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Paraprofessional Training Materials, Program Implementation & Review, Breann Brewer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

If ever you enter a special education classroom, you may encounter a few events. You may witness a classroom of impressive, almost automatic interactions, delivered in a way so eloquent that the students and staff seem to be in an effortless dance with one another. Or, you may witness a classroom that feels heavy with needs; needs of more staff, more help, more hands, and more time. This visual exercise demonstrates how the structure of a special education classroom sets the tone for student growth and success.

One pivotal part of a special education classroom is the paraeducators. Paraeducators, also …

Working Like A Dog: Literary Analysis Of Multifactorial Service Dog Outcomes., Sarah Brinck

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

What makes a service dog successful? Whether it is genetics or the environment they are raised in, the definition of a successful service dog is complicated. Organizations that set out to train service dogs depend on successful outcomes to continue operating. That makes it particularly important to determine and understand the primary factors that impact the success or failure of dogs bred and/or trained for service dog programs. Given the complexity of the requirements for effective service dogs, it can be costly for an individual or an organization to neglect any factors that contribute to success. Individual components of what …

School Resource Officers' Reports Of Training And Perceptions Of High School Students With Disabilities, Kandace T. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this explanatory sequential, mixed methods research study was to identify the perceptions of school resource officers (SROs) regarding high school students with disabilities and their preparedness to work with this population, as a result of their SRO training. This study involved a national quantitative survey of SROs working in public high schools, followed by one-on-one interviews from the same sample to allow for a deeper analysis of the survey results and develop a theory on how training impacts SRO preparedness and their perceptions of high school students with disabilities. The resulting theory ascertained that the presence of …

Do Booster Emails Improve Learning Transfer Among Parenting Professionals?, Benjamin C. Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parenting professionals play a key role in helping parents have a positive influence on their children, which is why it is important to ensure that professionals have and use research-based information and materials. Using data from 96 parenting professionals from Utah and Missouri, who completed a 4-hour Strong Parents, Stable Children training, we examined the effects (at 2-months post training) of reflective reminder emails on parenting professionals’ utilization and learning transfer of training materials. Results from independent samples t tests show that participants who received “booster” emails at 1-week and 1-month post training shared some information and some materials with …

The Effects Of A Training Session On Teacher Knowledge, Perceptions, And Implementation Of Assistive Technology In Secondary Schools., Robert Woodbury Jr

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

Despite the prevalence of students with mild disabilities in special education and the legal mandate to consider assistive technology to support their needs, research suggests low rates of assistive technology use by this population (Bouck, Maeda, & Flanagan, 2012; Derer, Polsgrove, & Rieth, 1996; Quinn, Behrmann, Mastropieri, & Chung, 2009). One major barrier to assistive technology consideration and implementation cited by teachers is a lack of training. This study examined changes in teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and implementation of assistive technology as a result of a hands-on teacher training session. Participants included 61 regular and special education teachers and administrators in …

The Effect Of A Class-Wide Training On Prosocial Bystander Behaviors, Charity Deanne Barnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to decrease school bullying by teaching defending steps and increasing incentives for bystanders, students who witness bullying but who are not necessarily involved in the violence. An established bullying prevention program was modified to increase the likelihood that bystanders would defend victims of bullying behaviors. The findings of the study suggested that bullying behavior decreased and defending increased. Further, acceptability of the intervention and the skills taught to children were rated as moderately high across all classrooms.

Teaching Bystander Skills Through Fluency Training, Emilee Hagloch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention that adds a fluency component to teaching bystanders how to defend other students during a bullying situation. Bystander skills were taught to fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms and fluency training was added to several of these classrooms as an experimental group. Students also filled out rating scales to find out what their participant role in bullying situations was (defender of the victim, outsider, bully, victim of the bully, assistant to the bully). Results showed that there was more growth on the fluency scores for those who participated in the fluency training as opposed …

A Computer-Aided Training (Cat) System For Short Track Speed Skating, Chenguang Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Short track speed skating was adopted by the International Skating Union in 1967, and upgraded to full winter Olympic sport status in 1992. Even though its history is short compared with long track speed skating, it became popular around the world because it is more intense and more entertaining for audiences. The demands of having a CAT system for gathering and analyzing competition data automatically is raising drastically due to its growing popularity all around the world.

There have been some commercial systems for some other sports, which are able to provide extrinsic feedback information to coaches and athletes. However, …

Training Staff Members To Conduct And Implement The Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (Mswo) Preference Assessment Using Video Modeling, Heather M. Merkley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For many educators, finding enough time to complete all that is require of them is a daily challenge. Those in special education have the added burden of making sure that their staff members are highly trained in the skills required to work effectively with students. There are many different ways to train staff members, one of which is using a video model. This study looked at the effects of video modeling alone on the training of staff members to use the multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment. The participants in this study were paraprofessionals who work with preschool students who …

The Use Of A Discrimination Training Procedure To Teach Mand Variability To Children With Autism, Matthew T. Brodhead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Repetitive behavior and delays in communication are core deficits of autism spectrum disorder. As a result, individuals with autism often engage in repetitive verbal behavior, and they may not vary their verbal behavior, even when the situation demands it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a script training and discrimination training procedure on mand variability in preschoolers with autism. Participants were taught to vary their vocal mands in the presence of written scripts, a green placemat, and Lag schedule of reinforcement. They were also taught to not vary their vocal mands in the presence of …

The Effects Of Training On Teachers' Perceptions Of Inclusion Of Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Kerin M. Vernier

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

In today’s society, many general education and special education teachers struggle with the concept of inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the general education classroom setting and perceive that inclusion of ID students impedes the learning of others. The purpose of this project was to establish if a 60-min training session on the benefits of inclusion would alter teachers’ perceptions of inclusion of children with ID in the general education setting as measured by a pre- and post-training rating scale. Forty-eight general education and special education school teachers participated. Of the 48 participants, 47 had special education experience …

Parent Evaluation Of A Parent Training Program Of Positive Behavior Interventions, Jeana Washburn

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

Parent training programs have been shown to be helpful to parents in regards to implementing behavior intervention strategies with their children. Parent satisfaction with a parent-training program is an important variable in that, if parents like a program, it is more likely to be successful. The purpose of this project was to provide a brief parent training program using Dr. Glenn I. Latham’s website, Parenting Prescriptions, and examine parent evaluations of the program. The participants were four mothers of preschool age children. Each child had an educational classification of speech and language impairment. The project evaluated the parent training program …

Effect Of Independent Crank Cycling Training On Running Economy In Collegiate Distance Runners, Aaron W. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the competitive sport world, the goal to become number one is what all athletes desire and train to obtain. Athletes and coaches are constantly looking for the new techniques to put their athlete atop of the podium. With that in mind, what is the new training technique that will accomplish that goal of success? Distance runners are always looking for the new training techniques that will accomplish that goal. Cross training, using one type of exercise to enhance another unrelated, is one way that athletes are constantly exploring to see if this can be successful.

Cycling is just one …

Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Social Skills Training Intervention In A Rural Special-School Setting For Students With Mild/Moderate Disabilities, Sheree Duncan

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

Given the critical degree to which a person’s level of social competence influences one’s academic, mental, social, and interpersonal success, it is imperative that schools facilitate the learning of social skills. The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a social skills training intervention for students with mild disabilities (and behaviors that adversely affect their participation in a general curriculum or resource settings) in a rural special school setting. A review of literature guided the design and evaluation of the intervention. According to analysis of data on student behavior, the social skills training intervention did not consistently …

Evaluation Of A High School Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (Siop) Implementation, Samuel L. Ray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many school systems across the USA have implemented sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) strategies to help their English language learners (ELLs) master core content while they learn English. Most studies have reported positive results from using SIOP strategies with ELLs. Elementary and middle school studies were available, but studies of SIOP implementation in a comprehensive high school were lacking. This action research project was initiated by teacher leaders (department chairs) and the school principal. It included a year of combined SIOP training and implementation. After the first academic year of utilizing SIOP school-wide, an anonymous electronic survey was used to …

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 …

Improving The Quality Of Teacher Support In Anticipation Of The Instructional Use Of Technology: An Action Research Study, Darren E. Draper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The formation of the Canyons School District brought with it unique opportunities for assessing current practice, implementing change, and evaluating the effectiveness of that change. Accordingly, this action research project served as an effective initial step in accomplishing this series of tasks. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to describe the instructional technology needs of teachers, as well as the related support efforts provided in a public school district.

Data gathering methods included a district-wide needs assessment survey of school-based licensed personnel (N =1,313). Additionally, the utilization of focus group protocol on an existing district technology committee …

The Relationships Among Caregiver Training, Mentoring, And Turn-Taking Between Caregiver And Child In Family Child Care, Carrie L. Ota

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Basic communication skills are foundational for children's success in school and are dependent largely on their language experiences early in life. The purpose of this study was to examine two professional development models and family child care providers' use of turn-taking strategies that promote language in young children. The first professional development model consisted of a 10-hour nonformal training focused on supporting early language development. The second included the nonformal training and on-site mentoring. The 48 family child care programs were randomly assigned to one of the professional development models or a control group. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to …

The Effects Of Fluency Training On Implementation Fidelity Of A Reading Intervention Conducted By Paraprofessionals, Breda Victoria O'Keeffe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Improving educational outcomes involves many variables, including identifying effective interventions and ensuring that they are effectively implemented in schools. Within a "response to intervention" model, treatment integrity of academic interventions has become increasingly important. However, recent research has suggested that ensuring treatment integrity by instructional staff may require intensive coaching, including daily or weekly performance feedback. This system may be unsustainable in typical schools because of limited resources for supervision. Some studies have found that treatment integrity can be achieved with intense prior training that includes extensive practice followed by feedback in the training setting. Fluency-based instruction has the advantage …

What We Do Best: Quality Collections Care Practices In Small Museums In Utah, Pamela Wilder Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Small museums occupy a distinctive niche in the world of museums. They hold unique objects in their collections, exhibit them, and educate the public about them. All museums have the challenge to care for collections in a manner that will enhance their preservation for future generations. Large museums have paid staff and budgets for collections care. Small museums, as used in this study, have one full-time staff person or less, who are often inadequately trained in caring for collections. Nevertheless, they still must work to preserve their collections for the future. In this qualitative study, the grounded theory method was …

Does Teaching Problem-Solving Skills Matter?: An Evaluation Of Problem-Solving Skills Training For The Treatment Of Social And Behavioral Problems In Children, Bryan B. Bushman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parent training combined with problem solving skills training has been proposed as a comprehensive treatment for childhood oppositional behaviors, poor child social skills, and parental stress. The current study compared Parent Training + Problem Solving Skills Training with a Parent Training + nondirective condition. Parents of 32 children first attended Parent Training. After the parents completed Parent Training, children were randomly assigned to individual therapy in either a Problem Solving Skills Training condition or a nondirective condition. Data comparisons between the groups were made at postindividual therapy and at 6-week follow-up. Results indicated that children in the Problem Solving Skills …

Social Interactions And Bullying In Withdrawn Children: An Evaluation Of Generalization Strategies Within A Social Skills Training Intervention, Kyle Max Hancock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Socially withdrawn children are at increased risk for various maladaptive outcomes. One intervention suggested to mediate these outcomes is the use of peermediated social skills training. However, little research supports its use with socially withdrawn children; even less research has investigated the role of peer mediators in the generalization of treatment effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a generalization training package on the generalization of socially withdrawn students and their peer mediators' interactions. This study compared the effectiveness of various procedures in a peer-mediated intervention on the generalization of prosocial interactions with socially withdrawn students and examined …

Review Of Social Competency Training For Pre-School And Elementary School Age Students At Risk For Developing Or Classified With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Cristine C. Sosa

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

Social competency training is a common intervention for students at risk for developing or classified with emotional/behavioral disorders. However, a review of research indicated that it is only mildly effective in producing significant outcomes for these students. A number of factors have been identified as possibly impacting the success of social competency training, including: the intervention setting, the timing of intervention, characteristics of participants, characteristics of interventions and the outcome measurements ~d. A review of literature was conducted to evaluate these factors. Findings of the review indicate that there are not significant differences between interventions conducted in regular education and …

Creating Community Greenbelts Through Tdr Zoning, Tim B. Watkins

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

Many cities and towns in the lntennountain West were founded on the ideals of clustered community development with surrounding greenbelts by Morn1on settlers in the mid nineteenth century. Since the twentieth-century development of the automobile, increased mobility has enabled residential and commercial development to disrupt surrounding rural lands with scattered growth. Correctly applied, TOR (Transfer of Development Right) strategies could reverse negative sprawling development trends by channeling growth towards existing communities to simulate the abandoned pioneer town and country model. A community development transfer strategy can respect private property rights, and allow fanners to keep their land in agriculture while …

Analogical Problem Solving: The Differential Impact Of Type Of Training, Amount Of Practice, And Type Of Analogy On Spontaneous Transfer, Dune E. Ives

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on analogical problem solving has delineated several factors that impact one's ability to spontaneously generate a correct solution strategy to a target problem. These factors include, but are not limited to, type of analogy provided to subjects (i.e., partial versus complete), the level of analogical problem-solving expertise, and the absence of or type of analogical problem-solving training (i.e., teacher-generated or learner-generated) provided to learners.

Recently, researchers have begun to focus on providing solvers with multiple practice opportunities and extending these opportunities over a systematically distributed period of time. When combined with analogical problem-solving training, these factors will augment the …

Analogical Problem Solving: An Exploratory Analysis Of The Facilitating Effects Of Type Of Training, Analog Type, And Level Of Expertise On Spontaneous Transfer, Dune E. Ives

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on analogical problem solving has delineated several factors that impact one's ability to spontaneously generate a correct solution strategy to a target problem. These factors include, but are not limited to, type of analogy provided to subjects (i.e., partial versus complete), the level of isomorphism between analogies and target problems, and the solver's level of analogical problem-solving expertise

Recently, researchers have begun to focus on providing solvers with direct instruction on analogical problem-solving processes and strategies in an effort to augment analogical problem-solving ability. The most common type of instruction (i.e., teacher-generated) involves providing direct instruction on problem-solving processes …

The Effect Of Peer Counseling Training And Experience On Peer Counselors, Holly Day Mcfarland

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This study was designed to measure improvement in communication skills of 11 peer counselors after training. The instrument utilized was the Interpersonal Communication Inventory which was given in a pretest-treatment-posttest format. The treatment consisted of a three month intensive training program which emphasized improving communication skills in the areas of listening, empathy and understanding. The results indicated that the peer counselors improved their communication skills dramatically. The mean on the pretest was 83.82, while the mean after the treatment was 100.09.

The Effects Of Critical Thinking Skills Training On Student Performance In An Educational Psychology Class, Eric J. Gee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Critical thinking skills have become an important part of current educational practices. However, there is little empirical evidence comparing the effectiveness of the programs teaching these skills. In addition, there are questions as to whether the skills should be taught within the class content or separate from the class content.

This study assigned students attending labs as part of an educational psychology class to two experimental conditions (content-based and content-free) and a control condition. Measures were scores on lab papers and test scores for the class. In addition, an attitude survey was used to assess student attitudes to each condition, …

The Curriculum For The Lab Portion Of A Training For Day Care Providers In Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Celeste Anderson

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

Along with many areas in the United States of America, Carbon County, Utah is considered economically depressed. With the unemployment rate at nearly 14%, spouses have entered the work force. In addition there are many single parents.This has left a high rate of children at risk and increased the demand for home day care providers, Although twelve hours of training per year are mandated by state law, very few providers have had any formal or professional training beyond an occasional evening workshop . What training has been offered has generally been along the lines of managerial, business and physical environment …

Bilingual Interpreter Paraprofessional Training Program In The Field Of Communicative Disorders, Susie Yoakum, Tyler Sorenson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Because of the ever increasing number of non- (NEP) and Limited- (LEP) English Proficient persons in the United States, the Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) working in the public school setting is currently faced with the challenge of developing effective strategies for the assessment and identification of bilingual children with communicative disorders. One of the responsibilities of the SLP is to administer tests to children with suspected communicative disorders. However, it is difficult for a monolingual, English speaking SLP to effectively assess the speech and language of a non- or limited-English speaking child because of the language barrier that is present. In …