Alyssa Voort Uher received recognition from Michigan State University for their dedication and commitment to teaching and pedagogy.
Uher, who will earn a Ph.D. in Special Education following the successful defense of their dissertation in July 2024, earned an Excellence-in-Teaching Citation at the All-University Awards.
Throughout their time at MSU, Uher taught more than 20 sections of students, particularly an early course in the college’s Teacher Preparation Program, “Introduction to Exceptional Learners” (CEP 240).
Uher, who discovered they were autistic and with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) early into their studies at MSU, saw the course as an opportunity to expand discourse and understanding.
The planned course materials covered the history of special education and the laws and legislation surrounding it. In addition, the course covered federally recognized categories of disabilities, including descriptions, terminologies and academic strategies for support.
Crucially, according to Uher, it did not include perspectives on what it means to be disabled.
They decided to change that.
Humanizing disability
These efforts led to longstanding changes.
“There are many, many incredible graduate students who expertly deliver content to our students. There are many fewer who actually introduce new content that becomes so powerful that this content is then included in future iterations of the course. That is the case with Alyssa Uher,” wrote Associate Professor Troy Mariage in a nomination letter.
Uher’s efforts resulted in multiple instructional modules and an entirely new project as part of the new standard curriculum for CEP 240.
For example, Uher introduced the idea of “masking,” or, as Mariage wrote, “the additional effort it takes some persons to hide or diminish aspects of their autism. Specifically, while the public might see someone who is a hard worker, well-behaved, eager to please and compliant, a person with autism may have to mask social confusion, panic attacks, need for perfection, excessive worry and stomach aches.”
Uher’s book club project – examining “Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century” by Alice Wong (Vintage, 2020) — is now a standard project across CEP 240.
“[S]tudents leaving Michigan State University’s esteemed and top-ranked program will now have access to the most current and progressive understanding of disability available,” Mariage continued. “Alyssa Uher will be known as one of the catalysts for these changes. They have, quite literally, transformed the way we now teach the course.”
Teaching roots
Uher earned their bachelor’s and master’s in psychology and applied behavior analysis, respectively, at Western Michigan University. While earning their master’s, they taught classes for bachelor’s-level students. After graduation, they gained their certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).
While their classmates entered the workforce, Uher felt they “had so much more to learn.”
Then again, learning was the most intriguing thing to Uher.
“I loved working with the preschool children in the Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention classroom. I loved when something clicked, and they learned something,” Uher recalled. “Then, when I taught undergraduates to work in those very same classrooms, I loved watching them succeed, too. I realized I was called to teach teachers.”
Enter Michigan State University.
Here, Uher found a continued connection to the “teaching the teacher” approach — where trained educators teach the next generation of educators. They loved how asking questions was a central part of the learning experience and how everyone could learn from everyone.
“Over the past five years, I watched Alyssa use their passion for justice, equity and inclusion — along with their leadership in knowledge in special education and disability studies — to empower their students and transform the way MSU prepares future generations of teachers,” said Marisa H. Fisher. Fisher, an associate professor of special education, was Uher’s advisor.
“They have not only made an impact on students but have also challenged the special education faculty to rethink how we teach students about individuals with disabilities. I am honored to have had the opportunity to learn from Alyssa.”
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Uher was also named one of the first-ever winners of the College of Education Graduate Student Award in Justice and Equity Pedagogy.