Guy Martin

Background

About Guy Martin

I recently finished my Ph.D. in special education at Vanderbilt University Peabody College. My doctoral research focused on reading development for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and coaching supports for paraeducator classroom personnel. Since 2018, I have participated in an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) that examines the effects of coaching on dependent measures of paraeducator knowledge and skill. In this study, paraeducator personnel are randomly assigned to implement an intensive early literacy or early numeracy intervention to a student with IDD in a one-on-one format. My primary responsibilities pertained to designing and maintaining the project’s data management systems, overseeing the student assessment program, and providing formative support to the project’s instructional coaches on strategies to improve adherence to the study’s coaching protocol. I worked for four years as a special education teacher in a high-needs secondary school in the South Bronx. At the School for Tourism and Hospitality, I worked in both co-teaching and special classroom settings across multiple subject areas. I supported students' full participation in the general education curriculum by writing and designing IEPs to address their academic and behavioral skill deficits. I entered teaching through the New York City Teaching Fellows program and was further supported by my coursework at LIU-Brooklyn. I learned about disability theory, curricular modifications, and special education compliance in my masters degree program. This aided my professional practice and ignited my interest in pursuing special education more fully.