Alexandra Gottardo
Areas of Expertise
- Disability Studies and Accessibility
- Language Acquisition
- Learning Disabilities
- Literacy and Numeracy
Biography
I received my PhD in educational psychology from the University of Toronto, my MHSc in speech-language pathology from the University of Toronto and my BASc in child studies from the University of Guelph.
Prior to joining Laurier, I was an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Grand Valley State University. Between my Masters and PhD, I worked as a speech-language pathologist in a school board.
The primary focus of my research career has dealt with the relationship between oral and written language development in a wide variety of individuals including individuals with learning disabilities. Currently, the majority of my research examines reading in individuals who speak English as a second or additional language. This research program includes a range of studies from the analysis of the correlates of word reading to the examination of factors related to reading comprehension. My research embodies a developmental perspective, as I have conducted research with preschoolers, elementary school-aged children from kindergarten to sixth grade, high school students and university undergraduate students in a range of longitudinal and concurrent studies. Another focus of my research is the development of evidence-based interventions, which are implemented and tested in the community.
Languages
- English
- French
- Italian