Professor of Education & Director of Master of Special Education
Dr. Kathleen VanTol joined the Education Department in 2009. Her areas of expertise include special education, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Arts in Special Education from Calvin College. She also completed graduate studies in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Grand Valley State University and earned a doctorate in Special Education with an emphasis in TESOL from Western Michigan University.
"Every learner brings strengths, needs, and inherent dignity to the classroom," she says. "Our responsibility is to create environments in which each student has a genuine opportunity to belong, participate, learn, and succeed."
Dr. VanTol completed additional graduate studies in Applied Behavior Analysis at Florida Institute of Technology and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She has more than four decades of experience in education and is also a Board Certified Advocate in Special Education.
Throughout her career, Dr. VanTol has developed special education programs and procedures and has provided training and consultation to schools and educators. She has served on the Iowa Special Education Advisory Panel and on the task force responsible for developing Iowa’s Special Education Guidance System. Through her teaching, research, and service, Dr. VanTol partners with schools and educators to support inclusive and effective educational practices, both in the United States and through more than 15 years of collaboration with schools in Nicaragua.
More information on Dr. VanTol’s background, as well as access to her textbook, can be found on her website.
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