UNC School of Education

Assistant Professor of Special Education

Coordinator of Special Education: General Curriculum Program

T 919.843.1979
melmillr@email.unc.edu

201F Peabody Hall
CB 3500

Melissa Miller, who received all three of her higher education degrees from the University of Florida, is an assistant professor of special education. She received her Ph.D. in special education in May 2007, focusing on reading instruction for students with learning and behavior problems.

After earning her baccalaureate degree, Miller worked as a special education teacher in Ocala, Fla. for eight years. In 2001, she achieved National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification in Severe Disabilities.

Her additional professional experience includes teaching several courses - both in-class and online - at the University of Florida, and serving as a research assistant at the Florida Center for Reading Research. Additionally, she worked as a research assistant on several grants funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, including Project PASS (Promoting Academic and Social Success), a model demonstration project focusing on academic and social skills instruction for children at risk for reading and behavior failure.

Miller's professional affiliations include the American Educational Research Association, the International Reading Association and the Council for Exceptional Children.

• Ph.D. - University of Florida, Special Education
• M.Ed. - Univeristy of Florida, Special Education
• B.A. - University of Florida, Special Education

• Prevention and remediation of academic difficulties for students with learning and behavior problems
• Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction and Special Education
• Research Overview

• Special Education: Master's in Education for Experienced Teachers; Special Education Licensure; Elementary Education; Early Childhood, Intervention & Literacy

• 2009 Graduate Student Association Exemplary Teaching Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 2008 Most Read Article in Intervention in School and Clinic, July and August

• 2009-2010 Social Science Seed Grant for Multidisciplinary Research: Using Collaborative Reading Groups in Inclusive Science Classrooms
  Funding Source: The Odum Institute
  Dates: June 2009-June 2010
  Amount: $12,000
  Role: Principal Investigator
• 2009-2010 Online Course Development Award
  Funding Source: Summer School
  Dates:  June 2009-August 2010
  Amount: $15,000
  Role: Principal Investigator/Course developer
• 2008-2009 UNC Lateral Entry Course Development Proposal
  Funding Source: UNC General Administration
  Dates: January 2008-August 2009
  Amount: $17,123
  Role:  Co-Principal Investigator (Harriet Boone)
• Project ABC123: Promoting School Readiness in Literacy and Mathematics Funding Source: Research Triangle Schools Partnership
  Dates: August 2008-June 2009
  Amount: $10,785
  Role: Principal Investigator
• Significant Cognitive Impairments: A Personnel Preparation Consortium (SCIPP). Personnel preparation grant submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. Assisted Principal Investigator Diane Ryndak with grant preparation. Total grant $200,000 submitted Summer, 2006. Funded September, 2006.

• American Educational Research Association
• Council for Exceptional Children
• International Reading Association
• Association for Positive Behavior Support

Miller, M. A., Fenty, N. S., & Scott, T. M. (in press). Examination of the effects of social skills instruction in the context of small-group reading instruction. Remedial and Special Education.

Miller, M. A. & Fenty, N. S. (2009). Functional academic adaptive skills. In P. Harrison & T. Oakland (Eds.), Adaptive behavior assessment system II: Clinical use and interpretation (93-112). Elsevier: San Diego, CA.

Parks, K. P., Loman, S. & Miller, M. A. (2009). Social skills instruction for students with severe disabilities.  In P. Harrison & T. Oakland (Eds.), Adaptive behavior assessment system II: Clinical use and interpretation (197-214). Elsevier: San Diego, CA.

Fenty, N. S., Miller, M. A., & Lampi, A. R. (2008). 20 ways to successfully embed social skills instruction in the inclusive curriculum. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(3), 186-192.

Al Otaiba, S., Conner, C., Lane, H., Kosanovich, M. L., Schatschneider, C., Dyrlund, A. K., Miller, M. A., & Wright, T. L. (2008). Reading First Kindergarten classroom instruction and student growth in phonological awareness, letter naming, and decoding fluency.  Journal of School Psychology, 46(3), 281-314.

Miller, M. A. (2005) Using peer tutoring in the classroom: Applications for students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. Beyond Behavior, 15(1).

Fenty, N. S., Butler, T. W., Miller, M. A., Lingo, A. S. (2009). The effects of computer-based and print-based fluency instruction on students at risk for reading failure. Paper presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading’s annual conference.  Boston, Massachusetts.

Miller, M. A., Nichols, K., Schieman, B. L. & Wright-Butler, T. (2009). Project ABC123: Promoting school readiness in literacy and mathematics. Poster presented at the Council for Exceptional Children’s annual conference. Seattle, Washington.

Miller, M. A., Bentsen, E. A., Schieman, B. L., & Zorigian, K. A. (2009) Improving the social and communication skills of students with autism. Poster presented at the Council for Exceptional Children’s annual conference. Seattle, Washington.

Miller, M. A., Zorigian, K. A., & Jordan, A. (2009). Improving the writing and reading comprehension of students with behavior problems using web-based publishing. Paper presented at the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders’ annual conference. Kansas City, Missouri.

Bentsen, E. A., Miller, M. A., & Kingsley, S. (2009). Teacher interactions with students with behavior/learning problems in inclusive classrooms. A paper presented at the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders’ annual conference.  Kansas City, Missouri.

Miller, M. A., Bentsen, E. A., & Zorigian, K. A. (2009). Music therapy within the choral group setting: Developing speech/language and social skills for high school students with autism and/or developmental disabilities. A poster presented at the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders’ annual conference.  Kansas City, Missouri.

Miller, M. A., Fenty, N. S., & Lingo, A. S. (2009). Using technology to improve reading comprehension in students with disabilities: A cross-university study. A poster presented at the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders’ annual conference.  Kansas City, Missouri.

Butler, T. W., Lane, H. B., & Miller, M. A. (2008). Vocabulary and comprehension with children in primary grades: A comparison of instructional strategies. Paper presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading’s annual conference.  Asheville, North Carolina.

Miller, M. A. & Fenty, N. S. (2008). Social skills instruction as a targeted group intervention. Paper presented at the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders, Kansas City, Missouri.