Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) - College of Education and Human Development - George Mason University
About KIHd
About Us

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) is an interdisciplinary campus-based organization focusing on improving the lives and productivity of children and adults with disabilities. KIHd combines the resources of the university with local, state, regional, national, public, and private sector agencies and organizations to develop products, services, and programs for persons with disabilities.

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Licensure, Certificates & Training Grants

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) collaborates with a consortium of Virginia universities to offer training/licensure options for teachers of students with visual impairments and severe disabilities. Distance education makes the programs more accessible and maximizes the number of individuals who can receive the training.

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students, parents, professionals attending state of the art conference
VDOE Grants

With the support from Virgina Department of Education KIHd serves teachers, parents, therapists, and community service providers by providing a variety of continuing learning experiences via annual workshops, conferences, and project activities. In many cases, KIHd uses distance education to provide teacher training and professional development across the state.

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Project We Got It
Research

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) continues to build and support numerous educational research projects that vary across disciplines spearheaded by the Mason faculty members. Our goal is to increase evidence based instructional and behavioral strategies to improve academic outcomes for all students with disabilities.

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Leadership Grants
DOCTORAL AND MASTERS STUDENTS

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) doctoral and masters students conduct cutting edge research at George Mason University that is aimed to serve persons with disabilities and their families.

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Program Description

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Scholar Competencies

Project TURTLES has been developed to prepare special education leaders who are well-qualified to plan and supervise effective instruction, interventions, and services that improve outcomes for children with disabilities in a variety of settings using a variety of modalities. By the end of the project, scholars will demonstrate competency in (a) evidence-based interventions and services, (b) special education leadership, and (c) program evaluation

Project Components

Project components are interconnected to foster the development of well qualified and effective special education leaders through:components image (a) coursework with embedded field experiences at the scholar's current place of employment, (b) cross-site activities designed to foster communication and collaboration with stakeholders, and (c) systematic and individualized mentoring based on scholar needs.

Coursework with Embedded Field Experiences

    Scholars at each of the three participating sites will engage in
  • special education leadership coursework that addresses the Administrator of Special Education Professional Leadership Standards identified by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) within the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC),
  • special education coursework that will develop their skills and capacity for effective planning and supervision of specialized instruction and services that result in improved outcomes for children with disabilities, and
  • research methods coursework that emphasizes the knowledge and skills needed to conduct a high-quality program evaluation that can be used to inform decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.

Cross-Site Activities

    Scholars at each of the three participating sites will attend virtual and in-person professional events where they will:
  • attend sessions related to effective interventions and services (both for in-person and virtual learning) for children with disabilities, followed by a cross-site share out to PDs and Scholars of lessons learned and ideas for how what was learned can be applied at their current place of employment,
  • hone their skills translating research findings to a practitioner audience (through conference presentations), with supportive feedback and mentoring from project directors, and
  • engage in professional networking to build a support system for the continued development of skills in this important area of special education leadership.

Scholar Mentoring

Scholars from each site will meet monthly with peers and the PDs from their university where, as a group, scholars will access resources available to them at their university based on scholar needs and the stage of their program. In addition, each individual scholar will receive formal and informal advising and mentoring from the PDs each semester to help them reflect on their progress in the program and develop goals for continued progress. Project faculty will meet annually to review the performance of scholars and to provide formative feedback and planning support for competency development and scholar wellbeing.