), to work together at the same university because it had two positions available in the Special Education program at the same time. Dr. Peterson enjoys the program’s strong emphases on explicit instructional techniques and positive behavior supports, both of which are aligned with her own interests and philosophy of education.
In addition to her work interests, Dr. Peterson enjoys spending time with her husband and 9-month old daughter, Elsa. Additional interests include a variety of crafts, such as book making, rubber stamping, and sewing, as well as outdoor activities, such as bicycling, horseback riding, and camping.
Vita: Updated 10/07
Courses:
SPED 423/523 Designing Instruction
SPED 446/546 Secondary Special Education
SPED 448/548 Prepracticum: Moderate Handicap
SPED 480/580 Seminar in Special Education
SPED 485/585 Independent Problems
SPED 495 Special Education Teaching Internship
SPED 498/598 Advanced Field Work
SPED 630 Professional Development in Special Education
SPED 638 Practicum in Special Education
SPED 639 Internship in Special Education
SPED 650 Thesis
SPED 652 Specialist Paper
SPED 658 Independent Problems
SPED 759 Educational Specialist Internship
Contact Information:
Phone: (208) 282-3552
Office: 1550 E. Terry Street,
Building 62, Room 207
Campus Box 8059
Pocatello,
Idaho 83209-8059
Email: peteste4@isu.edu