Trina D. Spencer

Dr. Spencer is a senior scientist and director of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at University of Kansas and professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science. She holds courtesy appointments with the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders and Department of Special Education. Drawing from school psychology, speech-language pathology, applied linguistics, education, and behavior analysis, she concentrates her efforts on the oral academic language that serves as a foundation to the reading and writing skills of preK to 3rd grade students, with and without disabilities. Benefitting from strong collaborations with practitioners and other researchers, Dr. Spencer conducts clinical practice research employing an implementation science framework and a variety of single case, hybrid, and group study designs to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and sustainability of interventions. One of her major areas of focus has been on Multi-tiered Systems of Support models for schools, with special attention to the iterative development of assessment and intervention tools to promote early literacy and language and reading comprehension. Pre- and post-doctoral researchers working with Dr. Spencer learn to apply behavior analysis to interdisciplinary and general education issues such as professional development, instructional design, development and implementation of effective interventions, and the promotion of academic language. Her interventions and assessment tools are used broadly in the United States, but also internationally.