Josh Tolbert

Associate Professor, School of Education
Tom Raper Hall 353
(765) 973-8462
jbtolber@iue.edu

Education

• Ed.D., Special Education/Educational Psychology, University of Michigan-Dearborn, 2013
• M.A., Liberal Studies, University of Michigan-Dearborn, 2007
• B.A., Art Education/Spanish, Western Michigan University, 2000

Current Teaching Interests

Special education methods, classroom assessment, learning disabilities/mild disabilities

Current Research Interests

Use of visual strategies in instruction for students with learning disabilities, acquisition of foreign language vocabulary by students with learning disabilities, exploring multicultural perspectives of pre-service teachers.

Recent Publications

• Barbre, J. O., Carroll, J., & Tolbert, J. B. L. (2022). Comic literature and graphic novel uses in history, literature, math, and science. SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education, 2(7). https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sane/vol2/iss7/3
• Frazier, D. K., & Tolbert, J. B. L. (2022) Long-term educator professional development in online instruction and assessment during pandemic teaching. The Teacher Educator, 58(1), 91-108.
• Perkins, T. L., & Tolbert, J. B. L. (2021). Yours, mine, ours: “Individualized collaboration” and differentiated learning in the creative writing classroom. Imaginative teaching: A user’s guide to creative writing in secondary classrooms. Bloomsbury Academic.
• Barbre, J. O., & Tolbert, J. B. L. (2021). Graphic instructional pedagogy: Critical literacy and skill development using low art.  Journal of Thought, 55(1), 37-56.
• Tolbert, J. B. L. (2019). Prisms of whiteness: A critical analysis of the multicultural competence of pre-service teachers. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 18(4), 141-157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.4.8
• Tolbert, J. B. L., Lazarus, B. D., & Killu, K. (2017). Flashcards and Guided Visual Vocabulary Practice: Experience of students with learning disabilities being introduced to concrete Spanish nouns. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 22(2), 24-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18666/LDMJ-2017-V22-I2-8111
• Tolbert, J. B. L. (2017). Foreign language assessment: Instructional considerations for students with specific learning disabilities. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(3), 441-446. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0803.01
• Tolbert, J. B., Killu, K., & Lazarus, B. D. (2015). A framework for supporting students with learning disabilities in Spanish courses: Connecting learning characteristics and instructional methods. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(2), 225-234.
• Tolbert, J. B., Lazarus, B. D, & Killu, K. (2015). Guided Visual Vocabulary Practice: Spanish language vocabulary instruction for students with learning disabilities and possibilities beyond the foreign language classroom. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(2), 241-249.

Recent Presentations

• Tolbert, J. B. “COVID and special education teachers: Recognizing resiliency and confronting burnout.” Poster presented at the 2023 Meeting of the Council for Exceptional Children, Louisville, KY, March 3, 2023.
• Tolbert, J. B. “We did the best we could: Special education teachers' COVID successes and setbacks.” Presented at the 60th Annual International Conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Las Vegas, NV, February 21, 2023.
• Tolbert, J. B., & Buffington-Adams, J. “Promoting Family/Parent Partnerships as Integral to Preparation of Special Educators.” Presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Atlanta, GA, February 29, 2020. 
• Tolbert, J. B., & Buffington-Adams, J. “Clear, Consistent Collaboration: An Approach for Developing Parent/Family Partnerships.” Presented at the 57th Annual International Conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Orlando, Florida, February 19, 2020.
• Tolbert, J. B. “Disrupting White Fragility Using A Multicultural Self-Assessment with Pre-Service Teachers” Presented at the 29th Annual International Conference of the National Association for Multicultural Education, Tucson, Arizona, November 8, 2019.
• Tolbert, J. B. “Evaluating the MAKSS-TEP as a Measure of Cultural Responsiveness for Pre-Service Teachers.”  Presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Louisville, KY, February 22, 2019.
• Tolbert, J. B., Buffington-Adams, J., Bettner, M. & Swain, S. “The power of partnership: developing parent and family collaboration through transparent teaching.”  Presented at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention & Expo, Indianapolis, IN, February 1, 2019.
• Tolbert, J. B. “Analyzing Alignment of Standards and Objectives for Classroom Assessment Using a 360-Degree Camera.” Poster presented at the Original Lilly Conference, Oxford, Ohio, November 16, 2018.
• Tolbert, J. B. “Roundabout: Metro Detroit’s Lessons in Special Education Discipline and Mobility.” Presented at the 55th Annual International Conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Atlanta, Georgia, February 21, 2018.