Visiting Associate Professor
Office: Pearson 204
Research and Teaching Interests
My teaching, as my training, integrates the fields of education and psychology and focuses on children and adolescents with special needs. In my courses at Swarthmore, I encourage students to view disability from a developmental and contextual perspective, and to critically examine educational policies and practices for those students who are considered atypical. Understanding disability from a theoretical perspective is an essential starting point, however, I believe the real work of educators is to develop a teaching practice that is both effective and reflective. My teaching focuses on this theory-practice connection.
My current research and writing explores notions of disability from a socio-cultural perspective and examines its implications for the teaching of children with special needs. Following a Fulbright Award to Portugal in 2007, my focus also includes issues of implementation internationally with an emphasis on how classroom practice, in particular the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education classroom, is shaped by a culture's understanding of disability.
Linn, M.I. (2011). Inclusion in two languages: A cross-cultural comparison of special education practice in Portugal and the United States. Phi Delta Kappan, May, 58-60.
Wagner, M., Spiker, D., Linn, M.I., Gerlach-Downie, S. & Hernandez, F. (2003). Dimensions of parental engagement in home visiting programs: An exploratory study. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23, 171-187.
Linn, M.I. (2001). An American educator reflects on the meaning of the Reggio Experience. Phi Delta Kappan, December, 332-334. [Reprinted in Annual Editions: Multicultural Education, Spring, 2003, McGraw-Hill/Dushkin].
Linn, M.I., Goodman, J.F., & Lender, W.L. (2000). Played out? Passive behavior in children with Down syndrome during unstructured play. Journal of Early Intervention, 23, 264-278.
Linn, M. (2005). Down syndrome: Move, play, grow. Pediatric Rehabilitation.
Linn, M. (2000). The DSM as a Second Language for the School Psychologist: A Guide to Translation. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20, 637-641.
Linn, M.I., Coelho da Silva, J. & Griggs, S. A comparison of American and Portuguese teacher attitudes towards inclusion of students with moderate disabilities in the general education classroom.
ED 23A - Special education: Adolescent Attachment
ED 26/PSYC 26 - Special education: Issues and Practice
ED 42 - Teaching the Diverse Young Learner: Typical learners, special needs learners, non- mainstream culture learners, economically disadvantaged learners, and English language learners