Michael Faggella-Luby, Ph.D.

Dr. Faggella-Luby is a Professor of Special Education and Core Faculty of the Alice Neeley Special Education Research and Service (ANSERS) Institute.

Dr. Faggella-Luby teaches courses related to preparing educators to evaluate, select, plan, and implement research-based methods and instructional materials for teaching students with and without disabilities who are at risk for failure. His scholarly interests focus on learning disabilities, literacy, reading education, special education, diverse learning needs, instructional design, secondary education, and school reform. He has written publications related to cognitive learning strategies, response-to-intervention (RtI)/scientifically research-based instruction (SRBI), self-determination, literacy, and urban school reform.

Dr. Faggella-Luby’s primary research interest focuses on embedding instruction in learning strategies into subject-area courses to improve reading comprehension for all levels of learners. He received the 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities and the 2007 Annual Dissertation Award from CEC’s Division of Learning Disabilities for his dissertation study Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction: Story-Structure Pedagogy in Secondary Classes for Diverse Learners.

Before joining the faculty at TCU, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut, including positions as research scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER) and associate research scholar at the Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED).  Dr. Faggella-Luby was a doctoral fellow at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning under the direction of Drs. Donald Deshler and Jean Schumaker. Dr. Faggella-Luby is a former high school administrator and teacher of both English and Chemistry.

Education

Ph.D., Special Education
University of Kansas
2006

M.Ed., Secondary Education
University of Notre Dame
2000

B.A., English
College of the Holy Cross
1998

Academic Areas

• Special Education
• Learning Disabilities
• Literacy
• Secondary and Post-Secondary Education
• Instructional Methods

Research Areas

• Implementation of specific evidence-based pedagogies and interventions
• Investigation of components of reading comprehension instruction associated with the burgeoning field of adolescent literacy
• Identification of critical systemic variables associated with school reform and intervention implementation

Professional Achievements

• 2012 Michael Pressley Award for a Promising Scholar in the Education Field
• 2009 Neag School of Education Early Career Scholar Award
• 2007 Annual Dissertation Award, Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Learning Disabilities
• 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award, Council of Learning Disabilities