Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Back Matter, Joonna Smitherman Trapp, Brad Peters

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Back Matter

The Positive Effects On Attitude Among High School Students Towards Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mario Castillo-Urbina

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Inclusion in the classroom requires that the local education agency provide services (i.e., direct, related) to support each student’s needs. The philosophy guiding inclusion is that these services will allow each student to keep pace or catch-up with his or her typically developing peers (Elkins, Van Kraayenoord, & Jobling, 2003). Students’ attitudes towards their peers with disabilities have been researched and reported through the years however, little work has examined these attitudes in a physical education setting (Archie & Sherrill, 1989; Block & Malloy, 1998; Block & Zeman, 1996; Tripp, French, & Sherrill, 1995). Researchers have reported that individuals avoid …

Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes Towards Inclusion Across The Training Years, Corrina Goddard, David Evans

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are responsible for meeting the needs of increasingly diverse learners. Given their position as catalysts for educational change, teachers’ positive attitudes towards inclusive education must be considered prerequisite to its success in Australian classrooms. This study investigated the extent to which pre-service training affects pre-service primary teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. A survey was designed to examine such attitudes among primary pre-service teachers at all year levels of their Bachelor of Education (Primary). To reflect the increasingly broad definition of inclusion established in the literature, participants’ attitudes towards gifted and talented students, those learning English as a second language …

Self-Efficacy Of Novice And Experienced Special Education Teachers Of English Learners, Deborah Escalante Montoya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Special education teachers in California acquire advanced degrees, credentials, and authorizations to serve students with disabilities who are English language learners (SWD-ELLs), yet continue to be challenged to meet the complex instructional needs of these students. Performance on statewide tests of achievement show continued disparities between the academic achievement of SWD, ELLs, and their non-disabled English-only speaking peers. Bandura's theory of self-efficacy was the theoretical foundation for this research study given that teachers' perceptions of their abilities across the span of their careers can directly affect the achievement of their students. To compare and examine the self-reported sense of self-efficacy …

Critical Skills For Special Educator Effectiveness: Which Ones Matter Most, And To Whom?, Sara B. Woolf

Publications and Research

Special education teachers are expected to fulfill diverse teaching and non-teaching tasks in comparison to their general education peers. However, their performance is evaluated with measures that were normed for use with general education teachers. These specialty teachers are also routinely evaluated by professionals who may lack formal special education training or experience. These conditions render special educators vulnerable for inaccurate performance evaluation. Explicit research is needed to clarify the professional skills that are most critical to special educators’ professional effectiveness and ensure continuity of focus on these skills in preservice teacher education and employment contexts. This qualitative study builds …

Effect Of X-Word Grammar And Traditional Grammar Instruction On Grammatical Accuracy, Sue Livingston, Andi Toce, Cyndi Casey, Fernando Montoya, Bonny R. Hart, Carmela O'Flaherty

Publications and Research

This study first briefly describes an instructional approach to teaching grammar known as X-Word Grammar and then compares its effectiveness in assisting students in achieving grammatical accuracy with traditionally taught grammar. Two groups of L2 pre-college students were taught using curricula and practice procedures in two different grammar texts over a three-month period of time for 20% of their class time. Essays written at three different times were analyzed for the correct and incorrect use of sentence patterns and verb constructs. Results demonstrated that improvement (writing with less error) was larger in both categories for the X-Word Grammar group and …

Preparing Those With Developmental Disabilities For Adulthood And Work: Parent Perspectives On Support Services Available In Washington State, Amy Mcalindon

All Master's Theses

Services designed to support the transition periods for individuals with special needs from high school to employment vary throughout the state of Washington. There is little information available regarding the opinions of parents and their experiences while navigating supports available in their area, and recommendations for system improvements. This paper derived from an in-depth study regarding these experiences and questions how the Diffusion of Innovation theory could be used to impact public policy, leading to improvements in high school to employment supports for individuals with special needs. This study presents the findings of a survey sent to parents of children …

Adapting Curriculum For Autism In Art Education, Melanie Jo Lambert

Honors Program Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) describes a complex group of brain development disorders characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication and behavior. ASD is one of the nation's leading disorders, affecting nearly one in every 68 children (Centers for Disease Control Prevention, 2017). Currently there is limited understanding and research in ways ASD is being promoted and integrated within art education. This limitation has led to blurred understandings in how art educators can adapt materials, projects, and roles of paraprofessionals within the classroom. Societal views on ASD often deny the giftedness of these children and fail to see the effects that …

Listening To Juvenile Corrections School Teachers: A Step-By-Step Process For Interview Studies Guided By Hermeneutics, Kristin M. Murphy

The Qualitative Report

The act of interviewing is a complex endeavor, and there are many pathways a researcher can take when designing their interview study. This becomes particularly critical when embarking on a study that will require participants to talk about subjects that may be sensitive in nature. In this paper, I share how I utilized a hermeneutic perspective to guide my interview study with teachers from juvenile corrections schools. I explicitly define and walk through why I selected hermeneutics. Then, I provide detailed step by step descriptions of how my data collection and analysis process was informed by the hermeneutic circle. The …

The Effects Of Behavior Skills Training On Acquisition Of Self-Instructional Skills For Elementary Students With Intellectual Disability, Amber Tincher

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Research demonstrates that video modeling and visual activity schedules have been effective in teaching students with disabilities a variety of skills. However, the instructional procedures used to teach students to acquire the necessary skills to perform the tasks can take time for the students and the instructors. A behavior skills training package was investigated within a multiple probe design across students to determine if four elementary aged students with intellectual disability, with and without autism spectrum disorder, could acquire self-instructional skills. The dependent variables in the study were the effects of behavior skills training on the acquisition of self-instructional skills …

The Use Of Technology To Implement Peer Mediated Intervention: Students With Autism As Tutors And Tutees, Lindsey R. Graessle

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Peer mediated interventions have been effective in teaching academic and social skills to students with disabilities. The present study assesses the effectiveness of students with autism spectrum disorder serving as the tutor and tutee. Four peer mediators and four students with autism spectrum disorder used technology and the simultaneous prompting procedure to teach acquisition of social studies vocabulary. Results indicate that both students with and without autism spectrum disorder effectively delivered instruction using technology and all students learned a portion of the vocabulary taught by a same-aged peer.

The Effects Of Picture Activity Schedules On Transition Times In An Inclusive Preschool Classroom, Elizabeth A. Reis

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study determined the effectiveness of using picture activity schedules with preschoolers who exhibited disruptive behaviors in an inclusive setting during transition times in a public preschool. The participants in this study were three male and one female student, ages 3 years to 5 years, who were enrolled in an inclusive public preschool. All children are Caucasian. Three of the children had an individualized education plan including goals for speech and social-emotional concerns. One child was typically developing and did not have an individualized education plan. The study method used a single-subject withdrawal design (ABAB). The results confirmed that the …

Elementary Teachers' Perspectives Of The Support Facilitation Instructional Model, Deborah Afolabi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem in an elementary school in Southern Texas was poor reading performance on grade level and progress monitoring tests for students with disabilities (SWDs). SWDs may learn to read proficiently when reading instruction is provided using the support facilitation model (SFM) that features a special educator who helps SWDs in literacy or mathematics in inclusion settings. The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to explore the perspectives of special and general education teachers about SFM. The universal design for learning framework, used to plan lessons based on how students learn, guided this study. The research questions focused …

Empowering Teachers Through Empathy To Decrease Special Education Referral Rates, Amy Heger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As mandated in Maryland public schools, principals cannot suspend students for infractions coded in the categories of disrespect and insubordination. To manage these behaviors, teachers need effective supports from educational leaders. The purpose of this case study was to explore a possible relationship between administrative supports and special education office referrals for disrespect and insubordination at a rural East Coast 8-12 school. The administration provided differentiated professional development by offering options that would meet the varied needs of teachers for classroom management. The theoretical foundation for this study was Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which was used to assess teachers' needs …

Metacognitive Reading Strategy And Emerging Reading Comprehension In Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Natasha Cox-Magno

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically, students with intellectual disabilities (ID) have low reading comprehension skills that can impede their overall academic success. There is a gap in practice regarding the identification and effective use of evidence-based reading comprehension instructional strategies for students with ID. Guided by Piaget's and Vygotsky's constructivist theories, the purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a metacognitive reading strategy on the emerging reading comprehension (ERC) skills of kindergarten students with ID. A single-participant, multiple baseline design with graphical visual analysis was used across 4 kindergarten students with ID to illustrate the influence of the reading intervention. All …

Applied Software Tools For Supporting Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Ahmad Abualsamid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the level of technology utilization in supporting children with cognitive disabilities at schools, speech clinics, and with assistive communication at home. Anecdotal evidence, literature research, and our own survey of special needs educators in Central Florida reveal that use of technology is minimal in classrooms for students with special needs even when scientific research has shown the effectiveness of video modeling in teaching children with special needs new skills and behaviors. Research also shows that speech and language therapists utilize a manual approach to elicit and analyze language samples from children with special needs. While technology is utilized …

Implementing Gameplay Skills To Increase Eye Contact And Communication For Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorder And Comorbid Disabilities, Celestial Wills-Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of gameplay activities using a structured social skills program to increase both eye contact responses and the number of verbal responses during peer relationships for students with comorbid disabilities in a clinical setting. This SEL intervention was modified for children with comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD). A single-subject, multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used. Participants included adolescents (n = 6) with comorbid disabilities, predominantly ASD and EBD, their board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA), and six behavior technicians. The researcher established and maintained face-to-face reciprocal peer social engagements (communication) …

Priorities For School Safety: The Alignment Between Federal And State School Safety Legislation And Safety Needs As Perceived By Education Stakeholders In Florida Private Schools For Exceptional Students, Anthony D. Mortimer

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the apparent threat assessment priorities of potential risks to safety in the school environment in the United States and whether stakeholders in Florida private schools that serve exceptional students agree with the priority given to specific identified potential threats. Faculty and staff, high school students, and the students’ parents and guardians at four Florida private schools for exceptional students rated their perceptions of the severity and likelihood of occurrence of nine potential threats identified in a review of federal and Florida state school safety laws and national and state government surveys of incident occurrences. Results showed that …

Providing Access To Content Using Technology To Engage All Learners, Karrissa Ebert, Cynthia Hutchings, Pamela Edwards, Mabel Eliana Lamprea

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

The purpose of this module is to provide access to research and tools which can be used to differentiate lessons in a classroom for all types of learners. First, the module helps educators understand TPACK as well as why using technology with students is effective. Next, the module delineates the research and tools into 4 categories of learning, which allows educators to learn/ teach using tools specific for different learners. The module concludes by encouraging educators to practice using the tools with a group of learners and a content specific standard.

View professional learning module.

Parent-Implemented Language Intervention With Young Children From Low-Ses Environments Who Have Language Impairment, Courtney Allison Hatcher

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

In this study, the author examined the effects of training four parents from low-socioeconomic environments to use Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) with their young children with language impairment. The investigator used a modified Teach-Model-Coach-Review method to teach parents to use the following EMT strategies during 8-10 individualized, home-based sessions: matched turns, expansions, time delays and milieu teaching prompts. A single-case multiple-baseline design across-behaviors replicated across four parent/child dyads was used to evaluate the parents' use of the EMT strategies. Child language outcomes were also assessed using pre- and post-intervention language samples. All parents learned and demonstrated use of each language …