Chelsea T. Morris, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Special Education / Faculty Director of the COE Early Learning Center
Department of Literacy and Special Education College of Education

678-839-6058
cmorris@westga.edu

Education Annex - Room Early Learning C

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Chelsea T. Morris, Ph.D.

Dr. Chelsea T. Morris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Literacy and Special Education. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Dr. Morris was a teacher in a children's hospital and later, a public school early childhood special education teacher. She is committed to thinking differently, and deeply, about what is good for children, utilizing culturally responsive practices, an ethic of care, and a willingness to take risks. Dr. Morris' current teaching and research projects focus on bias in the perceptions of children's behavior in early childhood. This teaching and research is bolstered by expertise in practice-based coaching and trauma informed care through the nationally recognized Pyramid Model framework. Applying Pyramid Model strategies to all her endeavors, Dr. Morris builds environments conducive to positive behavior and relationships and focuses on the engagement of communities and families for school improvement. Most recently, Dr. Morris helped to open the COE Early Learning Center at UWG. As Faculty Director, and in partnership with supportive colleagues and a community focused on early learning, Dr. Morris hopes the Early Learning Center provides a spotlight on the importance of quality childcare and early learning opportunities in the West Georgia region.

  • M.Ed., Early Childhood Special Education, James Madison University, 2007
  • Ph.D., Teaching and Learning, University of Miami, 2018

Summer 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Summer 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections

Summer 2020 Sections

  • SPED-7722 (Collaboration in Spec Edu) Section: E01

Spring 2020 Sections

  • ECED-3271 (Curr,Instrct,Clssrm Mgt PreK-5) Section: 01
  • SPED-4713 (Collaboration in Sch Settings) Section: E02
  • SPED-4713 (Collaboration in Sch Settings) Section: 01

Fall 2019 Sections

  • ECED-3271 (Curr,Instrct,Clssrm Mgt PreK-5) Section: 01
  • ECED-3271 (Curr,Instrct,Clssrm Mgt PreK-5) Section: 02
  • ECED-7265 (Parent Ed/Teach Chld Care Wkrs) Section: E01

Summer 2019 Sections

  • ECED-7262 (Investigating Language Arts) Section: E02
  • ECED-7273 (Family/Comm Inv for Sch Improv) Section: E02
  • ECED-7273 (Family/Comm Inv for Sch Improv) Section: E01

Spring 2019 Sections

  • ECED-3271 (Curr,Instrct,Clssrm Mgt PreK-5) Section: 01
  • ECED-7266 (The Young Child: Home & Commun) Section: E01
  • ECED-7272 (Classrm Mgmt Early Grades(P-5)) Section: E01

Fall 2018 Sections

  • ECED-3271 (Curr,Instrct,Clssrm Mgt PreK-5) Section: 02
  • ECSE-4783 (Practicum I) Section: 02
  • ECED-7265 (Parent Ed/Teach Chld Care Wkrs) Section: E01

Summer 2018 Sections

  • ECED-7273 (Family/Comm Inv for Sch Improv) Section: E02

Chapman, L. C., Morris, C. T., & Cavendish, W. (in press). ‘She’s my partner in crime’: Teacher collaborations among special educators in self-contained settings. The New Educator.

Morris, C. T., Chapman, L. A., Kesten, S. M., & Elbaum, B. (2021). Exploring parent perceptions of shared decision making and outcomes in IEP meetings: Power in play. Florida Journal of Educational Research, 59(1), 197-209. https://feraonline.org/journa

Morris, C. T., & Chapman, L. A. (2020). Disrupting norms in teacher preparation programs: Navigating challenges and sharing successes. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.03.01.ed [View Publication External Resource]

Bulotsky-Shearer, R., *Futterer, J., *Bailey, J., & Morris, C. T. (2020). Leveraging the developmental strengths of young children in context. In V. C. Alfonso & G. DuPaul (Eds.), Healthy development in young children: Evidence-based interventions for earl [View Publication External Resource]

Morris, C. T., & Chapman, L. A. (2019). Timeless learning: How imagination, observation, and zero-based thinking change schools: A review. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 2(1), 113-118. http://cultureandvalues.org/index.php/JCV/article/view/28/ [View Publication External Resource]

Cavendish, W., Morris, C. T., & Chapman, L. A., *Ocasio-Stoutenburg, L., & *Kibler, K. (2019). Teacher perceptions of implementation practices to support secondary students in special education. Preventing School Failure, 64(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.108 [View Publication External Resource]

Cavendish, W., Morris, C. T., Chapman, L. A., Ocasio-Stoutenburg, L., & Kibler, K. (2019). Teacher perceptions of implementation practices to support secondary students in special education. Preventing School Failure.

Chapman, L. A., & Morris, C. T. (2018). From caring to cared for: Prioritizing an ethic of care for special educators. In K. N. Daniels & K. Billingsley (Eds.), Creating Caring and Supportive Educational Environments for Meaningful Learning (Advances in Ed

Morris, C. T. & Chidester, R. (2018). Common purpose, uncommon results: A collaborative approach to early literacy in children with Down syndrome. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Spring/Summer 2018.

Morris, C. T. (2017). Preventing the preschool-to-prison pipeline: Examining preschool discipline policy recommendations. Roosevelt House Faculty Journal, New York, NY. [View Publication External Resource]

Elbaum, B., Sanchez-Sarno, A., Morris, C. T., & Celimli-Aksoy, S. (2016). Florida ESE parent survey: Ten years of measuring schools’ facilitation of parental involvement. Unpublished technical report, Florida Department of Education, Miami, FL.