Beth Tuckwiller
Dr. Beth Tuckwiller is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the George Washington University. She earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Virginia, and holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling Psychology. Dr. Tuckwiller was trained in the field of mental health counseling, and focused her clinical work on children and adolescents. She also taught high school students identified with emotional, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities, and co-coordinated school-based social, emotional, and behavioral programming to improve educational experiences and outcomes for students.
Currently, Dr. Tuckwiller researches the construct of school-based wellbeing, a holistic construct addressing psychosocial, nonacademic factors that are important, yet often underresearched, considerations in the experiences and outcomes of all individuals in academic settings. She and her interdisciplinary research team explore the personal and environmental components of school-based wellbeing for K-12 students, teachers and administrators, with a particular focus on supporting and improving practices in special education. Dr. Tuckwiller is also deeply committed to understanding and supporting school-based wellbeing in higher education settings, and focuses specifically on graduate student wellbeing. She serves as the lead faculty member for the GSEHD Wellbeing Initiative at GW, where she and her team explore the interactions among individual wellbeing, and social, cultural, and community wellbeing (at both the macro and micro levels) for graduate students, and engage in community-building and evidence-based practices to improve wellbeing for all GSEHD students.
Dr. Tuckwiller is a faculty affiliate at the GW Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute and a Center Associate at GW's Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. She serves as an advisory board member for both the GW Center for Applied Developmental Science and Neuroeducation and GW's ISCOPES service learning initiative.
EdFix Podcast - Episode 3: The Power and Potential of Positive Psychology for Students with Disabilities Is it possible to teach students to develop traits such as optimism, growth mindset, hope, perseverance, and resilience to help improve well-being and educational outcomes? Dr. Beth Tuckwiller and Dr. William Dardick talk about their joint research into the field of positive psychology--its potential for changing students' experiences in the classroom and the challenges of measuring its subjective factors.
Education
Ph.D., University of Virginia
M.S., Radford University
B.S., Virginia Tech
Publications
Dardick, W. R., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (in press). Optimism shapes mindset: Understanding the association of optimism and pessimism. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education.
Tuckwiller, E. D., Dardick, W. R., & Kutscher, E. L. (2019). A mixed methods investigation of mindset, grit, optimism, and self-determination in adolescents with learning disabilities and differences. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 24(1), 19-32
Kutscher, E. L., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2018). Persistence in higher education for students with disabilities: A mixed systematic review. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000088
Tuckwiller, E. D., & Dardick, W. R. (2018). Mindset, grit, optimism, pessimism, and life satisfaction in university students with and without anxiety and/or depression. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 6(2), 32-48.
Tuckwiller, E. D., Dardick, W. R., & Kutscher, E. L. (2017). Profiles of and correlations among mindset, grit and optimism in adolescents with learning disabilities: A pilot study. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 6(1), 44-63.
Tuckwiller, E. D., & Dardick, W. R. (2015). Positive psychology and secondary transition for children with disabilities: A new theoretical framework. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 4(1), 3-20.
Pullen, P. C., Tuckwiller, E. D., Ashworth, K., Lovelace, S. P., & Cash, D. B. (2011).
Implementing intensive vocabulary instruction for students at risk for reading disability. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 26(3), 145-157. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5826.2011.00334.x
Azano, A., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2011). GPS for the English classroom: Understanding executive dysfunction in secondary students with autism. Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(6), 38-43. doi: 10.1177/004005991104300604
Tuckwiller, E. D., Pullen, P. C., & Coyne, M. (2010). An investigation of at-risk kindergarten students’ responses to a two-tiered vocabulary intervention: A regression discontinuity design. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 25(3), 137-150. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5826.2010.00311.x
Pullen, P. C., Tuckwiller, E. D., Maynard, K. M., Konold, T. R., & Coyne, M. (2010). A response to intervention model for vocabulary instruction: The effects of tiered instruction for students at risk for reading disability. Learning Disabilities
Research & Practice, 25(3), 110-123. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5826.2010.00309.x
Lindstrom, J. H., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2009). Extended test time, read aloud and student characteristics: A summary of empirical findings. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 15(3), 93-104.
Lindstrom, J. H., Tuckwiller, E. D., & Hallahan, D. P. (2008). Assessment and eligibility of students with disabilities. In E. Grigorenko (Ed.), Educating individuals with disabilities: IDEIA 2004 and beyond (pp. 197-225). New York: Springer Publishing.