Education Commons^™

The Benefits And Challenges Of Rural Special Education Teachers: Improving Teacher Retention In Rural Districts, Olga Karadimou

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

Per the U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.), a rural area is “any population, housing, or territory NOT in an urban area.” Specifically, a rural area is defined as the area of 5 to 25 miles from an urban area (Geverdt, 2015). Nationally, rural school districts represent nearly 20% of the student population in the United States, but limited attention is given to the unique needs of these areas by national policymakers (Johnson et al., 2018). Rural schools face multifaceted challenges that often impede educational opportunities and post-school outcomes of students, including those who receive special education services (Erickson et al., 2012; …

Effects Of Bug-In-Ear Technology On Specific Praise Statements Given By Paraeducators To Transition-Age Students With Autism, Olga Karadimou, Sierra Lotts, Annmarie Horn

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

This investigation experimentally evaluated the effects of eCoaching with Bug-in-Ear (BIE) technology on the use of contingent specific praise in three paraeducators working in a special education transition classroom. A trained special education teacher provided performance-based feedback in real-time as paraeducators worked one-on-one with transition-age students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid intellectual disability (ID). As such, we used a multiple baseline research design to evaluate the effects of the independent variable (i.e., eCoaching). Results indicated that eCoaching using BIE technology increased the use of contingent specific praise given by paraeducators as they worked one-on-one with students. Increased rates …

Developing Speech-Language Pathology Students’ Grammatical Identification Skills Through Gamification, Emerson Lopez Odango, Anne M. P. Michalek, Corrin Richels, Jane Roitsch

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

Background: Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are communication experts required to analyze and interpret a variety of language components (Schuele, 2010). Language sampling is a form of communication analysis and is used with adult and pediatric populations. SLPs collect and analyze language samples in an effort to make evidence-based diagnostic and intervention decisions. When analyzing a language sample, sentences must be deconstructed along a variety of parameters. At Old Dominion University (ODU), the undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders program requires students to identify broad and specific grammatical categories during language sample analysis in preparation for clinical experiences.

This research involves the design …