![\"<p>Joseph](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/MadausTeach_fellow_lg.jpg\" "\\"Joseph")
<\/a>Madaus, who was named a 2008 University of Connecticut Teaching Fellow, says it\u2019s important for professors to set very clear expectations and standards for students: \u201cTeachers need to help students understand what these are, whether it\u2019s an assignment, an exam, or a presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says he tries to put his students in the shoes of someone with a disability.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, I\u2019ll create situations where I\u2019ll intentionally interfere with my students\u2019 learning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make the task hard for them. I might give them a reading passage that is distorted or misspelled, and they have to read it quickly and respond. Then we\u2019ll have a discussion: What does this mean? How did you feel? How could we have done this differently or better? I try to get them to understand what it\u2019s like to be a student who\u2019s struggling in a class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madaus uses PowerPoint presentations and short videos in his classes, and brings in guest speakers. Students with disabilities often speak to his classes on exceptionality.<\/p>\n
To make discussions of special education law more effective, he has students read transcripts of cases and present them to a \u201cjudge\u201d \u2013 their classmates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings the situations to life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Learning from Mentors<\/h3>\n
Madaus says he owes some of his success to former teachers. \u201cI picked up tips from the professors I had that I thought were most effective,\u201d he says. He advises his students to do the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell my students to watch their teachers,\u201d he says. \u201cTake what they do well and use it, and identify what you didn\u2019t like or found ineffective. It worked for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa Skiba, a former student, says Madaus \u201ctruly cares about his students and is dedicated to the quality of education they receive.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that he took \u201cgreat time and effort in grading assignments. For every paper or project submitted, whether it was a two-page reflection or a 10-page psychoeducational report, Dr. Madaus included thorough and meaningful comments to ensure that his students understood exactly what they did correctly and what they could improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katelyn Anderson, another former student, describes Madaus as an \u201cexemplary instructor in the field of special education. He truly possesses a wealth of knowledge in the areas he teaches,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Former student Kristen Luttati says, \u201cDr. Madaus has deeply impacted my experiences at the University of Connecticut and my experiences now as a teacher. His support and guidance continues to influence my growth as a special educator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madaus says it\u2019s important for students to feel that they\u2019re part of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to let students know that we\u2019re concerned about their growth and learning,\u201d he says, noting that he tries to learn the names of all his students and something about their interests outside the classroom.<\/p>\n
He also makes a point of responding to e-mails in a timely manner. \u201cThese sorts of things help build the sense of community, he says, \u201cand the students feel they\u2019re an important part of the class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regular Feedback<\/h3>\n
Madaus also makes an effort to give students detailed and individual feedback about their progress.<\/p>\n
For example, in an undergraduate assessment course, there\u2019s a large case study due at the end of the semester, he says. It\u2019s broken down into sections, with the first two sections due one week and the other the following week.<\/p>\n
Students bring in drafts to share with Madaus and their classmates, and he gives feedback at each stage.<\/p>\n
Students in special education need excellent writing skills, Madaus says: \u201cI try to impress upon them that writing is a professional skill. They need to be able to write well because they\u2019ll be presenting their results in a written report that will become an official document in the school. They need to be as clear and accurate as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does Madaus hope students will take from his courses? \u201cI want them to see that students with disabilities have incredible potential.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Set clear expectations, be organized, be flexible, and show enthusiasm. These are a few of Joseph Madaus\u2019s guidelines for successful teaching.<\/p>\n
An associate professor of educational psychology in the Neag School of Education, Madaus prepares teachers who will work with students with disabilities in settings ranging from kindergarten to higher education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2428,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[59],"class_list":["post-2081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-educational-psychology","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 15:02:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2081"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206882,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081\/revisions\/206882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2081"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=2081"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}