Recent Research:
Current Projects:
Vocational Story :
When I was just ten-years-old, my heart was stolen by Russ, a young neighbor with Down Syndrome. That same year, I read the book, The Family that Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss. At the age of ten I felt called to adopt children with disabilities. My husband and I have four children, one of whom has severe autism. Johnny taught me so much and I began to teach other parents of children with disabilities, first informally, and later as a grant funded Parent Trainer. From that position, I pursued a career as a Special Educator, teaching students with learning disabilities and ADHD. My successes teaching strategies led to a move to coordinate a learning strategies program at a university, and to teaching opportunities in Special Education and Math Education courses in their teacher education program. I love teaching special education courses at É«×ۺϾþà College, energized by my interactions with students both in and out of the classroom. Because my first venture into the field of special education was motivated by faith, it is exciting to now integrate faith with empowering my students to teach "the least of these" (The Holy Bible, Matthew 25:45).
Recent Research:
Current Projects:
Recent Publications:
Selected Recent Publications:
Burchard, M.S. (2022). Interactions and gains in cultural responsiveness in pre-service teachers. Pennsylvania Teacher Educator.
Burchard, M.S., Amels, A., Hagar, K.M., and Buckley, C.M. (2022). Preparing pre-service special educators to co-teach financial literacy. Pennsylvania Educational Leadership Journal. .
Burchard, M.S. (2022). Perspectives and practical strategies for disability-related behavior challenges in ministries to children and youth. The Journal of the Christian Institute on Disability,10(1), 39-54. .
Burchard, M.S. (2021). Culturally Responsive Special Education Experiences and Efficacy Scale. .
Burchard, M. S. (2021). Finding Belonging through Children’s Books Rating Scale..
Burchard, M. and Vargas, K.H. (2020). Interactions of IEP quality and intervention self-efficacy for pre-service teachers. Pennsylvania Teacher Educator.
Burchard, M.S. and Myers, S. (2019). Early information literacy experience matters to self-efficacy and performance outcomes in teacher education. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 49(2). doi: 10.1080/10790195.2019.1582372
Selected Presentations:
International
Burchard, M.S. (February 1, 2022). Interactions of cultural responsiveness in pre-service special educators. Annual Convention and Expo of the Council for Exceptional Children. Orlando, Florida.
Burchard, M.S., Hagar, K., and Amels, A. (March 9, 2021). Preparing pre-service special educators to teach financial literacy. Learning Interactive Virtual Event: The Annual International Convention of the Council for Exceptional Children.Virtual.
Burchard, M.S., and Hipple, K. (February 7, 2020). A pilot study of IEP quality in a teacher preparation program. All Educators. Every Child. No Limits:2020 Council for Exceptional Children International Convention, Portland, Oregon.
Burchard, M.S., Clark, A.M., and Rossi, O. (February 5, 2020). Ambitious defensible IEP goals for students with greatest needs. All Educators. Every Child. No Limits:2020 Council for Exceptional Children International Convention, Portland, Oregon.
Burchard, M.S., Hegman, R., Kasper, L., and Rossi, O. (February 1, 2019). Writing IEPs that guide intervention practice. Every Child No Limits. 2019 Council for Exceptional Children International Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Burchard, M.S. (January 31, 2019). Implementing the VISION strategy: Endrew F Supreme Court case translated into practice. Every Child No Limits. 2019 Council for Exceptional Children International Convention, poster session. Indianapolis, Indiana.
National
Burchard, M.S., Cass, A., and Chen, J. (June 25, 2022). Teaching special educators to critically evaluate children’s books for cultural responsiveness. American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition. Washington, D.C.
Myers, S.K., and Burchard, M.S. (July 22, 2019). Formative assessment: Identifying and É«×ۺϾþÃing student success in information literacy processes. American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition. Washington, D.C.
State
Burchard, M.S. (October 27, 2022). Interactions and gains in cultural responsiveness in pre-service educators. Harrisburg: Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators.
Burchard, M.S. (October 2, 2021). Preparing pre-service special educators to co-teach personal finance. Thinking É«×ۺϾþà Things Differently, Annual Convention of the Pennsylvania Council for Exceptional Education. Blue Bell, PA.
Burchard, M.S., and Brezan, T. (October 2, 2021). Pre-apprenticeship program design: Integrating transition planning with future readiness experiences. Thinking É«×ۺϾþà Things Differently, Annual Convention of the Pennsylvania Council for Exceptional Education. Blue Bell, PA.
Burchard, M.S., and Vargas, K.H. (October 28 2020). Interactions of IEP quality and intervention self-efficacy for pre-service teachers. 2020 Teacher Education Assembly, Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators Conference. Virtual.
Hogan, S., and Burchard, M.S. (October 9, 2020). AAC for Special Olympics. Promoting Resilience for All Learners: 61st Annual Convention of the Pennsylvania Council for Exceptional Children. Virtual.
Burchard, M.S., Hazen, D. (October 23, 2019). Leading as models for learning of content and pedagogy. Listening, Learning and Leading: 2019 Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators Conference. Harrisburg, PA.