ISET’s 2022-2023 Doctoral Fellows

Melissa Defayette, M.Ed.

Melissa Defayette, M. Ed., is a teaching and research graduate assistant entering her 3rd year as a Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Melissa has seven years of practical experience teaching students with disabilities in Maryland. Her research interests involve inclusion in core academic content areas using evidence-based practices for students with moderate to severe intellectual/developmental disabilities (MSIDD), creating inclusive classrooms for students who use AAC, changing new teacher preparation policies, and influencing state or national special education policy. She believes that using technology in inclusive classrooms provides educators the opportunity to create and implement inclusion for diverse learners.

Reagan Murnan, M.Ed.

Reagan Murnan, M.Ed., is an ASPIRE scholar and doctoral candidate who taught middle school students with high-incidence disabilities in a suburban school in Loudoun County, Virginia. She also served as her school’s special education department chair. Her major Ph.D. research interests at George Mason University involve writing interventions, incorporating writing evidence-based practices into instruction for teacher candidates, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles that can leverage student access to texts, identity development, and activism. Currently, Reagan is co-authoring a manuscript titled, Breaking Down Barriers to Representation in Adolescent Texts. She is also participating in research on a writing intervention involving a technology-based graphic organizer that also involves teacher professional development centered on data-driven decision-making. She is collaborating with a colleague on a DisCrit content analysis that will also produce a practitioner-friendly avenue for promoting social justice. Reagan is thrilled to be selected as an ISET scholar and is privileged to help provide technology-based solutions to educators, students, and parents to promote equity and access.