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Elise Touris Pas, PhD

Elise Touris Pas
  • Associate Scientist

Departmental Affiliations

Center & Institute Affiliations

Contact Information

415 N. Washington Street
Room 501
Baltimore, Maryland 21231

410-502-8506

View Current Courses

Education

PhD, University of Maryland at College Park, 2008
MA, University of Maryland, 2006
BA, State University of New York at Binghamton, 2003

Overview

I conduct school-based research to examine the effectiveness of behavioral and social emotional interventions, with a specific focus on the contextual factors that promote, or hinder, implementation fidelity. Interventions I have tested are both universal (e.g., suicide prevention in high schools) and targeted/selective (e.g., group counseling to address aggressive behavior). I am interested in the ecological context of schools and thus have adapted/developed and tested teacher and systems coaching models, which embed motivational interviewing (MI), to promote the implementation of evidence-based programs and practices and improve school climate. Much of my work has focused on the use of public health framework for providing tiered supports to students, called PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). Though the majority of my research has been based in public K-12 settings, I have also conducted work in non-public special educational settings. Through a partnership with the Kennedy Krieger School, I led the development and testing of a teacher-tailored coaching approach which embedded MI and integrated mixed-reality simulation, to increase teacher capacity to address the diverse needs of students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Through a current JHU Alliance for a Healthier World grant, I am collaborating with the School of Education to examine the facilitators and barriers to training and retention of paraprofessional educators providing school-based support to youth with ASD.

Honors and Awards

Journal of School Psychology, Article of the Year, 2019

Journal of School Psychology, Nomination for Article of the Year, 2015

Association of Positive Behavior Supports Ted E. Carr Initial Researcher Award, 2011-2012

School Psychology Review 2011 Article of the Year, Honorable Mention

Child, Intervention, Prevention and Services (CHIPS) Fellow, 2010-2011

  • Dissemination and implementation
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Coaching teachers
  • Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
  • Multi-tiered System of Supports
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Suicide prevention
  • School climate
  • Teacher efficacy and burnout
  • Risk and protective factors
  • Randomized controlled trials
  • Effectiveness studies
  • Cost analysis

The five publications listed below cover the different focus areas of my most recent research.

  • Pas, E. T., Lindstrom Johnson, S., Alfonso, Y. N. & Bradshaw, C. P. (2020). Tracking time and resources associated with systems change and the adoption of evidence-based programs: The “hidden costs” of school-based coaching. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 47(5), 720-734. doi: 10.1007/s10488-020-01039-w
  • Pas, E.T., Ryoo, J.H., Musci, R., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2019). A state-wide quasi-experimental effectiveness study of the scale-up of school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Journal of School Psychology, 73(1), 41-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2019.03.001. ERIC Number: ED593800 [Note, received Paper of the Year 2019 Award in the Journal of School Psychology]
  • Pas, E. T., Waasdorp, T. E., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2019). Coaching teachers to detect, prevent, and respond to bullying using mixed-reality simulation: An efficacy study in middle schools. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 1(1), 58-69. doi: 10.1007/s42380-018-0003-0.
  • Pas, E. T., Kaiser, L., Rabinowitz, J., Lochman, J. E., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2020). Patterns of student attendance for group counseling and the influence of student, group, and clinician factors. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 36(2), 198-226. doi: 10.1080/15377903.2020.1714860
  • Pas, E.T., Johnson, S. R., Larson, K., Brandenburg, L., Church, R., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2016). Reducing behavior problems among students with an ASD: A pilot study of coaching teachers in a mixed-reality setting. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 3640-3652. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016- 2898-y

See all publications by Elise Touris Pas

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