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College of Education and Human Development - George Mason University

Dr. Sheri L. Berkeley
PhD, George Mason University
Professor
Special Education
Director, PhD in Education
Research Methodology

Contact Information

Send email to Dr. Berkeley

Phone: (703) 993-9689
Fax: (703) 993-3681
Email: sberkele (@gmu.edu)

George Mason University
Fairfax Campus
Finley Building 212
4400 University Dr.
MS 1F2
Fairfax, VA 22030

Profile

Sheri Berkeley is a Professor in the Division of Special Education and disAbility Research at George Mason University.  She earned her Ph.D. from George Mason in 2007.  Her dissertation study that investigated self-regulation and reading comprehension outcomes for secondary students with learning disabilities was awarded both the Outstanding Achievement and Academic Excellence for PhD in Education Award from the Graduate School of Education at George Mason and the Award for Outstanding Doctoral Level Research from the Division of Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. 

Dr. Berkeley is a recipient of Mason’s 2015-16 Emerging Researcher/Scholar/Creator Award for exceptional promise in her discipline (https://www2.gmu.edu/news/237346).  Her research focuses on understanding how to improve the self-regulation of learning of adolescents with learning disabilities.  She is particularly interested in improving educational outcomes for students with reading disabilities.  She is first author of a recent textbook, “Maximizing Effectiveness of Reading Comprehension Instruction in Diverse Classrooms” (2015), and her research has been published in top tier education research journals.

Currently, she is the principal investigator on a multi-year, cross-disciplinary NSF project (DRL-1420448, $813,329) investigating the self-regulation of students with learning disabilities during a project-based science activity, and a supplemental Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant ($11,534) to foster undergraduate interest in research careers related to STEM.  In the project, students with learning disabilities are taught strategies to foster self-regulation of learning while developing a Serious Educational Game that demonstrates their knowledge of advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy sources. Contemporary approaches to measuring self-regulation processes are being utilized as well as novel approaches to data collection.  Findings are expected to increase foundational knowledge of how to best foster self-regulation of science learning for students with learning disabilities. More information about the NSF project can be found at: https://kihd.gmu.edu/research/stem-up/

Dr. Berkeley is currently theimmediate past president of the International Council for Learning Disabilities.  She served as program chair of the 39th Annual Conference of Learning Disabilities held in Baltimore, MD on October 17-18, 2017 (https://council-for-learning-disabilities.org/2017-annual-conference)

Research Interests
  • Students with language-based learning disabilities
  • Reading
  • Strategy Instruction
  • Self-regulation
Recent Publications

Book

Berkeley, S., & Taboada Barber, A. (2015). Maximizing effectiveness of reading comprehension instruction in diverse classrooms.  Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.

 

http://products.brookespublishing.com/Maximizing-Effectiveness-of-Reading-Comprehension-Instruction-in-Diverse-Classrooms-P793.aspx

 

Peer Reviewed Publications

Berkeley, S., & Riccomini, P. J. (2017).  Academic progress monitoring.  In J. M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P.C. Pullen (Eds.), Handbook of special education (2nd edition).  New York, NY: Routledge.

Berkeley, S., King-Sears, M., Vilbas, J., & Conklin, S. (2016).  Textbook characteristics that support or thwart comprehension: The current state of social studies texts.  Reading & Writing Quarterly, 32, 247-242. 

Berkeley, S., Kurz, L., Boykin, A., & Evmenova, A. (2015).  Improving comprehension with digital text: A meta-analysis of interventions.  International Journal for Research in Learning Disabilities, 2, 8-43.

Berkeley, S., King-Sears, M. E., Hott, B. L., & Bradley-Black, K. (2014).  Are history textbooks more “considerate” after 20 years?  Journal of Special Education, 47, 217-230.

Berkeley, S., & Riccomini, P. J. (2013). QRAC-the-Code: A comprehension monitoring strategy for middle school social studies textbooks.  Journal of Learning Disabilities, 46, 154-165.

Lai, S. A., & Berkeley, S. (2012).  High stakes test accommodations: Research & practice. Learning Disability Quarterly, 35, 158-169. 

Berkeley, S., Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T.. (2011).  Reading comprehension strategy instruction and attribution retraining for secondary students with learning and other mild disabilities.  Journal of Learning Disabilities, 44, 18-32. 

Berkeley, S., Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2010).  Reading comprehension instruction for students with learning disabilities, 1995-2006: A meta-analysis.  Remedial & Special Education, 31, 423-436.

Berkeley, S., Bender, W. N., Peaster, L. G., & Saunders, L. (2009).  A snapshot of progress toward implementation of responsiveness to intervention (RTI) throughout the United States.  Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 85-95.  

Mastropieri, M. A., Berkeley, S., Scruggs, T. E., & Marshak, L. (2008).  Strategies for improving content area instruction: Findings from recent research.  Insights on Learning Disabilities, 5, 73-88. 

Berkeley, S. (2007).  Middle schoolers with reading disabilities in book club? Teaching Exceptional Children Plus, 3(6), Article 5.

Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T.E., Norland, J. J., Berkeley, S., McDuffie, K., Halloran Tornquist, B., & Conners, N. (2006).  Differentiated curriculum enhancement in middle-school science: Effects on classroom and high-stakes tests.  Journal of Special Education, 40, 130-137.