Faculty Profiles

Dr. Begeske is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Studies in the College of Education at Purdue University. She is a former P-12 special education and art education teacher. Dr. Begeske is a teacher educator, artist, and researcher. Both as a teacher educator and researcher, she focuses on inclusive, equitable, and accessible opportunities in education. Her research centers on program evaluation measuring access and accessibility to arts education for vulnerable populations and developing and individualizing creative assistive technology solutions for improved accessibility to learning. Her artistic practice includes experimental printmaking and participatory arts projects that include individuals with disabilities as makers.

She is a Founding Co-Director of CREATE: Center for Resources and Equipment for Assistive Technology in Education, an assistive technology (AT) library and makerspace for individualizing and creating the next generation of AT interventions. This center is open to all teaching majors and aims to 1) provide hands-on opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage with assistive technology and 2) teach and empower pre-service teachers to develop and individualize assistive technology solutions for students with disabilities using a variety of equipment and tools (e.g., 3d printers, Cricut, Glowforge, hand tools).

Dr. Begeske has taught over 100 sections of 30 undergraduate and graduate courses and has 15+ years of experience preparing future teachers. She is invested in the curriculum at Purdue University and is dedicated to increased student learning and engagement. She has represented the College of Education on the university Undergraduate Curriculum Council (UCC) and served as the faculty facilitator of the campus-wide Active Learning Community of Practice (ALCOP). Dr. Begeske promotes high-quality teacher education through service to the profession including conducting state level program reviews in Art Education, Special Education, Theatre, Health, and Physical Education programs and serving on state-level academic standards review committees.

Dr. Begeske is deeply committed to quality instruction. She is a Purdue Entrepreneur Learning Academy (ELA) Faculty Fellow, Purdue IMPACT (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation) fellow, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) fellow, and an Associate Fellow in the Purdue Teaching Academy.

Dr. Begeske serves the profession in many ways. She is currently president-elect of the Indiana Division of Early Childhood. She serves as the Membership Chair and the Indiana ambassador for Division of Visual and Performing Arts Education. (CEC-DARTS). She was elected to the board of ArtMix, formerly VSA Indiana, an organization dedicated to transforming the lives of people with disabilities through the creation of art. She is an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion co-liaison for the Art Education Association of Indiana (AEAI). She serves as a Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HESCE) faculty representative for Purdue University. She is also serving as the co-editor of the Journal of Arts and Special Education (JASE). JASE is a peer-reviewed publication of the Division of Visual Arts and Performing Arts (DARTS) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

Dr. Begeske is open to research collaborations that involve the arts and/or assistive technology.
She is accepting new doctoral students.

https://create.education.purdue.edu/
CREATE Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PurdueCREATELab
Special Education Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PurdueSpecialEducation

• EDPS 26500 — The Inclusive Classroom
• EDPS 46100 — Practicum in Strategies for Teaching Individuals with Disabilities