Mel Spence, Ed.D.

About

Mel Spence is an associate professor in the Department of Learning and Teaching in the Graduate School of Education at California Lutheran University. She also serves as the assistant dean for assessment and accreditation and TPA coordinator. 

Mel completed her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Cal Lutheran and her M.Ed. in Severe Special Needs at Boston College. Mel has 22 years of professional experience working with individuals with autism with 10 of those years spent with the Los Angeles Unified School District as a special education teacher. 

Mel’s research focuses on promoting the instructional efficacy for non-speaking and minimally verbal students with autism and helping teachers incorporate social and emotional learning and executive functioning into core curriculum content. In the classroom, Mel teaches courses on assessment, IEP development, instructional strategies, foundations of teaching, and non-academic supports. 

 She has been recognized by the DADD division of Council for Exceptional Children for the Tom E.C. Smith Early Career Award and Best Practitioner Research when she was a teacher. Mel was also the principal investigator of a U.S. Department of Education Javits grant to study educational intervention for twice-exceptional student with autism and increase identification of minority students ($737,900).

Education

• Ed.D. in Educational Leadership (K-12) from California Lutheran University
• M.Ed. in Severe Special Needs from Boston College
• B.A. in Psychology from Occidental College

Expertise

Classroom teaching and supports: differentiation, scaffolding, adaptations (accommodations & modifications)

Social and emotional learning and infusing principles into cored academic instruction

Executive functioning

Assessment

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Spence, M., Ma, T-L., Nguyen, A., & Tseng, A. (2021). Project for the advancement of gifted  and exceptional students: How are secondary teachers infusing SEL and executive functioning into instruction? DADD Online Journal, 8(1), 93-106.

*Spence, M., Ma, T-L., Tseng, A., Nguyen, A. (2019). Project for the advancement of gifted and  exceptional students. In A. Markelz, (Ed.), TED 2019 Conference Proceedings: Unmask Your Potential (pp 14-18). Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, New Orleans, LA. 

Spence, M. & Wesley, T. (2019). Preparing teacher candidates for diverse learners: Are  we doing enough? Allies for Education (A4E), California State University, Channel Islands, 2(2).

Spence, M. & Tseng, A. (2018).  Integrating social and emotional learning instruction into core  academic instruction for students with ASD. DADD Online Journal, 5(1), 62-72. 

Journal Articles

*Spence, M. (2017). Instructional strategies for promoting reading comprehension in non-verbal  students with autism spectrum disorders. DADD Express, 28(2), 1-6. 

*Invited publications

Book Chapters

Spence, M. & Peña, E.V. (2015). Intersections of autism, race, and class: A social justice  agenda for inclusive leadership practices.  In A. Normore & K. Esposito (Eds.), Inclusive practices for special populations in urban settings: The moral imperative for social justice leadership. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing INC.

Spence, M. (2010). Using a communication game to improve the expressive language skills of a  boy with autism.  In S.M. Bruce & G.J. Pine (Eds.), Action research in special education: An inquiry approach for effective teaching and learning (pp.80-97).  New York, NY: Teachers College Press. 

Grant Funding

•       PAGES (2017): Project for Advancement of Gifted and Exceptional Students ($736,802 over 5 years) Principal Investigator. Department of Education-Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program
•       Hewlett Grant (2017,2016): California Lutheran University ($1,000)
•       CLU Center for Innovative Learning (2017): Bring Your Own Brain ($625)