Dr. Dane Marco Di Cesare

Assistant Professor (PhD), Department of Educational Studies

905 688 5550 x5777
ddicesare@brocku.ca

INQYR Website

Dr. Dane Marco Di Cesare (he/him) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. As a multidisciplinary academic, he specializes in the areas of exceptional education, multimodality, digital technologies, & literacy and multiliteracies.

Dr. Di Cesare holds a PhD (2015) in Special Education with a focus on Digital Technologies from the University at Buffalo. His former P-12 classroom teaching experience ranges from pre-school to middle and high school. His current University level teaching is in the areas of exceptional education, research methods, and literacy in early childhood. His teaching across all courses has an additional focus on equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization.

Di Cesare’s research interests are intersectional and involve how youth with intersectional identities (particularly 2SLGBTQ+) engage with digital technology and their use of media literacies, supporting 2SLGBTQ+ mental health and wellbeing, gender equity with young children, and supporting early years families through the school system (2SLGBTQ+, families with children with special needs).

Research Interests and Activities

Research interests

  • 2SLGBTQ+ mental health, & wellbeing
  • gender equity in the early years
  • supporting families in the early years
  • digital technology, multimodality & media literacies
  • exceptional education/special education
  • multiliteracies & multimodalities
  • multimodal composition

Research Projects

LEVEL UP! LGBTQ+ Gaming.

  • This study is currently recruiting participants. Learn more at: (https://www.inqyr.org/projects/levelup).
  • Project Description: The purpose of this research study is to investigate the positive and negative experiences 2SLGBTQ+ people (age 14+) have while playing video games and/or participating in online gaming communities and spaces. Alongside their experiences within playing video games and gaming communities, this research explores LGBTQ+ representation (or lack thereof) in video games and how all these elements may influence the identity development and well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ people.

Professional Affiliations and Accreditation/Certification

  • Canada Regional Network Chair: International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (a multilingual research partnership designed to understand and support the resilience of 2SLGBTQ+ youth through technology-engaged research and practice)
  • President: NYS Council for Exceptional Children, Chapter 402

Recent Publications

Hashey, A., Foxworth, L., Di Cesare, D.M., Kaczorowski, T., (2022). High-Leverage practices for intensive interventions. Maheady, M., (Eds.), High-Leverage for Inclusive Classrooms.

Di Cesare, D.M., Kaczorowski, T., Hashey, A. (2021). A piece of the (Ed)puzzle: Using the Edpuzzle interactive video platform to facilitate explicit instruction, Journal of Special Education Technology DOI 10.1177/0162643421994266

Welbourn, S., Di Cesare, D.M., Jaipal-Jamani, K., & Figg, C. (2021). Cheerleading our colleagues: Supporting the social-emotional wellbeing during mentoring of emerging technology learners in higher education faculty. Proceedings of SITE Interactive Online Conference.

Figg, C., Jaipal Jamani, K., Di Cesare, D.M. & Welbourn, S. (2020). Teaching in the Virtual Reality of 2020: Building TPACK Knowledge of Higher Education Faculty. In T. Bastiaens & G. Marks (Eds.), Proceedings of Innovate Learning Summit 2020 (pp. 98-107). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved May 26, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/218788/.

Downes, T., Di Cesare, D.M., Gallagher, T. L., & Rowsell, J. (2020). Parents’ beliefs about and associations to their elementary children’s home technology usage. Education and Information Technologies, 1-18.

Kaczorowski, T. L., Hashey, A. I., & Di Cesare, D.M. (2019). An exploration of multimedia supports for diverse learners during core math instruction. Journal of Special Education Technology, 34(1), 41-54.

Gallagher, T. L., Di Cesare, D.M., & Rowsell, J. (2019). Stories of digital lives and digital divides: Newcomer families and their thoughts on digital literacy. The Reading Teacher, 72(6), 774-778.

Harwood, D., Di Cesare, D.M., Julian, K. (2019). Teachers’ digital practices in the classroom. Gray, C., & Palaiologou, I. (Eds.), Digital Pedagogy and Early Childhood: Critical Issues. Early Learning in the Digital Age, 165.

Courses Taught

  • ECEC 3P55 Young Children with Exceptionalities
  • ECEC 4P24 Literacy in the Early Years
  • ECEC 4P52 Inclusive Programming in Early Childhood Education
  • EDBE 8P34 Primary/Junior Language Arts Part I
  • EDBE 8P42 Primary/Junior Language Arts Part II
  • EDBE 8P43 Junior/Intermediate Language Arts Part II
  • EDBE 8Y08 Teaching Digital Learners in a Digital Age