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Dr. Willard-Holt received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Purdue University in 1993 and her Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University in 1983, She was a K-12 teacher prior to moving to the university level. I was a professor at Penn State University for 14 years before coming to Wilfrid Laurier.
Dr. Willard-Holt served as Dean of the Faculty of Education from 2008-2019, supporting and/or spearheading development of program offerings in addition to PJ and JI teacher education. She is noted internationally for her research in twice-exceptional children and youth. “Twice-exceptional” refers to individuals who have been identified as gifted, as well as having one or more additional exceptionalities—for example, gifted/blind, gifted/autism spectrum, gifted with emotional or mental health challenges.
My areas of research include gifted children with disabilities, implications of neuroscience research for classroom teachers, multiple intelligences, international experiences for teachers, and preservice teacher education. I have published in the fields of gifted education, multiple intelligences and general teacher education, and have addressed regional, national, and international audiences on those topics.
One of my current research projects involves students who are gifted and who have at least one other exceptionality (autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, attention-deficit disorder, etc.). I am also working with a consortium of universities and schools in Canada and Pakistan to create peace curriculum for students in grades six, seven and eight.
Because I retired from the University in 2021, I am no longer accept students for supervision. However, I am willing to provide some assistance to students, or serve as an external reader.
Refereed Journal Articles
- Willard-Holt, C., Weber, J., Morrison, K.L., & Horgan, J. (2013). Twice-exceptional learners’ perspectives on effective learning strategies. Gifted Child Quarterly, 57(4), 247–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986213501076
- Willard-Holt, C., & Morrison, K.L. (2013). Uncovering buried treasure: Effective learning strategies for twice-exceptional students. Teaching for High Potential, 14–16.
- Martinovic, D., Wiebe, N., Ratkovic, S., Willard-Holt, C., Spencer, T., & Cantalini-Williams, M. (2012). “Doing research was inspiring”: Building a research community with teachers. Educational Action Research, 20(3), 385–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2012.697402
- Mueller, J., Willard-Holt, C., & Buzza, D. (2011). Evaluating the complexities of teacher preparation through online program-wide assessment. In H. Smits & T. Falkenberg (Eds.), The question of evidence in research in teacher education in the context of teacher education program review in Canada (pp. 175–192). Canadian Association for Teacher Education.
- Willard-Holt, C. (2008). “You could be doing brain surgery”: Gifted girls becoming teachers. Gifted Child Quarterly, 52(4), 313–325.
- Willard-Holt, C. (2008). Gifted program retrospective: Teachers look back at own experiences. Teaching for High Potential, 4–19.
Book Chapters
- Willard-Holt, C. (2026). Preparing students with 2e for success in university. In Garcin, M, Wojtyna, E., Willard-Holt, C., Bielska, E., Dobosz, D., Belza-Gajdzica, M., & Gromkowska-Melosik, A. Supporting twice-exceptional students in higher education (pp. 116-143). Routledge/Prufrock Press.
- Mueller, J., Willard-Holt, C., Alexander, B., & Cantalini-Williams, M. (2022). Developing integrated curriculum knowledge and an in-depth understanding of diverse learners in collaboration with community partners: Initiatives and challenges. In Kitchen, J., & Petrarca, D. (Eds.). (2022). Initial teacher education in Ontario: The four-semester teacher education programs after five years. In Canadian research in teacher education: A polygraph series (Vol. 12) [eBook]. Canadian Association for Teacher Education/Canadian Society for the Study of Education. http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39656
- Willard-Holt, C. & *Taylor, S.R. (2021). In the trenches: Integrating peace education within initial teacher preparation. In L. Ewert & F. Bird (Eds.), Peace is everyone’s business (pp. 301-316). Information Age Publishing.
- Buzza, D., FitzGerald, C., Kotsopoulos, D., Montero, M. K., Mueller, J., Sider, S., &
Willard-Holt, C. (2017; authors listed alphabetically). Innovations in a professional
development school model of teacher education: Developing integrated curriculum
knowledge and better understanding of diverse learners. In D. Petrarca & J. Kitchen
(Eds.), Initial teacher education in Ontario: The first year of four-semester teacher
education programs. Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Association of Teacher Education.
- Mueller, J., Willard-Holt, C. & Buzza, D. (2011). Evaluating the complexities of
teacher preparation through on-line program wide assessment (pp. 175-192). In
- Smits & T. Falkenberg, The question of evidence in research in teacher
education in the context of teacher education program review in Canada.
Winnipeg, Manitoba: Canadian Association for Teacher Education.
Presentations: 174 for international, national and regional audiences
Contact Info:
E: cwh@wlu.ca
Office location: Not applicable
Office hours:
By appointment.
Languages spoken: English