Marni Jones, Director of Learning Skills and Disability Services, Assistant Dean of Advising

 Education: Marni Jones has an undergraduate degree in French and Theatre from Earlham College, an M.A. in Theatre from Miami University, and an M.Ed. in Special Education with a Comprehensive Certification in Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, and Emotional/Behavioral Disorders from Shippensburg University.

She has additional certifications in Anti-Bias Education, through Washington D.C.'s Teaching for Change, in Early Childhood Education from Montgomery College in Rockville, MD, and in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, where she trained in Cameroon in the U.S. Peace Corps. 

Marni has worked with and supported students' desire to learn for several decades--as a Learning Specialist and Academic Success Program Coordinator at Shippensburg University, as the Executive Director of a preschool in Washington, DC, and as a teacher for eight years in francophone Francophone West Africa.  She formed a non-profit organization to support girls' education in Cotonou, Benin, and has conducted numerous workshops for students and educators.

Inspired by her son’s challenges with dyslexia as well as the many students she has worked with  to overcome the limitions of disabilities, Marni earned a second master’s degree in special education and joined the ranks at Dickinson in January, 2010. Marni has played is 8 national and 1 world ultimate Frisbee championships, and is a die-hard soccer mom.

Professional Interests: 
                •    empowering and fostering the potential of students with exceptionalities
                •    providing strategies for students with learning differences and/or skill deficits
                •    supporting faculty with the integration of Universal Design for Instruction
                •    facilitating the acquisition of American Sign Language
                •    diversity issues on campus 
                •    community service  and service-learning
                •    mentoring
 

Presentations and Workshops: 

·         “Secrets of Successful College Transition” and “Reading While Listening.” Pennsylvania Council for Exceptional Children, October, 2010, and November, 2011 

·         Select workshops on: Time Management, Study Strategies, Note-Taking, Reading for Recall, and Test-taking. Dickinson College, 2010-2011

·         “Facilitating Study Groups,” “Motivating Millennials,” “Metacognitive Flashcard-Making,” and select workshops on: Personal Responsibility, Time Management, Self Esteem, Motivation, Stress Management, and Goal-Setting. Shippensburg University, 2007-08.

·         “Conscious Discipline: Tapping into the Highest Centers of the Brain.” Takoma Children’s School, June, 2006

·         “Promoting Reading and Writing Readiness.”Early Childhood Parents’ Network, November, 2005

·         “Team-Building 101” and “Making Work Fun.”Takoma Children’s School, February and September, 2004

·         “Making Brains Retain.” Takoma Park Recreation Department, January, 2003

·         “How to Develop a First-rate, Cross-cultural After-school Activities Program.” Association of International Schools of Africa (AISA) Annual Conference, Swaziland, February, 2002

Publications: 

·         Jones, M.G. (2009). Quizlet: Making learning fun. On Course Newsletter: Innovative Student Success and Retention Across the Curriculum.

·         Jones, M.G., & Bateman, D.F. (2010). Due process hearing case study. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(6), 71-73.

·         Jones, M. G., Schwilk, C. L., & Bateman, D. F. (2012). Reading by Listening: Access to Books in Audio Format for College Students with Print Disabilities. In Aitken, J. E., Fairley, J. P., & Carlson, J. K. (Eds.), Communication Technology for Students in Special Education and Gifted Programs. (pp. 249-272).