Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Best Practice News: School Psychologist Wins Book Award, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Investigating A Model Of False Memory Construction: Is Seeing Believing?, Rebecca Bays

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

In the current literature review I examine false memory research, including variables that affect memory accuracy, instrumentation, and analyses used to assess false memory construction, as well as possible frameworks accounting for the development of false memories. Do errors in memory occur during encoding of an event or during retrieval of a memory? I discuss two models of false memories, both born from the source-monitoring framework, to highlight the important cognitive processes leading to crucial errors in memory recall. In the study that follows I investigate whether repeated imaginings of an implausible autobiographical event will lead to the creation of …

Evaluating Special Education Teachers: Do We Get The Job Done? A Regional Perspective., Robert Edward Widener Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legislation enacted by federal and state governments has created a transition in the service delivery model of instruction provided to many students identified as having an educational disability. As a result of this transition, more emphasis is being placed on educating these students in the least restrictive environment, which moves these students from a self-contained model into a collaborative or inclusive setting. This transition has also created a situation where building level administrators are now evaluating and observing special education teachers in a variety of instructional settings.

This qualitative study was conducted in order to examine perceptions of a group …

Naming Speed, Letter-Sound Automaticity, And Acquiring Blending Skills Among Students With Moderate Intellectual Disabilities, Dawn Davis

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

Students with moderate intellectual disabilities (MoID) typically are not taught decoding skills because they have difficulty mastering critical blending skills. In response to this skill deficit among students with MoID, an Initial Phonics instructional sequence was created that included student development of rapid and automatic retrieval of taught letter-sound correspondences to a level of mastery before teaching the skill of blending. For each of 16 students with MoID (ages 6-15), mastery criterion of letter-sound automaticity phases was determined by their individual naming speed as measured by the Rapid Object Naming (RON) subtest of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). …

The Discursive Construction Of Autism: Contingent Meanings Of Autism And Therapeutic Talk, Jessica Nina Lester

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation was a discourse analysis study, drawing upon discursive psychology, poststructural understandings of discourse, conversation analysis, and a social relational model of disability. The purpose of this study was to explore how autism was performed as an interactional event among children with autism labels, the therapists who work with them, and their parents, in the context of a pediatric therapy setting. I interrogated how the participants’ everyday discursive practices were shaped and, at times, constrained by the social and political institutions that often work to define autism and the related, official plans of treatment. A total of 12 families …

Developing Students’ First Language Through A Second Language Writing Intervention: A Simultaneous Approach, Hannah Marie Dostal

Doctoral Dissertations

Deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) children often acquire an L1 after age 3, thus are arguably more diverse than that of the general bilingual population. A unique problem therefore exists among d/hh late language learners—they often do not have an L1 to later develop an L2. This study investigated the impact of an English writing intervention (Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction, SIWI) that incorporates support for the development of American Sign Language in an effort to illustrate the necessity of explicitly addressing the proposed interdependence of language learning.

The research involved providing 23 upper elementary and middle school d/hh …

Setting Sail For Early Learning Success: Using A Data-Based Decision Making Process To Measure And Monitor Outcomes In Early Childhood Programs, Howard S. Muscott, Tina M. Pomerleau, Kristy L. Park, Elizabeth A. Steed, Andy J. Frey, Tara L. Korfhage

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

The use of data to inform decision-making and monitor individual student progress is recognized as an important, yet elusive practice in early childhood programs. In this article, Data-based Navigation is presented as a five step data-based decision making process designed to help early childhood professionals measure and monitor desired programmatic outcomes. A case study that focuses on the reduction of challenging behaviors is provided to illustrate the process.

Are Teaching Effectiveness And Retention Influenced By Various Routes To Special Education Certification?, Steven A. Crites Dr., Bianca Prather-Jones, Rachelle M. Bruno, Stephen C. Walker

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This study reviewed and interpreted the results of survey data that compared the self-perceived performance and self-efficacy on several dimensions tied to the CEC standards for teachers of students who access the individualized general education curriculum. Teachers prepared through traditional undergraduate approaches, post-baccalaureate certification options for general education teachers, and an alternative certification program were asked about job satisfaction, success rate on the Praxis II tests, and other factors related to retention. Although all three programs are designed with the same content standards established by the field (Council for Exceptional Children, 2003), there are some significant differences between them, e.g., …

The Measurement Of Teachers' Implementation And Acceptability Of A Cbm Focus, Aaron K. Peterson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is a method that teachers use to formatively assess progress in reading, math, writing, and spelling. In recent years, different data-management systems have been created to systematically organize, group, and monitor data on multiple students for teachers to make better instructional decisions. Most data-management-systems are fee-based and can be cost-prohibitive, but CBM Focus is a free program consisting of the same concepts, charting, and data-entry methods. This project measured the social validity and implementation fidelity of CBM Focus—a curriculum-based measurement data management system for recording student reading, writing, and math records. Eleven participating elementary teachers in this …

The Use Of A Signal Device Self-Monitoring Program To Improve On-Task Behavior Of Special And General Education Students, Casey L. Allie

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Research has shown that self-monitoring can increase on- task behavior with students in the classroom setting. This project examined the use of a signal device to teach self monitoring to increase on-task behavior of special education students with behavioral problems. Participants were two elementary school para-educators and two K-4th grade students. During a two part process, baseline and intervention was conducted by the researcher with each student evaluating his/her on-task behavior. The researcher examined the reliability of the data on the student’s on-task behavior. The researcher found that the student’s on-task behavior increased with implementation of the signal device self-monitoring …

From Intervention To Friendship, Stephanie Scholes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah State University student Stephanie Scholes studied the effects of a peermediated social skills intervention on the formation of friendship for preschool children with disabilities. The children were two 4-year-old boys with developmental delays. Both children attended preschool in Salt Lake Community Action Program Head Start classrooms. Children were nominated for the intervention by their teachers who believed them to have no friends. Sociometric analysis conducted with classmates and friendship observations confirmed this assertion. Peer buddies, classmates to the children mentioned previously, were nominated by their teachers based on their good social skills. Friendship observations with peer buddies confirmed their …

An Imperative For Change: Bridging Special And Language Learning Education To Ensure A Free And Appropriate Education In The Least Restrictive Environment For Ells With Disabilities In Massachusetts, Maria De Lourdes B. Serpa

Gastón Institute Publications

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing group of school-age students in public schools across the nation, and in Massachusetts. In this state, even as the total student enrollment declines slightly, the number of ELLs grows steeply. They number 68,820 in the 2010-2011 school year, an increase of 9,662 from the year before.

The number of ELLs identified as also having a disability doubled in Massachusetts (a striking increase of 115.4%) from 2001-2002 to 2010-2011. The proportion of ELLs placed in Special Education has increased by 5 percentage points, from 9.8% to 14.8%. This time period coincides almost exactly with …

Teacher Morale: Perceptions Of Deaf/Hard-Of-Hearing Teachers And Hearing Teachers In Residential Schools For The Deaf, Steven E. Farmer

Doctoral Dissertations

With increasing state and federal mandates to improve student performance, teachers everywhere are struggling with maintaining positive morale—particularly in residential schools for the deaf. Teacher morale serves as a critical component in promoting positive teaching and learning environments for students. Also, the dwindling number of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing teachers and staff in Deaf Education severely limits the provision of positive language models for Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing children.

The study sought to answer two research questions:

(1) What is the overall teacher morale at five residential schools for the deaf in the southeastern United States? (Quantitative)

(2) How does the morale of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing teachers compare …

The Effect Of Direct Instruction In Teaching Addition And Subtraction Of Decimals And Decimal Word Problems On Students At Risk For Academic Failure, Heather Hoopes Small

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the effects of a direct instruction program on the ability of elementary school students identified as at risk for math failure to add and subtract numbers with decimals, and complete addition and subtraction word problems with decimals. Direct instruction has previously been shown to increase the math skills of special education and general education students. This study examined the extent to which these students could master these skills in six hours of instruction, with carefully designed sequences of examples and strategy instruction in word problems. The study took place in two elementary schools. The participants were fifth …

Evaluating The Effects Of Reinforcer Choice And Reinforcer Variation On The Response Rates Of Children With Autism, Alice Ann Keyl Austin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Motivating individuals with autism can be challenging for clinicians and educators seeking to increase skills or decrease problem behaviors. Even when highly preferred reinforcers have been identified, they tend to lose their effectiveness over time. Over the years, several strategies have been developed to maintain the effectiveness of reinforcers. Reinforcer variation has been demonstrated to attenuate decreases in responding associated with repeated exposure to a single reinforcer. Another strategy that has been used to help maintain responding is allowing an individual a choice among reinforcers. Several researchers have suggested that providing choice among several reinforcers may produce the same effects …

Social Skills Intervention For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Survey Of School Psychologists, Amanda S. Day

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are needed as the number of students with ASD are increasing in educational settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate school psychologists' perceptions on the effectiveness and generalization of social skills interventions for students with ASD. Training and confidence of providing services to students with ASD was also examined in the study. A survey was administered to a sample of school psychologists from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). In total, 221 responses were received and 136 of those responders indicated that they have implemented or organized …

Basic Concepts In Early Education Programs For Children With Hearing Loss In Listening And Spoken Language Classrooms, Katherine L. Powell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mastery of basic concepts is an academic building block for preschool children in early education programs. Research shows that understanding basic concepts (e.g. top, under, fast, now, all, behind, full and short) is important for academic success and higher order thinking. Experts in the field of concept acquisition agree on six strategies for teaching basic concepts. These strategies include: using positive examples and negative examples, highlighting critical features of concepts through continuous conversion, isolating the concept, the order in which the examples are presented, and teaching generalization. This study investigated the extent to which nine preschool teachers of children with …

Increasing Mand Variability In Preschoolers With Autism, Tyra P. Sellers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Language development and the ability to access reinforcement in young children with autism may be impeded by lack of behavioral variability in verbal behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of simultaneously teaching multiple responses and extinction of repetition on producing varied verbal behavior in young children with autism. In particular, we examined the effects of these procedures on increasing the behavioral variability of mands used to request edibles in preschool children with autism. For all three participants, neither increasing mand repertoires via teaching multiple responses, nor extinction of repetition, by themselves or in combination were …

Classroom Applications Of A Trial-Based Functional Analysis In An Early Childhood Education Setting, Jennifer Laura Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Functional analysis has proven to be an effective way of determining the function of problem behaviors. However, this process can consume a great deal of time and resources. Also, the majority of analyses are conducted with subjects greater than six years of age with unfamiliar persons conducting the analysis. Therefore, there is a need to examine a method that will expend less time and resources, and to determine if this new method will be effective with subjects in an early childhood setting. The current study examines the ability of classroom teachers to conduct a trial-based functional analysis within an early …

Investigating The Effects Of A Combined Problem-Solving Strategy For Students With Learning Difficulties In Mathematics, Dustin B. Mancl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many students, specifically those with learning difficulties in mathematics, struggle when presented with word problems to solve. With this in mind, the purpose of this research was to examine the effects of the READER Strategyon word problem performance of students with mathematics disabilities and students who are at-risk to fail in mathematics. There were two parts to this research. Part One was implemented using a single-subject design (i.e., multiple-probe across participants) and Part Two was implemented using a group design (i.e., 2 x 4 factorial design). The single-subject design included three participants identified as having mathematics disabilities. There were two …