Education Commons^™

Training Peer Mentors In Reinforcement And Modeling With Prompting (Ramp): Using Mixed Reality Simulation To Encourage Social Reciprocity Skills In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jasmine V. Sadler

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can face many challenges, including limited ability in social reciprocity, nonverbal communication, and restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests as a result of the disorder (APA, 2013). This hinders their ability to build and maintain friendships in the same manner as their typically developing peers and affects their interactions, speech and language abilities, and emotional regulation (Whitman & DeWitt, 2011). Peer Mentors (PMs) are trained to support the development of these skills as part of the Peer Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) evidence-based practice (EBP). However, and explicit training program is not always …

Evidence-Based Instructional Practices For Teachers Of Children With Rett Syndrome – A Case Study, Todd Geren

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EVIDENCE-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES FOR TEACHERS

OF CHILDREN WITH RETT SYDNROME

by

Todd L. Geren

Kennesaw State University, 2020

In this study, evidence-based practices (EBP) utilized for children with Rett syndrome (RTT) by a team of special educators in a rural elementary school was examined. Using a case study approach, three teachers in a severe classroom setting who teach a student with RTT were observed and interviewed. The researcher addressed the following:

1. What evidence-based practices, if any, are currently being utilized by local educators to educate a student with RTT?

2. What professional development is needed for teachers and …

Experiences With And Conceptions Of School Discipline And Pbis Implementation: A Phenomenography Of Fifteen Students With Disabilities In One Title I Middle School, Osman Khan

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

In this phenomenographical study, fifteen students with disabilities from one middle-grades setting were recruited to explore the qualitative different ways they experience and conceive of exclusionary discipline (i.e., in-school suspension (ISS), out-school suspension (OSS), and detention) and Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). The participants engaged in interviews and produced two (2) visual representations to investigate the following research questions: (1) How do students with disabilities experience and conceive of school discipline?; (2) How do students with disabilities experience and conceive the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS); and (3) In what ways can voices of students with …

Students’ Perspectives On Their Learning Experiences Within An Inclusive Secondary Mathematics Setting, Cleopatra Sorina Iliescu

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

Students’ perspectives in learning mathematics are important considerations in education yet few studies document their insights. The current investigation used a case-study design and interviews, drawings, clarifying discussions, and focus group interview data collection methods to capture detailed perspectives of high school students with disabilities while learning mathematics. Document data was used to substantiate students’ achievement information and the impact of their disability, if any, on their experiences in learning mathematics. The sample of participants consisted of four self-selected high school students, from two inclusive Advanced Algebra classrooms. Three major tenets of Vygotsky’s (1978) framework were used to analyze the …

Using Choral Reading To Improve Reading Fluency Of Students With Exceptionalities, Harriet J. Bessette

Georgia Journal of Literacy

Despite the existence of a continuum of modeling reading methods (e.g., sustained silent reading, paired reading, repeated reading, and others), the goal of modeling strategies continues to be to prepare learners to read with ease and enjoyment, while gaining content knowledge for academic success. Moving to increasingly more reading independence on the part of the student is a critical goal for emergent readers, and those with exceptionalities. Reducing modeling by the teacher and increasing modeling by other students may lead to greater reading fluency and overall reading achievement and satisfaction. In this paper, the author suggests that choral reading, a …

Collaborative Pull-Out Literacy Classroom For Dually Served Students, Mandy Sitten

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

This descriptive study examines the effectiveness of a collaboratively-taught classroom literacy skills and language acquisition delivery collaborative classroom for middle school students who receive both special education and ESOL services. Limited research was found on best practices for teaching dually-served students, yet a noticeable increase of evidence indicates that ELs with disabilities require accommodations for language development and/or modifications for their disability in order to achieve academic success. This research combines theories of additional language acquisition and special education to show their relationship to the needs of dually-served students; it will address problems of serving ELs with disabilities. This research …

Impact Of Teacher Perceptions In The Disproportionality Of Black People In Special Education, Chenita Jarrett-Evans

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

If you walk into any special education classroom in America, you will see that Black students are overrepresented. The issue of disproportionality of Black students in special education has been a longstanding concern. Although students can be referred to special education through parent request, students are most likely referred by their general education teacher. The referral requirements for students with emotional disabilities or learning disabilities can be subjective to the beliefs of the referral teacher, as the U.S. Department of Education does not outline the definition of “teacher referral”. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore whether teacher …

Performance Feedback In Teacher Preparation: Improving Preservice Teachers’ Use Of High Leverage Practices Through Mixed-Reality Simulation, Kate Zimmer, Melissa Driver, Patricia Alvarez Mchatton

Faculty and Research Publications

Challenging classroom behaviors are a leading cause of beginning teachers’ stress and attrition. It has been a longstanding criticism that teacher preparation programs are not adequately providing preservice teachers with the proper strategies to help them deal with behavior problems effectively. This study examines the effects of performance feedback and deliberate practice using a mixed-reality simulation on preservice teachers’ use of high leverage practices. Simulators are well suited for training preservice teachers in high leverage practices because it allows for repeated practice and opportunities for performance feedback. Findings are presented from research on the use of performance feedback and deliberate …