Jessica Ghai

Part-Time Instructor

Jessica Ghai is a part-time instructor at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. As a board-certified (and licensed) behavior analyst and special education teacher, she has substantial experience working with individuals with a variety of disabilities (primarily focusing on those with severe cognitive, physical, and/or emotions disabilities and medical conditions) across multiple settings (e.g., public schools, private schools, hospitals, and homes).

While much of her teaching and research career has focused on learning and behavior change at the individual level within formal educational settings, she also has experience and great passion examining macro-level behavior change outside of formal settings. This is most prominent in her work around large-scale behavior change to combat various issues concerning sustainability and climate change.

Education

EdD, Boston University

Graduate Certificate in Program Planning, Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Boston University

Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis, University of Massachusetts-Boston

MEd, Boston College

BS, The Ohio State University

Courses

WED SE 706: Introduction to Special Education

WED SE 510: Special Education: Curriculum & Instruction

Selected Publications

Fiebig, J. H., Ghai, J. L., & Seniuk, H. A. (2022). So the planet is dying and you want to do something about it: The environmentalist behavior analyst. [Manuscript submitted for publication].

Ghai, J. L., Lehr, D., Harayama, N., Spooner, F., & Protopopova, A. (2021). Animal-assisted interventions as an adjunct to ABA services: Clinician practices and perceptions. Behavior Analysis in Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00605-4

Biglan, A., Bonner, A. C., Johansson, M., Ghai, J. L., Van Ryzin, M. J., Dubuc, T. L., Seniuk, H. A., Fiebig, J. H., & Coyne, L. W. (2020). The state of experimental research on community interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions- A systematic review. Sustainability, 12, 7593-7611. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187593

Rossetti, Z., Lehr, D., Haung, S., Ghai, J., & Harayama, N., (2016). Parent and teacher perspectives on friendships and social interactions of middle and high school students with severe disabilities. Inclusion, 4(4), 239-256. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-4.4.239

Selected Presentations

Fiebig, J. H., Ghai, J., & Seniuk, H. (2022, May). The environmental behavior analyst: Identifying opportunities and feasibility of behavior analytic careers in sustainability. Presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s 48th Annual Convention, Boston, MA.

Ghai, J., Fiebig, J., & Seniuk, H. (2021, May). The environmentalist behavior analyst: Identifying opportunities and feasibility of behavior analytic careers in sustainability. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s 47th Annual Convention, Online.

Ghai, J., Lehr, D., Harayama, N., Spooner, F., & Protopopova, A. (2020, May). Animal-assisted interventions as an adjunct to ABA services: A survey study. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s 46th Annual Convention, Online.

Biglan, A., Coyne, L., & Ghai, J. (2020, May). Coordinating interdisciplinary sustainability research: What we’ve learned about community intervention research. Presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s 46th Annual Convention, Online.

Rossetti, Z., Lehr, D., Harayama, N., Haung, S., & Ghai, J. (2013, December). Stakeholder perspectives of friendship for middle school students with severe disabilities. Presented at The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps International Conference, Chicago, IL.

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