Christian Doabler
· Associate ProfessorVerifiedUniversity of Texas at Austin · Special Education
Active 2009–2026
About
Christian T. Doabler is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin and a research fellow of the Mathematics and Science Institute for Students with Special Needs at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. His research focuses on designing and delivering effective science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction for students at risk for learning difficulties, including English learners and students from marginalized and underserved communities. Dr. Doabler's work emphasizes supporting teachers' use of evidence-based practices to promote equitable access to engaging STEM instruction for diverse learners. He has been awarded over $37.5 million across 17 research projects funded by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Special Education Programs. Currently, he serves as principal investigator on a $5 million NSF-sponsored Impact study testing a mathematics intervention for English learners with long-term difficulties. His projects also include designing and testing innovative mathematics and science interventions for struggling early learners, as well as evaluating the impact of Tier 2 mathematics interventions on student outcomes. Dr. Doabler has contributed significantly to the field through his publications, intervention development, and mentorship of doctoral students, with a focus on improving educational outcomes for students from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Mathematics education
- Psychology
- Statistics
- Sociology
- Mathematics
- Art
- Philosophy
- Art history
- Library science
- Social psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Theology
- Management
- Medicine
Selected publications
The Impact of Instructional Guidance on Science Learning in Second-Grade Classrooms
The Elementary School Journal · 2026-04-13
articleThe appropriate level of instructional guidance for students to acquire a deep understanding of the disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards remains ambiguous. To shed light on this important topic, we tested two distinct science programs in a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 11 second-grade classrooms and 185 students. Holding constant content, dosage, and professional development, findings favored the program that provided greater levels of instructional guidance on all three science measures (g = 0.19, 0.21, 0.40). In addition, differential response analyses revealed that students with lower initial scores made significantly greater gains on a distal science measure in classrooms that implemented the program with more instructional guidance. Last, exploratory correlations between teacher-level instructional guidance and student outcomes suggested positive associations between guidance levels and outcome gains. Implications for designing and delivering science instruction to meet diverse student needs are discussed.
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice · 2026-02-09
articleElementary students with learning disabilities (LDs) often have limited opportunities to learn science, and little is known about how special educators engage in science instruction. This study drew on a nationally representative survey of elementary special education teachers to describe their roles, preparedness, time allocation, and perceived barriers. Most teachers reported minimal discipline-specific preparation and felt less prepared to teach science than other subjects. Many noted that students with LDs often missed science classes because of pull-out instruction. Common barriers to students receiving science instruction included remediation priorities and accountability pressures in tested subjects. These findings provide a national snapshot of science instruction for elementary students with LDs and point to the need for greater teacher preparation and policy support to ensure access to high-quality science learning for students with LDs.
2025-05-09
preprintElementary science education, particularly in the 4th and 5th grades, is essential for setting the foundation for lifelong science learning, fostering critical thinking, and preparing students for success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This stage is especially critical for students with disabilities, as achievement gaps between them and their peers emerge during elementary school. Despite this importance, little is known about how science is taught in elementary classrooms during these critical years, particularly for students with disabilities. To address this gap, we surveyed teachers from a nationally representative sample of U.S. schools to examine elementary science education, including instructional practices, allocation of time, and the inclusion and support of students with disabilities. Our findings reveal that limited instructional time is allocated to science, with significant variability across classrooms. The amount of time dedicated to science instruction was significantly influenced by external factors, such as whether science was a tested subject. Students with disabilities often face additional barriers, including being pulled out of science instruction for special education services, resulting in missed opportunities to engage in science. These findings highlight the need to address opportunity gaps in science instruction to ensure all students have meaningful access to quality science education.
2025-09-20
articleOpen accessElementary students with learning disabilities (LD) often have limited opportunities to learn science, yet little is known about how special educators engage in science instruction. This study draws on a nationally representative survey of elementary special education teachers to describe their roles, preparedness, time allocation, and perceived barriers. Most reported minimal discipline-specific preparation and felt less prepared to teach science than other subjects. Many teachers indicated that students with LD missed science due to pull-out instruction. Common barriers to students receiving science instruction included remediation priorities and accountability pressures in tested subjects. These findings provide a national snapshot of science instruction for elementary students with LD and point to the need for greater preparation and policy support to ensure access to high-quality science learning for students with LD.
Science Education · 2025-04-18 · 1 citations
articleOpen accessABSTRACT Elementary science education, particularly in the 4th and 5th grades, is essential for setting the foundation for lifelong science learning, fostering critical thinking, and preparing students for success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This stage is especially critical for students with disabilities, as achievement gaps between them and their peers emerge during elementary school. Despite this importance, little is known about how science is taught in elementary classrooms during these critical years, particularly for students with disabilities. To address this gap, we surveyed teachers from a nationally representative sample of U.S. schools to examine elementary science education, including instructional practices, allocation of time, and the inclusion and support of students with disabilities. Our findings reveal that limited instructional time is allocated to science, with significant variability across classrooms. The amount of time dedicated to science instruction was significantly influenced by external factors, such as whether science was a tested subject. Students with disabilities often face additional barriers, including being pulled out of science instruction for special education services, resulting in missed opportunities to engage in science. These findings highlight the need to address opportunity gaps in science instruction to ensure all students have meaningful access to quality science education.
Education Sciences · 2025-09-08 · 4 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorAn essential element for increasing student mathematics achievement is providing teachers with professional development (PD) aimed at the design and delivery of high-quality mathematics instruction. To date, however, there is a lack of consistent data on the efficacy of PD on student outcomes; moreover, there is a need to explore PD characteristics as moderators of student outcomes. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to synthesize the effects of teacher PD on mathematics outcomes for students in PreK through 12th grade. Additionally, this study explored whether specific characteristics (i.e., grade level, format, PD focus, PD days, and inclusion of students with or at risk of disabilities) served as potential moderators of the effect of PD programs. The 20 studies included in the review investigated PD intended for in-service teachers who work with a full range of learners, including students with or at risk of disabilities. The results showed that there was a positive average effect of PD on student mathematics outcomes (g = 0.34, 95% PI = [−0.47, 1.15]), with wide heterogeneity of most effects ranging from −0.20 to 5.83. In addition, the five moderators examined in this meta-analysis were not significantly correlated with the relation between PD efficacy and student mathematics outcomes. Recommendations for improving the features of PD programs as well as exploring mechanisms of change hypothesized to improve student mathematics outcomes are discussed.
OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · 2025-10-22
otherThis research will provide fundamental knowledge on the type of science education received by students with learning disabilities in 4th and 5th grade.
Implementation and Replication Studies in Mathematics Education · 2025-05-14
articleAbstract Teachers often face barriers, including time constraints and a lack of resources, to accessing professional development ( PD ) for implementing evidence-based practices in schools. One strategy which affords the flexibility to meet teacher needs while increasing the likelihood of strong implementation is providing PD remotely. The current study is a replication of a pilot study that examined the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of providing remote PD for interventionists to implement a kindergarten mathematics intervention ( ROOTS ) for students with mathematics difficulties. Findings from the current study provide support for the pilot study and indicate that (a) a remote approach for ROOTS PD was acceptable for teachers; (b) the intervention was implemented as intended; and (c) students who received the ROOTS intervention outperformed their control group peers on mathematics outcome measures. Taken together, these results suggest that remote PD for ROOTS is a viable alternative to traditional face-to-face PD and warrants additional investigation. The Impact Sheet to this article is available online at 10.6084/m9.figshare.28723274.
An Examination of Implementation Fidelity Within the Context of a Tier 2 Mathematics Intervention.
PubMed · 2025-10-21
articleEvidenced-based mathematics interventions are critical for supporting students with mathematics difficulties. In research and practice, collecting implementation fidelity is important for ensuring that all the core components of the intervention are implemented as designed. Historically, implementation fidelity has been defined as multifaceted, including examinations of adherence, instructional quality, and student engagement, though mathematics intervention studies rarely report on fidelity components outside of adherence. The current study examined the relationships between these different components of fidelity and whether they are associated with student mathematics outcomes and intervention group size within the context of a first-grade mathematics intervention. Findings revealed relationships between components of fidelity with student's initial mathematics skill; however, no relationship was observed between fidelity components and student mathematics growth. Findings for group size were mixed. Limitations, implications for research and practice, and future directions are discussed.
Examining Patterns and Predictors of Response to Mathematics Intervention
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness · 2025-05-19
articleSenior author
Recent grants
NSF · $2.5M · 2017–2023
NSF · $5.3M · 2020–2027
Frequent coauthors
- 60 shared
Ben Clarke
University of Oregon
- 50 shared
Hank Fien
Boston University
- 49 shared
Keith Smolkowski
Oregon Research Institute
- 46 shared
Scott Baker
Wheelock College
- 41 shared
Derek Kosty
University of Oregon
- 18 shared
Marah Sutherland
- 17 shared
Jessica Turtura
University of Oregon
- 15 shared
Megan Rojo
University of North Texas
Labs
Department of Special Education, University of Texas at AustinPI
Awards & honors
- National Science Foundation's EHR Core Research Students wit…
- Editorial Review Board, Exceptional Children(2018 - Present)
- Editorial Review Board, Assessment for Effective Interventio…
- Editorial Review Board, Journal of Special Education(2015 -…
- Editorial Review Board, Intervention in School and Clinic(20…
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