Roba Hrisseh Nawash

Biography

Roba Hrisseh Nawash, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Towson University. She earned her doctorate from George Mason University as an Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) scholar. Before pursuing her doctoral studies, Dr. Hrisseh Nawash's career focused on implementing assistive and educational technology for individuals with disabilities across various settings, including public and charter schools, nonprofit organizations and postsecondary institutions.

During her doctoral program, Dr. Hrisseh Nawash taught undergraduate courses in special education, conducted research on technology-based interventions for students with disabilities, and completed internships at the OSEP and CAST. She is committed to the use of technology to ensure all learners’ equitable access to education and the application of Universal Design for Learning principles to eliminate barriers for students with disabilities. 

Selected Publications

• Evmenova, A. S., Regan, K., Mergen, R., & Hrisseh, R. (2025). Educational games and the potential of AI to transform writing across the curriculum. Education Sciences, 15(5), 567. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050567 
• Regan, K., Evmenova, A. S., Hutchison, A., Mergen, R., Hrisseh, R., Day, J., Hayes, C., Gafurov, B. (2024). Implementation of a technology-based writing intervention to support writing quality. Literacy Research and Instruction, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2024.2425844  
• Evmenova, A. S., Regan, K., Mergen, R., & Hrisseh, R. (2024). Improving writing feedback for struggling writers: Generative AI to the rescue? TechTrends, 68(6), 790–802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-00965-y
• Evmenova, A. S., & Hrisseh, R. (2024). Assistive technology assessment approaches. In K. K. Floyd, T. Jeffs, & K. S. Puckett (Eds.), Assistive technology and universal design for learning (1st ed., pp. 61–81). Plural Publishing.
• Evmenova, A. S., & Hrisseh, R. (2022). Use assistive and instructional technologies. In R. Pennington, M. Ault, G. Courtade, J. M. Jameson, & A. Ruppar (Eds.), High leverage practices and students with extensive support needs (1st ed., pp. 234–245). Routledge.

Selected Presentations

• Hrisseh, R. & Evmenova, A.S., Regan, K., Mergen, R. L. (2025, March). Tech tales: Essay writing using block-based computer code. Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Baltimore, MD. 
• Hrisseh, R., Evmenova, A. S., Mergen, R. L., & Murnan, R. (2024, November). Forging ahead in inclusive education: Combining Scratch, UDL, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Teacher Education Division (TED) of Council for Exceptional Children. Pittsburgh, PA.  
• Evmenova, A. S., Regan, K., Palmer, A., & Hrisseh, R. (2024, October). Improving the essay quality via a technology-based writing intervention package. Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) 46th International Conference on Learning Disabilities Charlotte, NC. 
• Mergen, R. L., Lee, J. Y., & Hrisseh, R. (2024, October). Strategies for supporting diverse learners in mathematics writing interventions. Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) 46th International Conference on Learning Disabilities Charlotte, NC.
• Murnan, R., Evmenova, A. S., Regan, K., & Hrisseh, R. (2024, October). Seeing the unseen: An exploratory study of idea generation processes. Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) 46th International Conference on Learning Disabilities Charlotte, NC. 

Research

Dr. Hrisseh Nawash research interests center on assistive technology, educational technology, accessibility, Universal Design for Learning, computer science instruction for students with disabilities, the intersection of immigrant identity and disability and single-case design research methodology.