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Allison L. Bruhn

Professor

Introduction

Allison Bruhn is a Professor of Special Education. She also serves as the special education Program Coordinator within the Department of Teaching & Learning. Since joining the faculty at the University of Iowa after graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2011, she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in classroom management, social/behavioral interventions, emotional/behavioral disorders, and careers related to special education. Her research focuses on practical, feasible interventions and assessment for students with challenging behavior and the educators who serve them. In addition to numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters, she has developed two mobile apps (SCORE IT and MoBeGo) to improve students’ self-management of their behavior. The range of her scholarship includes single-case designs, psychometric analyses, surveys, mixed methods, group experimental designs (e.g., RCT), systematic literature reviews, and practice pieces, thus representing her ability to conduct rigorous school-based research and her commitment to making research findings accessible to school practitioners.

Current Positions

  • Professor of Special Education

College of Education Affiliations

Education

  • PhD in Special Education, Vanderbilt University

Selected Awards & Honors

  • Mid-Career Researcher of the Year Award, University of Iowa, College of Education, 2021
  • International Student Advocate Award, University of Iowa, International Programs, 2018
  • Distinguished Paper Award (Hirsch, Bruhn, Randall, Dunn, Shelnut, & Lloyd, 2020), South Carolina Educators for the Practical Use of Research, Affiliate of the American Education Research Association (AERA), 2018
  • Article of the Year (Bruhn, Woods-Groves, Fernando, Choi, & Troughton, 2017), Council for Children with Behavior Disorders, 2018
  • Most Cited Article over 3 Year Period (Bruhn, McDaniel, & Kreigh, 2015), Behavioral Disorders, 2017
  • Most Read Article in 2017 (Bruhn, McDaniel, Fernando, & Troughton, 2016), Behavioral Disorders, 2017
  • E. G. Carr Initial Researcher Award, Association for Positive Behavior Support, 2017
  • 2014 Recepient of Council for Exceptional Children (Division of Research) Early Career Publication Award (Bruhn & Watt, 2012), Council for Exceptional Children - Division of Research, 2014

Professional Memberships

  • Council for Exceptional Children--Division of Research
  • Council for Exceptional Children--Behavioral Disorders
  • International Association for Positive Behavior Support

Selected Publications

  • Hirsch, S. E., Driver, M. K., Hinzman, M. & Bruhn, A. L. (In Press). Identifying students with intensive academic and behavioral needs. In Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disorders. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  • McDaniel, S. C., Cohen, D. & Bruhn, A. L. (2021). Evaluating school-level student outcomes of a systematic tier 2 framework. Behavioral Disorders Advance Online Publication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742921100.
  • Bruhn, A., Estrapala, S., Rila, A. & Colbert, J. (2021). A case example of tier 1 PBIS implementation in a high school. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth Advance Online Publication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2021.1946463.
  • Van Camp, A., Wehby, J. H., Copeland, B. & Bruhn, A. L. (2021). Building from the bottom up: The importance of tier 1 supports in the context of tier 2 interventions. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 23 (1) 53-64. DOI: 10.1177/1098300720916716.
  • Zhu, J., Bruhn, A. L., Yuan, C. & Wang, L. (2021). Comparing the effects of videoconference and email feedback on treatment integrity in early behavioral intervention. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 54 (2) 618-635. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.810.
  • Hirsch, S. E., Bruhn, A. L., McDaniel, S. C. & Morris-Mathews, H. (2021). A survey of educators serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders during the covid-19 pandemic. Behavioral Disorders Advance Online Publication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/01987429211016780.
  • McDaniel, S. & Bruhn, A. L. (2021). Considerations for caregiver partnership and culturally responsive CICO. In Hawken, L., Crone, D., Bundock, K. & Horner, R. H. (Eds.) Responding to Problem Behavior in Schools: The Check-in/Check-Out Intervention. (3rd), pp. 136-148. New York: Guilford.
  • Bruhn, A. L. & McDaniel, S. C. (2021). Tier 2: Critical issues in systems, practices, and data. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 29 (1) 34-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426620949859.
  • Bruhn, A. L., Estrapala, S., Mahatmya, D., Rila, A. & Vogelgesang, K. (2020). Training teachers on data-based individualization: A mixed methods study. Behavioral Disorders 28 (1) 3-16. DOI: 10.1177/0198742919876656.
  • Majeika, C., Bruhn, A. L., McDaniel, S. C. & Sterret, B. (2020). Reenigineering tier 2 interventions for responsive decision making: An adaptive intervention process. Journal of Applied School Psychology 36 (2) 111-132. DOI: 10.1080/15377903.2020.1714855.

Selected Presentations

  • Mathews, H. M., Hirsch, S. E., McDaniel, S. C. & Bruhn, A. L. (2020, November) Meeting the needs of students with EBD during the pandemic. Conference Presentation presented at Teacher Educators for Children with Behavioral Disorders, Tempe, Arizona.
  • Estrapala, S. E., Wehby, J. H., Rila, A., Bruhn, A. L., Van Camp, A. & Hancock, E. (2020, March) Monitoring behavior on the go. Conference Presentation presented at Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference (canceled for COVID-19), Miami, Florida.
  • Rila, A., Colbert, J., Estrapala, S. E. & Bruhn, A. L. (2020, March) A systematic review of high school tier 1 PBIS implementation. Conference Presentation presented at Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference (canceled for COVID-19), Miami, Florida.
  • Bruhn, A. L., Wehby, J. H., Sheaffer, A., Rila, A. & Van Camp, A. (2020, February) Best practices in self-monitoring interventions. Conference Presentation presented at Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders, Kansas City, Kansas.
  • Sterrett, B., Majieka, C., Bruhn, A. L. & McDaniel, S. C. (2020, February) Adapting tier 2 interventions to enhance student success. Conference Presentation presented at Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders, Kansas City, Kansas.
  • Bruhn, A. L., Hirsch, S. E. & Conley, K. (2020, February) The tech playground: Educator experience. Demonstration presented at Council for Exceptional Children, Portland, Oregon.
  • Bruhn, A. L., Van Camp, A., Sheaffer, A. & Wehby, J. H. (2020, February) Best practices in self-monitoring. Conference Presentation presented at Council for Exceptional Children, Portland, Oregon.
  • Conley, K., Hirsch, S. E. & Bruhn, A. L. (2020, February) Technology trends within positive behavior interventions and supports. Conference Presentation presented at Council for Exceptional Children, Portland, Oregon.
  • Hoffman, L., Bruhn, A. L. & Wehby, H. (2020, January) Developing and evaluating interactive technology support positive classroom behavior. Poster presented at Institute of Education Sciences Annual Principal Investigators Meeting, Washington, District of Columbia.
  • Estrapala, S., Bruhn, A. L., Rila, A. & Liberty High School (2019, October) One year later: Using data to tract the impact of PBIS in one high school. Poster presented at PBIS Forum, Chicago, Illinois.

Selected Grants & Contracts

  • Bruhn, A L (Director), Santos, A (Co-Director), Schieltz, K (Co-Director), King, S (Co-Director), Datchuk, S (Co-Director), O'Brien, M (Co-Director) Grant Training. Interdisciplinary Training Project in Special Education and School Psychology (SP2). U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Funded. January 1, 2020 - January 1, 2025.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Research, Basic. A comparison of teacher ratings and direct observation. Iowa Measurement Research Foundation. Funded. August 1, 2017.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Examining the effects of an integrated reading and behavioral intervention. College of Education, Dean's Research Award. Funded. January 1, 2012.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Grant Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Bridging Research and Practice: Supporting Future Special Educators in Behavior Assessment and Intervention. University of Iowa, Hazel Prehm Research Award. Funded. June 1, 2013.
  • Wehby, J (Co-Principal), Hendrickson, J M (Co-Principal), Hasselbring, T (Co-Principal), Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Grant Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Project SCORE IT: Developing and Evaluating Interactive Technology to Support Self-Monitoring in the Classroom. IES Technology for Special Education. Funded. July 1, 2016 - July 1, 2019.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Grant Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Improving Intervention Implementation using Data-Based Individualization. Center for Educational Transformation. Funded. July 1, 2016 - June 1, 2017.
  • Bruhn, A L (Co-Investigator), Woods-Groves, S (Principal Investigator) Grant Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Appraising 21st Century Skills of K-12 Learners to Identify and Support Students. Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. Funded. October 1, 2015 - August 1, 2016.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Supporting Graduate Student Research in Schools. College of Education, Dean's Research Award. Funded. September 1, 2014 - June 1, 2015.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Grant Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Project RATE IT. Iowa Measurement Research Foundation. Funded. January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2015.
  • Bruhn, A L (Principal Investigator) Grant Research/Creative Work (Applied or Basic). Using interactive technology to support self-monitoring for students with reading and behavioral problems. Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. Funded. August 1, 2013 - July 1, 2014.