Virginia Gryta

Professor Gryta taught in pre K to 12 classrooms for children with disabilities from 1996-2010. In Fall 2009, she transitioned to teacher education at Hunter College. She teaches and mentors teacher candidates in Hunter’s Special Education Department courses and in the field. She coordinates Hunter’s Adolescent Learning Lab, a yearlong course in teacher supervision and training and often teaches the courses on inclusion and instructional technology. Professor Gryta advises in the Learning Disabilities (LD) program and currently coordinates and advises students in the Multiple Disabilities Childhood program. She has a range of experiences with different disabilities and settings, having taught in hospital schools, self-contained classes, and co-taught in inclusive classrooms. She was a developmental educator for early interventions services, served on academic intervention teams in schools and was responsible for professional development in assessments and interventions for reading, math, writing, and behavioral/organizational skills. She serves on the School of Education’s Assessment Committee as well as the Equity and Advocacy Committee.

• Hunter College, Childhood Special Education, MS 2010 (Summa Cum Laude)
• Boston University, Severe and Multiple Disabilities Education, BS 1998

• SPED 700 – Issues and Practices in Educating Students with Disabilities
• SPED 703 – Inclusive Instruction in General Education Classrooms for Students with Learning and Behavior Disorders
• SPED 777/772/774 – Supervised Clinical Teaching of Students with Learning Disabilities Part 1 and 2 (Learning Lab)
• SPED 780 – The Study of Learning Disabilities in Children and Adolescents
• SPED 705 – Use of Instructional Technology in the Special Education Classroom
• edTPA Weekend Workshops
• Field Supervision

Professor Gryta’s research focuses on supporting new teachers as they practice specific methods and strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities. She has presented on online course design and building communities of learners. She supports co-teachers through professional development and mentoring to foster effective differentiated instruction and healthy co-teaching relationships in inclusive classrooms. In addition, of particular interest is the development of digital literacy and computational thinking skills in teachers and the connections to student learning opportunities.

• Schnell-Peskin, L., Riley, G., Hodnett, K., Gryta, V., & Kisamore, A. (2023) Meeting the needs of students in higher education multigenerational classrooms: What can educators do? International Journal of Information & Learning Technology, 40 (4). DOI: 10.1108/IJILT-04-2023-0057

• CITE Faculty Research Grant, “Turning up the Volume on Teacher Candidates’ Voice and Teaching Experiences: Integrating Digital Equitable Practices in Multiprogram Clinical Preparation.”