Talia Amara

Background

Talia Amara is on the faculty of the Department of Teacher Education and holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. Before Porter, Talia directed an early-childhood center.

Talia's research focuses on special education and inclusion, with related work in assessment and data-informed teaching; undergraduates are involved in the lab most terms.

Areas of expertise

• Special education and inclusion
• Assessment and data-informed teaching
• Undergraduate research and project mentoring

Teaching

Talia regularly teaches courses in Education, Early Childhood Education, Career & Technical Education. Specific sections and syllabi are listed in the class schedule each term.

Courses lean on current problems from the field: students read recent work, reproduce a result or method, and then extend it. Talia builds in low-stakes practice before graded work and gives written feedback on drafts.

Advising and office hours

Talia advises students in the Teacher Education programs and holds weekly office hours during the fall and spring terms, posted on the office door and in the course pages. Prospective students are welcome to email to arrange a visit or a call.

Advising conversations usually cover course sequencing, whether to add a minor or a concentration, and how classroom work connects to internships, research, or graduate study. Students who are undecided are welcome; part of the job is helping them narrow things down.

Recent and representative work

Talia's recent activity is a mix of peer-reviewed work, conference talks, and student-involved projects in special education and inclusion and assessment and data-informed teaching. Representative items:

• A peer-reviewed article on special education and inclusion in a disciplinary journal.
• A conference paper on assessment and data-informed teaching, co-authored with an undergraduate researcher.
• An internally funded project applying special education and inclusion to a regional partner's problem.

Titles and venues here are illustrative. UW–Porter Falls is fictional; Talia has no real publication record.

Get in touch

The fastest way to reach Talia is email (tamara@uwporterfalls.edu); messages during the fall and spring terms are usually answered within two business days. Prospective students and families can ask the Teacher Education department office to set up a call, a class visit, or a meeting during an admitted-student day.