Stephanie MacFarland, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies, College of Education. She teaches in the field of severe and multiple disabilities, specializing in preparing teachers to instruct students with complex support needs, including deafblindness and autism spectrum disorders, while advocating for systems change and inclusive educational best practices. She is the Director of the Teacher Preparation Program in Severe and Multiple Disabilities, a state accredited certification program. In addition, she is the director of Project FOCUS, an inclusive college program designed to support accessibility for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to academic courses, internships, and campus life in order to increase each student’s communication and social skills, self-determination, and employability with the engagement and support of same-age peer mentors. She was a Fulbright Scholar and studied with Dr. Jan van Dijk in The Netherlands who was a renowned educator and researcher in deaf-blind education. Her research has focused on curriculum theory and development for learners who are deafblind; teacher preparation; inclusive education; instructional strategies in communication development; collaborative teaming; and perceptions of fieldwork experiences.
