Stephanie Gardner

Dr. Stephanie Gardner is a faculty member in the Department of Early Childhood Education and Exceptionality Programs’ Special Education Program. She is also a certified QPR Institute instructor providing suicide prevention training through the McDowell Institute and serves as undergraduate program coordinator for the Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness PDE Endorsement at Commonwealth University. Dr. Gardner currently teaches courses focused on positive behavior supports and supervises dual-certification student teachers. She has a rich research background including evidence-based practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, socio-sexuality education for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and in recent years, has worked on several projects and publications focused on training preservice teachers in trauma-informed practices as well as using multimedia technology to improve classroom management practices and self-reflection skills. Prior to transitioning into higher education, Dr. Gardner worked with some wonderful students in her roles as an elementary learning support teacher and middle school life skills teacher.

In addition to impacting her field through teaching and scholarship, Dr. Gardner values her active role in The Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE), currently serving her second term as an At-Large Board Member. Through her involvement in PAC-TE, she was appointed to serve on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Committee on Education Talent Recruitment to address the teaching shortage and develop a new Career & Technical Education Pathway for Pennsylvania schools to help strengthen the future pipeline of secondary students pursuing careers in the education field. She has been awarded several McDowell Institute Faculty Fellowships and the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity on her campus, as well as honored with a statewide recognition by PAC-TE for Teacher Educator of the Year in 2021.

Courses Taught

Commonwealth University of PA-Bloomsburg campus (CU) / Bloomsburg University (BU)

• SPECED 100: Orientation to Special Education (BU)    
• SPEC 406/506: Positive Behavior Supports (CU/BU) 
• SPEC 489/589: Student Teaching Professional Seminar (CU/BU) 
• SPEC 490/590: Dual Student Teaching I (CU/BU) 
• SPEC 491/591: Dual Student Teaching II (CU/BU) 
• SPEC 592: Special Education Student Teaching  
• DEAFHH 491: Student Teaching in Dual Deaf I (BU) 
• DEAFHH 492: Student Teaching in Dual Deaf II (BU)

Recent Publications

• Gardner, S. J., Empson-Shultz, D., Boerckel, B. U., & Knoster, T.K. (accepted-in review). Fostering trauma-informed teachers within a regional community of practice. In O. Scheper, M. Brennan, & P. E. Bernhardt (Eds.), Developing trauma-Informed teachers: Intentional partnerships to create classrooms that foster equity, resiliency, and asset-based approaches. Information Age Publishing.
• Knoster, T. & Gardner, S. J. (2024). Trauma-informed teaching and behavior supports: Fostering wellness in the classroom. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, Inc.
• Drogan, R., Gardner, S. J., Dean, M. & Schlotter, K. (2023). Fostering intentionality and reflection in pre-service teachers’ use of behavior specific praise. Pennsylvania Teacher Educator, 22(1), 33-44.  https://www.pac-te.org/files/journal/Fall_23_PTE_-_Drogan%2C_Gardner%2C_Dean%2C_Schlotter.pdf
• Drogan, R., Gardner. S.J., Lylo, B.J. & Reid Brown, C. (2022). Lessons learned: Using technology to teach an international audience. PAECT: Technology Education Research Journal. 5-2021 (1).
• Lylo, B.J., Drogan, R., & Gardner. S.J. (2022). Intentional selection of technology tools: Instruction and Application for Pre-Service Teachers. PAECT: Technology Education Research Journal. 4-2020(1).
• Drogan, R. & Gardner. S.J. (2021, April). Video self-reflection to improve effective classroom instruction. McDowell Institute: Fostering Wellness Through Education Quarterly Newsletter, 6-7.
• Raski, J. & Gardner, S. J. (2020). Using TPACK to guide successful technology integration. Teachers Connecting to Advance Retention and Empowerment (T-CARE) Peer-Reviewed Newsletter: Special Edition on Equity, Access, and Social Justice, 10, 9.
• Gardner, S.J., Drogan, R., & Knoster, T. (2020) Integrating comprehensive trauma informed supports in teacher preparation. Pennsylvania Teacher Educator, 19, 53-63. https://view.publitas.com/p222-9062/integrating-comprehensive-trauma-informed-practices-in-teacher-preparation-ol8a8rrejml6/page/1