Directory » DEBRA MCKEOWN
DEBRA MCKEOWN
Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. McKeown recently joined the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture after more than five years at Georgia State University where she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education. She received her doctorate in Special Education from Vanderbilt University where she trained under Drs. Karen Harris and Steve Graham. McKeown also has ten years of classroom teaching in various settings including charter, urban and international schools. She currently conducts intervention research in the area of writing. Most of her work focuses on impoverished urban settings where she works at both the teacher and student levels. She presents her work at national and international conferences and publishes in top tier journals. She is currently co-PI on a federal grant to demonstrate the efficacy of a writing intervention combining teacher instruction and an intelligent tutor to improve writing outcomes for elementary aged children.

Education
Ph.D., Special Education, Literacy, Vanderbilt University (2012)
M.Phil., Anthropology, Chinese University of Hong Kong (2008)
M.A., Varying Exceptionalities, University of South Florida (1997)
B.A., Anthropology, University of South Florida (1996)
COURSES TAUGHT
EDCI715. ACAD WRIT INTL GRAD
2020A
RDNG361. ASSESSMENT IN RDNG
2018C
RDNG604. RDNG DIAGNOSIS
2020C,2019A
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Highlighed Publications
Harris, K., & McKeown, D. (2022). Overcoming barriers and paradigm wars: Powerful evidence-based writing instruction. Theory Into Practice. DOI:10.1080/00405841.2022.2107334 [
Graham, S., McKeown, D., Kiuhara, S., & Harris, K. R. (2012). A meta-analysis of writing instruction for students in the elementary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(4), 879-896. doi.org/10.1037/a0029185
Books and Monographs
Graham, S., Gillespie, A., & McKeown, D. (2013). Writing: Importance, development, and instruction. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 26(1), 1-15. doi.org/10.1007/s11145-012-9395-2
Harris, K. R., Graham, S., Mason, L., McKeown, D., & Olinghouse, N. (2018). Self-regulated strategy development in writing: A classroom example of developing executive function processes and future directions. In L. Metzer (Ed.), Executive function in education: From theory to practice (2nd edition). Guilford Press.
McKeown, D., & FitzPatrick, E. (2018). Planning. In Best practices in writing Instruction. S. Graham, C. MacArthur, & M. Hebert (Eds). Guilford.
McKeown, D., & FitzPatrick, E. (2018). Planning to write is planning to succeed: Word architects need blueprints too. In Best Practices in Writing Instruction. Graham, S., MacArthur, C., & Hebert, M. (Eds). New York: Guilford.
Geiger, W., Michelson, A. M., McKeown, D., Barton, J., Kleinhammer-Trammill, & Steinbrecher, T. (2014). Patterns of special education teacher licensure. In P. S. Sindelar, E. D. McCray, M. T. Brownell, & B. Lignugaris/Kraft (Eds.), Handbook of research on special education teacher preparation. Routledge, Taylor, & Francis.
Journal Articles
McKeown, D., Wijekumar, K., Owens, J., Harris, K., Graham, S., Lei, P., & FitzPatrick, E. (Accepted, Jan 2023). Professional development for evidence-based writing instruction: Elevating fourth grade outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, Article 102152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102152 [published with student]
McKeown, D., & Williams, M. (2023, in press). Essentials of writing pedagogy for preservice teachers with considerations for those teaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Beyond Behavior. [published with student]
Michael, E. L., Ray, A., & McKeown, D. (2022) Assessment for effective strategy instruction in writing. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 66(4), 327-332. DOI: 10.1080/1045988X.2022.2076642 [published with student]
FitzPatrick, E., & McKeown, D. (2021). Writing from multiple source texts: SRSD for fifth grade learners in inclusive settings. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1111/ldrp.12257
McKeown, D., & FitzPatrick, E., Ennis, R., & Sanders, S. (Eds.) (2021). Self-regulated strategy development: A framework for effective instruction across the content areas. [Special issue], Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 36(3), 184-187. DOI: 10.1111/ldrp.12256
FitzPatrick, E., & McKeown, D. (2020). How to use audio feedback to improve students’ writing quality. Teaching Exceptional Children. 53(1), 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059920908901 [published with student]
FitzPatrick, E., & McKeown, D. (2020). Meeting the needs of middle school writers in a special education classroom: SRSD for the informational genre citing text-based evidence. Education and Treatment of Children,43,71-84. doi.org/10.1007/s43494-020-00006-2 [published with student]
McKeown, D., FitzPatrick, E., Ennis, R., & Potter, A. (2020). Writing is revising: Improving student writing through individualized asynchronous audio feedback. Education and Treatment of Children, 43, 35-48. [published with student]
McKeown, D., FitzPatrick, E., Brown, M., Brindle, M, Owens, J., & Hendrick, R., (2019; Online 05.29.18). Urban teachers[48]19 implementation of SRSD for persuasive writing following practice-based professional development: positive effects mediated by compromised fidelity. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 32, 1483-1506. doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9864-3 [published with student]
Stuckey, A., & McKeown, D. (2019). High school teachers[48]19 use of behavior prompting and specific praise: An exploratory study. Research in the Schools, 26(1), 35-47. https://tinyurl.com/sfbtpaw [Acceptance rate: 26%
McKeown, D., FitzPatrick, E., Brown, M., Brindle, M, Owens, J., & Hendrick, R., (2018). Urban teachers' implementation of SRSD for persuasive writing following practice-based professional development: Positive effects mediated by compromised fidelity. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 32, 1483-1506. doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9864-3 [published with student]
McKeown, D., Brindle, M., Harris, K. R., Graham, S., & Collins, A. A. (2016). Illuminating growth and struggles using mixed methods: Practice-based professional development and coaching for differentiating SRSD instruction in writing. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 29, 1101-1140. doi.org/ 10.1007/s11145-016-9627-y
McKeown, D., Kimball, K., & Ledford, J. (2015). Effects of asynchronous audio feedback on the story revision practices of students with emotional/behavioral disorders. Education and Treatment of Children, 38, 541-564. doi.org/10.1353/etc.2015.0020
McKeown, D., FitzPatrick, E., & Sandmel, K. (2014). SRSD in practice: Creating a professional development experience for teachers to meet the writing needs of students with EBD. Behavioral Disorders, 40(1), 15-25. doi.org/10.17988/0198-7429-40.1.15 [published with student]
Book Chapters
FitzPatrick, E., McKeown, D. & Brown, M. C. (2022). “Nothing continued to happen”: Addressing attrition, lack of fidelity, and other barriers to implementation in high-poverty, high-mobility urban settings. In Xinghua, K.L., Hebert, M., & Alves, R.A. (Eds.) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Writing Research: A Festschrift.
Harris, K. R., Camping, A., & McKeown, D. (in press). A review of research on professional development for multicomponent strategy-focused writing instruction: Knowledge gained and challenges remaining. In F. DeSmedt, R. Bouwer, T. Limpo, & S. Graham (Eds). Conceptualizing, designing, implementing, and evaluating writing interventions. Brill Publishing
Schrodt, K., FitzPatrick, E., & McKeown, D. (2022). Adapting in-service professional development to meet the needs of preservice teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic through design-based research. In Baumgartner, E., Kaplan-Rakowski, R., Ferdig, R. E., Hartshorne, R., & Mouza, C. (Eds.) A retrospective of teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.
FitzPatrick, E., Ennis, R. P., & McKeown, D. (2022). Writing instruction for students with disabilities (and other struggling writers): Current research and implications for research and practice. In Lane, K. L., Lemons, C., & Powell, S. (Eds.) Handbook of Special Education Research, Volume II: Research-based Practices and Intervention Innovations. Routledge. eBook ISBN 9781003156888 https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003156888-10/writing-instruction-students-disabilities-struggling-writers-erin-fitzpatrick-robin-parks-ennis-debra-mckeown
FitzPatrick, E., McKeown, D., & Schrodt, K. (2020). Asynchronous audio feedback: Time- and space-flexible writing instruction. In Ferdig, R.E., Baumgartner, E., Hartshorne, R., Kaplan-Rakowski, R. & Mouza, C. (Eds.) Teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from the field (pp. 717-723). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/
Schrodt, K., FitzPatrick, E., & McKeown, D. (2020). In-service teachers’ technology integration for young learners: Using QR codes to extend knowledge building with non-fiction picture books. In Ferdig, R.E., Baumgartner, E., Hartshorne, R., Kaplan-Rakowski, R. & Mouza, C. (Eds.) Teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from the field (pp. 705-710). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & McKeown, D. (2013). The writing of students with LD and a meta-analysis of SRSD writing intervention studies: Redux. In L. Swanson, K. R. Harris, & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of Learning disabilities (2nd Edition). Guilford Press.
Other Publications and Presentations
McKeown, D. (2019). Quick fix. Professionalism rubric: A tool to avoid conflating content knowledge with professional behaviors in academic assessments. College Teaching, 67(4), 252–253. doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2019.1650708
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Development of Foundational Literacy Skills to Kindergarten and Grade-1 Children in High-poverty (Low SES) Schools through Systematic, Explicit, and Multisensory Instruction
Co-PI (). US Department of Education - Institute of Education Sciences (Federal)
2019-07-01 — 2023-06-30
Longitudinally Exploring Effects of Language Learning on Reading, Executive Function, and Dispositions of Elementary Students (LEELLE)
Co-PI (). US Department of Education - Institute of Education Sciences (Federal)
2019-07-01 — 2023-06-30
Catapult #5
PI. TAMU CEHD (State)
2018-11-01 — 2020-05-01
Efficacy of a web-based writing partner (We-Write Persuasively) to improve writing persuasive essays for 5th grade students
Co-PI. US Department of Education - Institute of Education Sciences (Federal)
2018-07-01 — 2022-06-30
Promoting Improvements in Teacher Quality Through Massively Open Online Professional Development
Co-I (). US Department of Education (Federal)
2018-07-01 — 2021-06-30