Sheldon Loman, PhD, is a Professor in the Special Education Department. Dr. Loman received his PhD in special education from the University of Oregon, with the focus of his work on instructional practices for people with severe disabilities, educational systems change, and positive behavioral interventions and supports. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Hawaii and a master’s degree in special education with an emphasis on moderate/severe disabilities from San Francisco State University.
Dr. Loman conducts research and teaches inclusive practices for supporting students with extensive support needs to teacher candidates earning their licenses in special education and research methodologies to educational doctorate (EdD) students. He earned his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Oregon.
Before his work at Portland State University, Dr. Loman worked as a special education teacher and positive behavior support coordinator in a diverse urban school district in California. He has developed the research-based Basic FBA to BSP widely used by schools and districts to train school-based personnel to use function-based positive behavior supports. He recently completed his role as a co-project director on a four-year $1.25 million personnel preparation grant entitled DiSE (Diverse Special Educators) that prepared special educators from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to support students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with extensive support needs.
Areas of expertise:
- Inclusive practices for individuals with extensive support needs
- Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
- Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)
- Educational systems change