Dr. Lucy Hart Paulson is an assistant professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders with a research focus on the connection between language and literacy. She has been a speech and language pathologist and literacy specialist for years working with young children and their families in public school, Head Start, clinic, and university settings.
Another interest focus is providing professional development for educators and care providers in deepening their understanding of the foundations of literacy. Lucy presents a unique and broad-based perspective blending areas of language and literacy together resulting in effective and engaging language-based literacy interventions for children. She has provided professional development for a variety of audiences across the United States and internationally. Lucy is the lead author of the Early Childhood Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), Building Early Literacy and Language Skills, a resource and activity guide for young children, and also for Good Talking Words, a social communication skills program for preschool and kindergarten.
Lynne Sanford Koester received her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976. Since that time, she has taught in the Department of Child Development and Family Relations at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, done post-doctoral research at the Max-Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, and has been a Research Scientist at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. In 1993, Dr. Koester joined the faculty of the Psychology Department at The University of Montana in Missoula, where she is currently a Professor of Developmental Psychology. She is also the Program Director of a new Master's Degree in Intercultural Youth and Family Development, a partnership between The University of Montana and the United States Peace Corps. Dr. Koester's research interests focus on parent-infant interactions, the impact of deafness in early childhood, and cross-cultural perspectives on development.
Field Of Study:
Infant and Early Child Development, Parent-Infant Interactions, Deafness in Early Childhood, Intercultural Influences and Variations
Current research interests: (1) interactions between deaf infants and their parents; (2) "intuitive parenting" strategies; (3) interactions between mothers, fathers, and young children; 4) cultural variations in parenting
Ph.D., The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1976
M.S., The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1974
B.A., Sarah Lawrence College, 1967
Donna Mell, B.A., Graduate Studies in Special Education, Certified Special Education Teacher K-12, has extensive experience in teaching literacy in classroom, small group and individual settings in public and private schools K-12. Currently she is in private practice, and is the Project Coordinator of the Title II Grant, Advancing Language and Literacy for Adolescent Students at the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at The University of Montana.
Marion Warner Nielson, M.A., graduated from the University of Montana with a Master of Arts degree in English Linguistics and ESL certification in the fall of 1998. Marion has taught English as a Second Language at the English Language Institute at the University of Montana and for UM International Program's Special Programs. Marion is currently a post-baccalaureate student in the leveling program of the returning Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at the University of Montana; set to enter the graduate program in the fall of 2009.
