Education Commons^™

Breaking The Silence: Discussions About Disability, Sex, & Gender Identity, Janet Sauer, Kirsten Bond, Cassidy Donahue, Molly Wolber, Hannah Hunter, Elizabeth Bellin, Katherine Deluga

Violence Against Women conference

Silence often accompanies topics about disability, sexuality, and gender identity. This panel of Lesley students, alumni, and faculty discuss the issue of silence involving social stigma and ignorance that can often lead to violence against people with disabilities. The panelists participated in an interdisciplinary course, Disability Studies, in which students chose to research these topics for their social action projects and papers. Panelists who see themselves as allies and/or self-identify as disabled share their research, personal experiences, and interviews with the audience to provide insights into some of the systematic exclusion of people with disabilities in these discussions, particularly in …

Social Interventions For Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review Of Research, Lauren E. Weiss

Shared Knowledge Conference

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face a variety of barriers in social, communicative, and behavioral functioning. In particular, children with ASD have deficits in social behavior that decrease opportunities to socialize and develop peer relationships (Kroeger, Schultz, & Newsom, 2006). A child’s early development of social skills has been linked to successful school adjustment and academic achievement while preschoolers with poor social behavior experience peer rejection, low academic achievement, and behavior problems (McClelland & Morrison, 2003). I conducted a systematic review of research on interventions that provided positive social outcomes for young children with ASD. Results from this study …

Defining Access And Opportunity Barriers In Inclusive Educational Environments: A Synthesis Of The Research, Peggy A. Duffie

Shared Knowledge Conference

Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) is legislation that supports every child’s right to quality education, while the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004) specifically addresses the rights of students with disabilities. IDEA (2004) states that all children with disabilities, including students with extensive support needs (ESN), should receive grade-level instruction in general education classrooms alongside their peers to “the maximum extent appropriate” (IDEA, 2004). Unfortunately, students with extensive support needs (ESN) often experience obstacles that impede their ability to access educational opportunities in the general education setting (Pufpaff, 2008). Ruppar, Dymond, and Gaffney (2011) stated that academic instruction offered in …

The Critical Need For Mental Health Education To Be Mandated In New Mexico's Public Schools, Bonnie L. Murphy

Shared Knowledge Conference

Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. …

Study Of Physical Layer Security And Teaching Methods In Wireless Communications, Zhijian Xie, Christopher Horne

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

In most wireless channels, the signals propagate in all directions. For the communication between Alice and Bob, an Eavesdropper can receive the signals from both Alice and Bob as far as the Eavesdropper is in the range determined by the transmitting power. Through phased array antenna with beam tracking circuits or cooperative iteration, the signals are confined near the straight line connecting the positions of Alice and Bob, so it will largely reduce the valid placement of an Eavesdropper. Sometimes, this reduction can be prohibitive for Eavesdropper to wiretap the channel since the reduced space can be readily protected. Two …

Learning To Think...Thinking To Learn, James C. Dean Mr., Julie Pfeiffer, Nancy Famulari, Julia Connett, Briana Kaparis

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

How do you create a systemic school culture of THINKING? In this interactive presentation learn how 3 Miami-Dade schools are using a set of consistent visual tools to teach critical, creative THINKING and communication to all learners. This session will capitalize on connecting the visuals to the latest brain research and its implications on the developmental needs of PreK-Adult learners. Examples of practice will be highlighted by these schools.

The Impact Of Alternative Education: A Summative Evaluation Of The Achieve Program, Cathleen Bendicsen

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The consequences of dropping out of high school greatly impact both the individual student and society as a whole. Alternative education programs are designed to meet the needs of students who have struggled in the traditional setting and help prevent them from dropping out. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of one alternative program housed within a large Midwestern suburban comprehensive high school and to contribute to the limited research on alternative education program effectiveness using student outcome data. The researcher conducted a quantitative quasi-experimental study to compare the differences in student outcome data (GPA, attendance, office discipline referrals, …

How To Better Support Individuals Who Have A Special Needs Sibling, Lauren Mcdonell

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The purpose of this study was to understand the emotions of a neurotypically developing sibling. This study also attempted to understand how caregivers can best support the neurotypical sibling in the areas of self-concept and overall wellbeing. The gap is knowledge is how to better support neurotypical developing siblings specifically in the areas of self-concept and overall well being. Three participants were interviewed to gain insight about their experiences with their special needs sibling. Participants who participated in a support group for neurotypical developing children with a SNS were surveyed to gain insight about their experiences with the support group. …

Fertile Ground: The Impact Of The Natural Learning Environment On The Social/Emotional Development Of Students With Autism And/Or Sensory Processing Disorder, Denise Elizabeth West

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

This research was carried out to determine the impact of a natural learning environment on the social/emotional development of students with Autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder. For the sake of this research, social/emotional development consisted of social behavior, communication, and participation/engagement. A review of the literature revealed that students with sensory processing issues have difficulty processing stimuli which are unnatural and intensified. The acoustics and set-up of a traditional classroom are characterized by confinement, harsh lighting/volume conditions, and other habitual triggers for sensory discomfort. The natural learning environment can provide students with natural stimuli, fresh air, natural acoustics, natural lighting, …

Advocating For Students With Autism: How To Best Engage And Equip Your Student With Autism To Excel In The Music Classroom, Mackenzie C. Kastelein

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Within the educational system, students with autism are often misunderstood or overlooked, resulting in an inadequate educational experience for students with ASD. This research was conducted in pursuit of collecting information on students with autism so that current music educators might be better equipped to engage these students effectively within their classroom. Six, current music educators were interviewed with a series of 9 questions in order to gather a small sample of what is currently occurring in American school systems when it comes to the music education of students with Autism. These educators discussed what inclusion of students with ASD …

Sensory Integration In Saint Lucian Schools: A Case Study, Megan Lively Spt, Ashley Danielsen Spt, Leigha Schimmoeller Spt

Student Scholar Showcase

In January 2018, the Lynchburg College Doctor of Physical Therapy program sent a group of ten first- and second-year students to St. Lucia to provide therapy services to children in need across the island in five different special education schools. The group has been able to work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Education in St. Lucia for the past three years in order to make a positive impact on the special education students and teachers. As the group did their evaluations this year, we noticed a trend that most of the students we worked presented with sensory integration dysfunctions and …

Teacher-Scholars As Classroom Leaders: The Power Of Inquiry, Gail Cahill, Beverley Evans, Barbara Govendo, Linda Lengyel

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

The graduate special education programs affirm the competence of every individual, equal access to quality education, and social justice as the critical tenets of the program’s inclusive philosophy (Beliefs, Special Education Division, 2015). How do we prepare teachers to be leaders of their classrooms, providing a quality education for all? There are many “strategies” available to special education teachers; inquiry provides educators a means to enrich their teaching by collecting practice-based evidence of the efficacy of their instruction.

The design and implementation of an inquiry project based on classroom practices is a requirement in educator licensure graduate programs. The purpose …

Leading From The In-Between: Disability, Leadership, And Identity, Xochitl Mendez

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

The daily lives of individuals challenged with physical disabilities shed light on the intersections, as well as the friction, between the identities we forge as individuals, and the social identities of the public space. In this interdisciplinary presentation, I will explore the fault lines between the social concepts of disability and the personal realities and specifics of biology and adaptation.

Exploring my own experiences with disability, pedagogy, and art, I will further delve on how the social realm (Arendt, 1958) evaluates and judges identity from expected modes of interaction that are often not available to the disabled person. Further, using …

Bringing Dis/Ability Identity Into The Curriculum & Pedagogical Practices For Social Change, Janet Sauer, Simone Dupont, Molly Wolber, Lizzy Bellin, Cassidy Donahue

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

This panel is comprised of a faculty member, students, and alumni from CLAS whose work focuses on bringing about equity that includes dis/ability identity markers. Each of the students were or currently are enrolled in an interdisciplinary Disability Studies course involving a social action project. For their project, two Special Education majors responded to the need for ual education curriculum for youth with disabilities. A counseling major produced a photo essay “to get able bodied people to see things from a different perspective, specifically the perspective of people with disabilities” by creating “normal body” access signage around the Lesley community. …

Metacognition At The Program For The Advancement Of Learning, Philip Hulbig

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

This is a pilot study of metacognition, and how it is defined and utilized by practitioners at Curry College's Program for the Advancement of Learning (PAL) in Milton, Massachusetts. Presently there are several distinct approaches to metacognitive practice in education, pulling from different traditions. Examples are Self Regulated Learning Theory (Bandura, 1997, Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001), which focuses on behavioral problem-solving strategies and their uses, psycho-dynamic developmental approaches (Kegan, 1996), the self-talk approaches of Mindset Theory (Dweck, 2008), dialectic approaches (Montgomery & Baxter 1998) of philosophical traditions (Popper, 1945), and contemplative mindfulness approaches (Gautam, 1999). Educationally these approaches to metacognition …

The Teaching Chair: Maintaining Excellence In Teaching, Cathy Thorsen 5590686, Mary Elizabeth Zimmer, Marilyn Odom

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Teaching chairs must balance preparation for class and maintaining teaching effectiveness with the duties of chair. Participants will explore scenarios related to the teaching chair themes derived from survey responses and share strategies for coping, overcoming, and/or accepting their limitations related to balancing chair and teaching roles.

A Review Of Survey Data Collected On The Use Of Applied Behavior Analytic (Aba) Based Instructional Strategies By Educators In Pennsylvania Schools, Eric J. Bieniek, Mike Monfore, Matthew Erickson, Ashlea Rineer-Hershey, Richael Barger-Anderson

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This survey was initiated to explore the perceptions and daily practices of Applied behavior Analytic ABA) by educators supporting exceptional learners in public and private school settings in Pennsylvania. This survey explores the degree to which educators are trained, feel confident in and actually carry out a range evidenced based practices following an ABA approach. Results are also presented in regards to barriers that educators feel limit the delivery of ABA based approaches and undermine the fidelity of interventions once introduced in their professional settings.

Building A Better Risk Prevention Model, Steven Hornyak

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation chronicles the work of Houston County Schools in developing a risk prevention model built on more than ten years of longitudinal student data. In its second year of implementation, Houston At-Risk Profiles (HARP), has proven effective in identifying those students most in need of support and linking them to interventions and supports that lead to improved outcomes and significantly reduces the risk of failure.

Shattered Ground: Mental Health Disorders In Children – A Hidden Crisis, Yvonne Hefner

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This session will offer teachers an in-depth understanding of mental health disorders, including basic information about these disorders, background information to assist in identifying early warning signs, and strategies for supporting students that may suffer from a mental health disorder. Teachers will learn classroom strategies that will foster a positive learning environment which will help to support these students

Working Together: Building K-12/College Mentor Partnerships To Support Students With Learning Differences, Tammy J. Graham, Renee N. Jefferson, Koy Mai, Christopher "Gage" Russell, Ashley Cannon, Mary Taylor

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

In an interactive discussion with audience members, presenters will share ideas for developing positive mentor-mentee partnerships between K-12 schools and colleges; discuss the impact of two recently established mentor partnerships, as well as perspectives from college student mentors and K-12 teachers of student mentees with learning differences; collaboratively examine data to discuss potential program adaptations; and provide mentoring activities that audience members can utilize.

Trust Building Tools For Talking With Youth During Times Of Conflict, Bonnie C. Springer, Andrea Crist

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will provide tools and strategies for turning crisis into opportunity. The skills of Life Space Crisis Intervention provide helping adults faced with the extreme behavior of youth during times of crisis strategies which build trust and connections in meaningful and healing ways; turning crisis into opportunity for at risk youth to develop social responsibility and grow emotionally