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Joanne Wilken

Joanne Wilken

Part-time Faculty

I graduated from University of Georgia with an undergraduate in special education and have a Masters in Instructional Technology from Northern Illinois University. For 10 years, I taught at various grade levels in special education and specialized in working with individuals on the autism spectrum. Following this, I moved out of the classroom and became an itinerant teacher with Chicago Public Schools. In that role, I supported teachers and students at the early childhood and elementary levels in the areas of environment, instruction, communication, social skills, and behavior at over 50 schools across the city.

I’ve taught in higher education for over 9 years and joined the Erikson team in the Fall of 2018. I love teaching in higher education because it allows me to share strategies and methods I’ve used in classrooms. One concept I like to integrate in my courses are practical assignments that challenge my students to think about each of their students as an individual and align instruction accordingly.