Biography

Dr. Pierce comes to Stonehill College from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she taught in the Special Education concentration in the School of Education. She is a Written Language Specialist in the Learning Disabilities Program, within the Department of Neurology at Children's Hospital Boston. Dr. Pierce serves on the executive boards of the International Academy of Research in Learning Disabilities and the Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.

Dr. Pierce's research interests center on curriculum and instruction for special populations, including students with learning disabilities, students in urban schools, and English Language learners. Her research agenda has two main objectives: A) to examine the manifestation of learning difficulties among children in a variety of contexts, and B) to identify evidence-based practices for improving outcomes for struggling students.

Education

  • Ed.D., Ed.M. Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • B.A. Swarthmore College

Areas of Expertise

Titles

Associate Professor of Education

Departments

Education

  • Primor, L., Pierce, M., & Katzir, T. (In Press). Predicting reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts among different profiles of Hebrew readers. Annals of Dyslexia.
  • Vanderberg, L., Pierce, M., & Disney, L. (2011). Reading intervention outcomes for adults with disabilities in vocational rehabilitation setting: Results of a 3-year research and demonstration grant. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 54(4), 210-222.
  • Zobel-Lachuisa, J. & Pierce, M.E. (2011). Choosing the WRITE no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech tools for teaching students with dysgraphia. OT Practice, 16(8), 11-15.
  • Lesaux, N., Crosson, A., Kieffer, M., & Pierce, M. (2010). Uneven Profiles: Language Minority Learners' Word Reading, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension Skills. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31(6), 475-483.
  • Pierce, M.E., Katzir, T., Wolf, M., & Noam, G. (2010). Examining the construct of reading among dysfluent urban children: A factor analysis approach. Journal of Literacy Research. 42(2), 124-158.
  • Pierce, M.E. & Fontaine, L.M. (2009). A word to the wise: Designing vocabulary instruction in mathematics. The Reading Teacher 63(3), 239-243.
  • Christodoulou, J.A. & Pierce, M.E. (2008). Cautions for consumers of “brain-based” reading programs. ASCD Express, 4(4).
  • Pierce, M.E., Katzir, T., Wolf, M., & Noam, G. (2007). Clusters of second and third grade dysfluent urban readers. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 20(9), 885-907.