School of Teacher Education
Sarah McDonagh
Lecturer
DipT (NSW), BEd Spec Ed (NE),Med (NE)PhD (Oregon)
Sarah McDonagh
Charles Sturt University Faculty of Education
Bathurst, NSW, Australia
Ph:(02) 6338 4114
Fax:(02) 6338 4417
Email Sarah McDonaghResearch
Research Interests
- Reading Difficulties: Prevention and Intervention
- Instructional Design
- Data Based Decision Making
Funded Research Projects
- 2008 Building a guide for course development communities employing a theory, research and practice of course design. Charles Sturt University Faculty of Education Innovation in Learning and Teaching Grant. Auhl, G., Bain, A., Lancaster, J., McDonagh, S. and Zundans, L.
- 2005 Inclusive education research and development grant. Charles Sturt University Faculty of Education Research and Development Fund (20,000). Bain, A., Lancaster, J., McDonagh, S. and Zundans, L.
- 2005 Determining the utility of fluency based indicators of foundational reading skills in New South Wales schools. Charles Sturt University, Faculty of Education, Supplemental Funds, Charles Sturt University Australia ($3,000). Principal Investigator.
- 2005 An analysis of the utility of fluency based indicators of foundational reading skills in New South Wales schools. Charles Sturt Unviersity, Faculty of Education, Faculty Seed Grant, Charles Sturt University Australia ($2,256). Chief Investigator.
- 2002 PROJECT READ: Read Efficiently, Accurately, Daily. An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Isolated Word Recognition Practice and Repeated Reading on the Sight Word Identification and Oral Reading Fluency Rate of Children Identified as At Risk for Reading Difficulties. Office of Special Education Programs: Student Initiated Research Grant (US $20,000). Project Directors: Sarah McDonagh & Edward Kame’enui.
- 2002 PROJECT READ: Read Efficiently, Accurately, Daily. An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Isolated Word Recognition Practice and Repeated Reading on the Sight Word Identification and Oral Reading Fluency Rate of Children Identified as At Risk for Reading Difficulties. Clare Wilkins Chamberlin Memorial Fund Award, University of Oregon (US $1,000). Project Director: Sarah McDonagh.
- 2000 Professional development outcomes for supervising teachers through involvement in the practicum. Charles Sturt University Small Grant, Charles Sturt University Australia ($8,000). Principal Investigator (with Tracey Simpson, Bob Hill and Wendy Hastings).
Teaching
Teacher Certification
- Primary Education (K-6)
- Special Education (K-12)
Current Teaching
- ESS201 Understanding Diverse Learners
- ESS409 Inclusive Education Practicum
- ESS407 Understanding Literacy Problems
- ESS422 Assessment and Evaluation for Learning
- ESS426 Collaboration and Teamwork in the Inclusive School
- ESS440 Teaching and Learning in the Differentiated Classroom
- ESS599 Inclusive Education Policy, Practice and Resourcing
Awards
- 2006 Charles Sturt University, Faculty of Education Team Award for Teaching Excellence. Bain, A., Lancaster, J., McDonagh, S. and Zundans, L.
Professional Engagement
Selected Workshop Presentations:
- 2007 McDonagh, S. H. (2007). Evaluating performance: Schoolwide assessment of student performance using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. Training conducted at Bethany Catholic Primary School, Glenmore Park, New South Wales.
- 2007 McDonagh, S. H. (2007). Phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle in classroom reading instruction. Workshop conducted for the special education teachers of the Catholic Education Office, Parramatta Diocese, Blacktown, New South Wales.
- 2007 McDonagh, S. H. (2007). Fluency with connected text, vocabulary and comprehension in classroom reading instruction. Workshop conducted for the special education teachers of the Catholic Education Office, Parramatta Diocese, Blacktown, New South Wales.
- 2007 McDonagh, S. H. (2007). Learning to read, reading to learn. Training conducted at St Michael’s Primary School, Blacktown, New South Wales.
- 2005 McDonagh, S. H. Assessment: Why and How? Workshop conducted for the Catholic Education Office, Parramatta Diocese Special Education Teachers. Sydney, New South Wales.
Professional Affiliations
- American Educational Research Association
- Council for Exceptional Children
Publications
- Simmons, D. C., Coyne, M. D., Kwok, O., Mc Donagh, S. H., Harn, E. A., & Kameenui, E. J. (2008). Indexing response to intervention: A longitudinal study of reading risk from kindergarten through third grade. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(2), 158-173
- Chard, D. J., McDonagh, S. H., Lee, S., Reece, V. (2007). Assessing word recognition. In J. R. Paratore & R. L. McCormack (Eds.), Classroom literacy assessment. New York, NY: Guilford Publciations, Inc.
- Chard, D. J., Pikulski, J. J., & Mc Donagh, S. H. (2006). Fluency: The link between decoding and comprehension for struggling readers. In T. Rasinski, C. Blachowicz, & K. Lems (Eds.), Perspectives on fluency: from theory to practice. Boston, MA: Guilford Publications.
- Kame’enui, E. J., Mc Donagh, S. H., Chard, D. J. (2005). Learning Disabilities. In The encyclopaedia of behaviour modification and cognitive behaviour therapy (Vol. 3, pp. 1377-1379). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Knutson, J. S., Simmons, D. C., Good III, R., & Mc Donagh, S. H. (2004). Specially designed assessment and instruction for children who have not responded adequately to reading intervention. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 29(4), 47-58.
- McDonagh, S. H. & Sherman Brewer, N. J. (2002). Comprehension. In D. C. Simmons & E. J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Reading strategies & activities resource book: For students at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia (pp 278- 394). Austin, Texas: Texas Education Agency/University of Texas System.
- McDonagh, S. H. & Sherman Brewer, N. J. (2002). Fluency. In D. C. Simmons & E. J. Kame’enui (Eds.), Reading strategies & activities resource book: For students at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia (pp.142-217). Austin, Texas: Texas Education Agency/University of Texas System.
Conference Presentations:
- 2008 Simmons, D. C., Coyne, M. D., Kwok, O., Mc Donagh, S. H., Harn, E. A., & Kameenui, E. J. Indexing response to intervention: A longitudinal study of reading risk from kindergarten through third grade. Presentation for the American Educational Research Association’s National Conference, Research on Schools, Neighbourhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility, New York City.
- 2007 Kame’enui, E. J., & Mc Donagh, S. H. (2007). A School-wide model for the prevention of reading difficulties: An ode to Goethe and Miss Piggy. Invited speakers, Australian Association of Special Education National Conference, Sydney, New South Wales.
- 2007 McDonagh, S. H. (2007). Beyond islands of excellence: A schoolwide approach to reading success. Keynote Presentation, Association of Independent Schools Special Education Conference, Sydney, New South Wales.
- 2007 McDonagh, S. H. (2007). Checking vital signs: Curriculum based measurement, a system for monitoring the learning health of our students. Workshop Presentation, Association of Independent Schools Special Education Conference, Sydney, New South Wales.
- 2006 Mc Donagh, S. H. Developing automaticity and fluency for non-responders in grades 2 and 3. Poster Session, Council for Exceptional Children National Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 2006 Mc Donagh, S. H., & Harn, E. A. Fluency with connected text: Planning instruction for struggling readers. Demonstration Presentation, Council for Exceptional Children National Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 2006 Mc Donagh, S. H., & Simmons, D. C. Teaching scaffolded book reading strategies to nonresponders in grade 3. Presentation, Council for Exceptional Children National Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 2006 Simmons, D. C., & Mc Donagh, S. H. Response to intervention (RTI): A longitudinal study across the tiers - What research says about RTI as an early intervention model as a method of LD identification. Invited Speakers, RTI Strand, Council for Exceptional Children National Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 2005 Simmons, D. C., Mc Donagh, S. H., Harn, E. A., Kennedy-Paine, P. Intensifying instruction for children who fail to respond to intervention. Presentation, International Dyslexia Association National Conference, Denver, Colorado.
- 2004 McDonagh, S. H., Smith, L., Orton, K. Response to Treatment : The Missing Link of Instruction. Presentation at the Oregon Conference, Eugene, Oregon.
- 2004 Howe, K. B., Clarke, B., Mc Donagh, S. H., Howe, D. The Western Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center: The ABC’s of Reading First Technical Assistance. Presentation at the Oregon Conference, Eugene, Oregon.
- 2002 Mc Donagh, S., & Sherman-Brewer, N. Effects of supported repeated reading on the fluency skills of children identified as at-risk for reading difficulties. Presentation at the Oregon Conference, Eugene, Oregon.