Naomi Zigmond

Naomi Zigmond

Dr. Naomi Zigmond is Professor of Special Education in the Department of Instruction and Learning, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh.  She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, majoring in language pathology and learning disabilities.

Dr. Zigmond has been an active special education researcher and teacher educator for more than a quarter of a century. Two themes run through her work.  First, she is interested in the secondary and post-secondary school experiences of students with mild to moderate disabilities, the impact of graduating or dropping out, and the improvement of high school programs for this very vulnerable population.  Second, she is interested in the organization of special education services for students with learning disabilities in elementary and secondary schools and the impact of program organization, particularly full inclusion, on student achievement. 

For the past several years, Dr. Zigmond has led a team of researchers and practitioners in the development, implementation, and scoring of the Pennsylvania statewide alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities.  She is also co-directing the External Evaluation of the Pennsylvania Reading First initiative. 

She is actively involved in studying the effectiveness of co-teaching as a special education service delivery model at both the secondary and elementary school levels, and she is co-director of an RtI model demonstration project in a school district in western Pennaylvania.

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