Nathan Harrison Headshot

Nathan Harrison

Lecturer, Deaf Education

Department of Deaf Education (DDE)
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
nehnmp@rit.edu
Office Location
LBJ-2763

Nathan Harrison

Lecturer, Deaf Education

Department of Deaf Education (DDE)
National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Bio

Dr. Nathan Harrison is the husband to Mackenzie and father to three children. He is a lecturer in the MSDE program at the National Technical Institute of the Deaf housed in the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, and focuses on digital teaching and learning, Deaf/Hard of Hearing pedagogy, bilingual instruction, and Deaf Educational Leadership. He has been a director/principal (EDS, Springville, UT), curriculum director (USD), assistant director (JMS, Salt Lake City, UT), assistant principal and math teacher (NMSD, Santa Fe, NM).

Prior to becoming a teacher, Nathan was born and raised in Vernal, UT, and attended Utah State University to become a teacher. There, he took his first ASL class and “became hearing” when the beauty and existence of the DeafWorld was opened up to him. Feeling the call to become a part of the Deaf Community as a teacher, Nathan completed his bachelor’s degree in math & science education and journeyed on to the Bi-Bi Deaf Education master’s program.

Nathan began his professional career at the New Mexico School for the Deaf in Santa Fe, NM, as a secondary mathematics teacher. During that time, he began his Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at the University of New Mexico. After six years in the classroom, Nathan was promoted to Assistant Principal at NMSD.

Nathan then left NMSD in 2017 to serve as Assistant Director of the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf, a campus program of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Salt Lake City, UT. He worked to spearhead initiatives for school improvement, personalized learning, Culturally Sustaining Deaf Pedagogy, and Deaf-focused learning strategies. During this time, he completed his doctorate.

In 2021, Dr. Harrison changed roles to become the Curriculum Director for the Utah School for the Deaf, supporting the divisions in the Deaf school for curriculum, instruction, staff development, transition programming, and training.

In 2023, Dr. Harrison was asked to helm the Elizabeth DeLong School of the Deaf, a campus program of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Springville, UT. He worked to increase bilingual instruction, enrich language planning for students, and improve outcomes for all students across age groups. He led the expansion of the school to expand to include a middle school during the 2024-2025 school year. He was especially proud of his work to add to the culture of the school by emphasizing the mascot and associated PBIS.

In 2024, Dr. Harrison left the PK-12 world to become a lecturer in the Department of Deaf Education at NTID/RIT, which he had been an adjunct for previously. His work focuses on educator preparation in ASL/English and working to establish a Deaf Educational Leadership program under the DDE umbrella, in addition to other programs.

nehnmp@rit.edu
Personal Links
Personal Website
ORCID
Curriculum Vitae

Select Scholarship

Book Chapter
Harrison, Nathan and Chris Kurz. "Fostering Science Learning for Deaf Children in Early Childhood." Early Childhood Deaf Education: Teacher Preparation and Instructional Approaches. Ed. Patrick Graham and Nena Raschelle Neild. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2025. 259-288. Print.
Uninvited Presentations
Harrison, Nathan. "The Deaf Reading Rope." CEASD 2025. Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf. Pittsburgh, PA. 11 Apr. 2025. Conference Presentation.
Harrison, Nathan. "The Deaf Reading Rope." ACE-DHH 2025. Association of College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Washington, DC. 1 Feb. 2025. Conference Presentation.
West, Russell and Nathan Harrison. "School Leadership: What We Know and What We Don't." CEASD 2025. Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf. Pittsburgh, PA. 10 Apr. 2025. Conference Presentation.

Currently Teaching

DEAF-289
Special Topics: Deaf Education
1-3 Credits
Special Topics: DEAF courses will be developed based on current research, student interest, and demand as well as faculty interest and availability. These courses are usually taken on an elective basis.
MSSE-713
Assessment Principles and Practices
3 Credits
This course addresses assessment as educational decision-making, involving the selection and interpretation of assessment tools as applied to classroom-based student learning. The course focuses on students who are deaf and hard of hearing; including students with diverse learning needs. Assessment and educational planning for students are discussed as part of a cooperative model, including the relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process. This course also addresses the development and interpretation of both formative and summative assessment strategies in light of acceptable criteria of validity and reliability, and the absence of assessment bias. Criteria for evaluating the appropriateness of standardized tests, with emphasis on deaf and hard-of-hearing students, are discussed and practiced. Collection and interpretation of assessment information are applied to the development and revision of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
MSSE-760
Student Teaching I
6 Credits
This first assignment consists of 8 weeks (40 days or 250 hours) of teaching and observation. Teacher candidates are placed with cooperating teachers in residential schools for the Deaf or mainstreamed programs. They develop lesson and unit plans and teach in the content area in which they plan to receive New York State certification. To progress to MSSE-761, students must pass this student teaching assignment with a minimum grade of B and submit a student teaching portfolio.
MSSE-761
Student Teaching II
6 Credits
This second assignment consists of 8 weeks (40 days or 250 hours) of teaching and observation. Student teachers are placed with cooperating teachers in residential schools for the Deaf or mainstreamed program. They develop lesson and unit plans and teach in the content area in which they plan to receive New York State certification. Students must pass this student teaching assignment with a minimum grade of B and submit a student teaching portfolio.
MSSE-785
Foundations of Educational Research
3 Credits
This course is an introduction to research and inquiry in education. The course includes the evaluation of selected Deaf education research studies, including methodologies, data collection and analyses, and implications of the studies to teaching and learning. Action research in the classroom is examined in depth. Students will prepare a review of literature and an action research plan related to a specific curriculum topic or problem in the learning/teaching of their content areas. The focus of the course is upon the student as a consumer rather than a practitioner of research, however the student will exit the course with basic practitioner knowledge, especially in the area of teacher research.

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