Research Interests and Expertise

Preventing learning difficulties through design and delivery of empirically validated instructional materials and practices

Research Projects and Grants

  • Promoting Scientific Explorers Among Students With Learning Disabilities: The Design and Testing of a Grade 2 Science Program Focused on Earth’s Systems, National Science Foundation, 2017–2021 (principal investigator, award: $2,477,647)
  • Precision Mathematics: Using Interactive Gaming Technology to Build Student Proficiency in the Foundational Concepts and Problem-Solving Skills of Measurement and Data Analysis, National Science Foundation, 2015–2019 (principal investigator, award: $2,999,702)
  • Behavior and Academic Supports: Integration and Cohesion (Project BASIC), Institute of Education Sciences, 2018–2023 (co-principal investigator, award: $3,999,000)
  • Exploring Alterable Variables of Tier 1 and Tier 2 Instruction: A Collaboration Across Interdisciplinary Fields of Observational Research (Project CIFOR), Institute of Education Sciences, 2015–2018 (principal investigator, award: $699,706)
  • The NumberShire Integrated Tutor System: Supporting Schools to Scale Up Evidence-Based Education Technology to Improve Math Outcomes for Students With Disabilities, Office of Special Education Programs, 2016–2021 (UT principal investigator, award: $2,488,179)
  • A Randomized Control Trial of a Tier 2 First-Grade Mathematics Intervention, Institute of Education Sciences, 2016–2020 (UT principal investigator, award: $3,500,000)
  • A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of the NumberShire Level 1 Gaming Intervention for Improving Math Outcomes for Students With or At Risk for Math Learning Disabilities, Institute of Education Sciences, 2016–2020 (UT principal investigator, award: $3,500,000)

Editorial Review Boards

  • Journal of Special Education
  • Exceptional Children
  • Assessment for Effective Intervention
  • Intervention in School and Clinic
  • Journal of Special Education Technology
  • Teaching Exceptional Children

Recent Awards

  • 2015 Must Read Paper of the Year, Learning Disability Quarterly

Representative Publications

  • Doabler, C. T., Clarke, B., Kosty, D., Smolkowski, K., Kurtz-Nelson, E., Fien, H., & Baker, S. (in press). Building number sense among English learners: A multisite randomized controlled trial of a tier 2 kindergarten mathematics intervention. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
  • Doabler, C. T., Clarke, B., Kosty, D., Kurtz-Nelson, E., Fien, H., Smolkowski, K., & Baker, S. (2018). Examining the impact of group size on the treatment intensity of a tier 2 mathematics intervention within a systematic framework of replication. Journal of Learning Disabilities. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/00222194187893
  • Clarke, B., Doabler, C. T., Smolkowski, K., Turtura, J., Kurtz-Nelson, E., Fien, H., & Baker, S. (in press). Exploring the relationship between initial math skill and the impact of a kindergarten math intervention on student math outcomes. Exceptional Children.
  • Shanley, L., Clarke, B., Doabler, C. T., Kurtz-Nelson, E., & Fien, H. (in press). Measuring early mathematics knowledge via early number skills and task types. Mathematical Thinking and Learning.
  • Doabler, C. T., Stoolmiller, M., Kennedy, P., Nelson, N. J., Clarke, B., Gearin, B., . . . Baker, S. K. (2018). Do components of explicit instruction explain the differential effectiveness of a core mathematics program for students with mathematics difficulties? A mediated moderation analysis. Assessment for Effective Intervention. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1534508418758364
  • Doabler, C. T., Smith, J. L., Nelson, N., Clarke, B., Berg, T., & Fien, H. (2018). A guide for evaluating the mathematics programs used by special education teachers. Intervention in School and Clinic. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1053451218765253
  • Doabler, C. T., Nelson, N. J., Kennedy, P., Stoolmiller, M., Fien, H., Clarke, B., . . . Baker, S. (2018). Investigating the longitudinal effects of a core kindergarten mathematics program on teachers’ use of evidence-based teaching practices. Learning Disability Quarterly, 41, 144–158. doi:10.1177/0731948718756040