Rate My Professor Rebecca Canges

Dr. Rebecca Canges is a Professor of Special Education and serves as Chair of the Department of Special Education, Early Childhood, and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Teacher Education in Multicultural Societies from the University of Southern California. Her master's degree is in Special Education from California State University, Long Beach, where she also obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Education Specialist Teaching Credential. Dr. Canges began her professional career in education as a one-on-one behavioral interventionist for children with autism. She advanced to the role of special education middle school teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District, teaching literacy and implementing district-wide awareness programs to promote acceptance of students with disabilities. During this time, she was nominated for the Disney American Teacher Award and became the first recipient of the LBUSD District Employee of the Month. Subsequently, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Jana Echevarria, Ph.D., studying the effectiveness of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model in supporting English Language Learners in content areas. She also served as a full-time lecturer in the Special Education Credential program at California State University, Long Beach, and has been teaching at MSU Denver for over seven years.

Dr. Canges' research interests encompass teacher preparation, fostering collaboration between general and special education teachers, inclusive practices, and supporting the social and academic success of students with disabilities in general education classrooms, particularly those with significant support needs. She examines effective teaching practices for English Language Learners and the application of the SIOP Model. Her publications include 'Making it Work! Increasing Collaboration between our Special Education and General Education Licensure Programs at MSU Denver' (2022). Dr. Canges has been recognized with the 2016 MSU Denver Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award, the MSU Denver Career Catalyst Award, and the 2023 MSU Denver Teaching Excellence Award. She contributes expertise in special education, simulations for disabilities, working with families of students with special needs, building collaborative school teams, social supports for students with special needs, pre-service teacher education in special education, and instruction for school-age English Language Learners.