Education Commons^™

A Manual For First Year Special Education Teachers, Billye June Dillard

All Graduate Projects

Special education faculty and staff face specific problems in educating children with distinctive needs. Overly high workloads for new teachers and paraprofessionals increase the amount of pressure placed on indi victuals faced with inclusion. This manual is designed to be used as a guide to help teachers through their initial introduction to the classroom. Special Education Law, Inclusion, Motivation Techniques for Special Children, and Parent Involvement are discussed. In addition, valuable resources for further exploration are provided.

Promoting Self-Advocacy Skills For Students With Mild Disabilities, Loretta Lynn Franz

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a unit plan for teachers to help promote self-advocacy skills in the Individual Education Program (IEP) for students with mild disabilities. The results of this study indicate that students with mild disabilities are required to be invited to their IEP when consideration of services are to be discussed. Students are often not successful in the IEP process because they are dependent on others to make decisions for them. They are not given the opportunity to make their own choices and decisions. They have a poor self-concept, lack of understanding, self-acceptance and motivation. …

An Alternative Residential Education Program: An Evaluative Study, Marc A. Kincaid

All Graduate Projects

Schools today are trying to make an adaptation to accommodate all children and their disabilities. For many, the problem does not lie in a child's learning ability, but rather in their behavioral disability. According to its mission, The Ranch is committed to not only accommodating at-risk boys, but is trying to help them re-adjust and re-enter society with the skills necessary to function in every day life. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate The Ranch by examining the effectiveness of the program and its goals. Evaluation was done both Formatively and Summatively, through interviews and documentation. The researcher …

A Handbook Of Strategies For Serving Students With Special Needs In A General Classroom Setting, Susan E. Carthum

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to design and develop a handbook of strategies for serving students with special needs in a general classroom setting at Green Mountain Elementary School. To accomplish this purpose, a review of current literature and research related to special education and related instructional and behavioral strategies for elementary level students was conducted. Additionally, information and materials related to instructional and behavioral strategies used in the Central Kitsap School district was integrated into the project.

Special Recreation: A Manual For Theraputic Riding Programs, Robin R. Ryan

All Graduate Projects

Recreational opportunities are limited to individuals with disabilities. Recreation and learning how to utilize leisure time can be more important to individuals with disabilities than to others. Therapeutic riding was studied as a means to meet this perceived need. A manual was developed describing a professionally directed service designed to meet the recreational needs of individuals with disabilities in a therapeutic riding program.

Establishing A Positive School Climate On The Playground For Students With Serious Behavioral Disabilities: A Collaborative Effort, Mildred Carol Fletcher Garcia

All Graduate Projects

Social skills deficits of students with serious behavior disabilities are often an obstacle to integration into the regular education system. Many of the most troublesome problems occur outside the classroom on the playground due to the lessened structure constraints of the playground environment. As a result, the students are labeled "bad kids" by the teachers and paraprofessionals, are socially rejected by nondisabled peers, and the downward spiral of a negative social "trap" is begun.

The purpose of this study was to create an inservice training packet promoting collaboration between teachers and paraprofessionals providing students with serious behavior disabilities a positive …

Utilizing Applied Behavior Analysis: A Handbook For Teachers Who Are Dealing With Developmentally Delayed Children, Cleresse Sprague

All Graduate Projects

The author's perception is that a need exists for a classroom behavior management handbook targeting developmentally delayed children ages three years through first grade. Several occurrences have prompted this perception: 1. Approach by other teachers asking how to handle certain behaviors 2. Author's own experiences and frustrations 3. Participation in group discussions regarding behaviors The author has chosen to do this study and develop a handbook to meet this perceived need.

Inclusion: A Case Study At Coe Elementray School, Loretta L. Kimball

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to evaluate perceptions of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of inclusion on the achievement of special needs students and to use this information to increase effectiveness in inclusion programs through the design and implementation of specific teaching strategies. To accomplish this purpose, current literature and research related to inclusion was reviewed. The writer examined how special needs and regular education students are affected and analyzed the variables, strategies and programs which increase effectiveness. The project that follows is a case study of what has been done in the past, what attitudes and perceptions exist and …

Staff Development Model For A Special Education Inclusion Program In The Northshore School District, John E. Deforest

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to design a staff development model for a special education inclusion program for the Northshore School District, Bothell, Washington. The inclusion model developed was intended for use by regular and special education teachers at the secondary level. To accomplish this purpose, a review of current literature and research regarding the special education inclusion concept was conducted and selected education inclusion models were studied.

Increasing Reading Fluency In Students With Reading Difficulty, Kathryn Balabanis Peabody

All Graduate Projects

Four methods designed to increase reading fluency were employed in a primary level Special Education resource room. The methods were implemented in accordance with the theory and research regarding reading fluency. Each of the four methods effectively increased the students' ability to read fluently. However, the implementation of these methods varied in cost and time.