Author Team

Lori Skibbe, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies at Michigan State University. She researches individual differences in the development of early language and literacy skills for children, including those with disabilities. Specifically, she emphasizes children’s literacy development in the context of schools and families, the role of self-regulation in children’s language and literacy achievement, and the development of appropriate techniques for assessing early language and literacy skills. Lori has over 60 publications related to early language and literacy development. She was the PI or Co-PI on several grants from the Institute of Education Sciences related to work in this area.

Ryan Bowles, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the development and validation of assessments using contemporary methods in measurement and longitudinal analysis. He has expertise in measurement methods such as Rasch measurement, item response theory, and structural equation modeling with categorical outcomes, and in longitudinal analyses including linear and nonlinear latent growth curve modeling and growth mixture modeling. His applied focus is in early childhood language and literacy development for children with and without disabilities. Ryan has more than 75 publications in early childhood development and statistics. He was the PI for two grants from the Institute of Education Sciences related to assessing early language and literacy skills during preschool.