Margo Mastropieri
Professor of Education
George Mason University
Margo Mastropieri is a University Professor of Special Education in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, where she has taught since 1998. She specializes in Special Education, also serving as a faculty member for Research Methods for the Ph.D. in Education program.
Dr. Mastropieri’s research focuses on the learning and cognition of students with mild disabilities, in order to improve academic performance. Her research has led to improved opportunities for inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings. She has also pioneered new techniques for synthesizing educational research.
An exceptionally productive scholar, Dr. Mastropieri has received national honors for her research and service on behalf of students with disabilities, including the 2006 Council for Exceptional Children Outstanding Research Award and the 2006 Service Award from the Division for Learning Disabilities. She is a recipient of a George Mason University 2008 Teaching Excellence Award and the 2007 University Professor designation reserved for eminent individuals with national and international reputations.
Dr. Mastropieri is also a highly regarded educator and master teacher, known for her collaborative mentorship and training of teacher scholars. She has collaborated with her students as co-authors on over 75 of her 180 peer reviewed journal articles, 23 of her 48 book chapters, and over 70 of her 220 presentations at local, state, national, and international professional meetings. Dr. Mastropieri has also produced 28 co-authored or co-edited books and received over $5 million in external funding to support her teaching and discovery activities.
Dr. Mastropieri’s work has impacted the lives of countless individuals because she has successfully translated her research to practice in her books and articles. She serves on 10 professional journal editorial boards and is the newly appointed Editor with Tom Scruggs of Exceptional Children, special education’s premier professional journal.
Dr. Mastropieri was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Exceptional Child Center at Utah State University. She has a Ph.D. in Special Education from Arizona State University, and M.Ed. and B.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"As a teenager, I was a swimming instructor. While teaching swimming lessons, I began developing insights into basic teaching and learning concepts that continue to guide my development as a teacher and anchor my scholarship… I learned that adding the phrase ‘When I say go’ enabled me to provide instructions before children stopped listening and jumped into the water."