معرفی
Gina Braun serves as a Lecturer of Education at the School of Education, Dominican University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on preparing pre-service and in-service special education teachers. Her instruction emphasizes disability characteristics, literacy development, behavior management, and equity-centered pedagogy. She presents annually at national conferences and provides consultation services to local schools and families regarding student support systems.
- PhD (in progress), Special Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
- MEd, Special Education, Loyola University Chicago
- BS, Elementary Education, Indiana University Bloomington
Dr. Braun's research focuses on equitable access for students with disabilities, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her work examines reading comprehension challenges in ASD students, including difficulties with inferential thinking, figurative language interpretation, and generalization across texts. She advocates for multi-modal instruction, visual supports, and structured literacy frameworks while emphasizing the importance of student-centered adaptations over rigid program fidelity.
Her publications address:
- Adaptation of WonderWorks curriculum for ASD students
- Implementation of gradual release models (modeling → guided practice → independent work)
- Use of graphic organizers and anchor charts for comprehension scaffolding
- Addressing social-emotional barriers in text-based discussions
Professional contributions include:
- Presentations at National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference (2023)
- Keynote at American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Conference (2021-2022)
She previously taught special education in Chicago Public Schools and served as an instructional coach for new teachers.
