Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr Rebecca L Canges

Personal Biography Statement

Rebecca L. Canges received her doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Teacher Education in Multicultural Societies from the University of Southern California (USC). She completed her undergraduate work in Psychology at California State University, Long Beach where she also completed both her Masters in Special Education and Education Specialist Teaching Credential.

For the last 7 years, Dr. Canges taught in the Special Education Credential Program at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Previous to her work at CSULB, Dr. Canges taught special education in the Long Beach Unified School District in Southern California. During her years as a classroom teacher, she worked as an RSP teacher and Special Day Class teacher serving students with Mild/Moderate disabilities and students with Orthopedic Impairments at the secondary level.

Research Areas/Interests

Before teaching Dr. Canges worked as a research assistant and project director under Dr. Jana Echevarria on research regarding the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model. The SIOP Model is the only research-based method for effectively teaching English Language Learners.

Aside from research on effective instruction for ELLs, Dr. Canges' areas of research include the following:
**establishing collaborative teams between special and general education teachers
**implementing awareness programs into schools to increase the understanding of people with disabilities
**promoting social relationships between students with and without disabilities
**supporting the development of self-advocacy in students with disabilities

Courses Taught

SED-2700,SED-3600,SED-3650,SED-3820,SEDM-5650,TEDM-6100