Education Commons^™

Collaboration And Cooperative Teaching For System-Wide Change, Jack Hourcade, Gardner Umbarger

Jack Hourcade

If a typical educator is asked to describe what a teacher does, the odds are good that he or she will respond with a description of a single adult in a classroom with a number of students seated at desks or tables. While there may be some individual variations in how many students are there, or what the physical surroundings look like, a near-constant component of this concept will be the presence of a sole adult in the room.

Accountability In Collaboration: A Framework For Evaluation, Jack Hourcade, Phil Parette, Holly Anderson

Jack Hourcade

Accountability is perhaps the most significant issue facing educators today. How can school professionals document that their work results in significant positive outcomes? This issue is especially critical to the many special and general educators moving into collaboration partnerships, given the dramatic shifts in their professional roles inherent to this move. a 2 X 2 "Collaboration Evaluation Matrix" outlines two basic types of information (objective and subjective) and two basic dimensions of any program (processes and outcomes) that might be considered in evaluation of collaboration. Multiple data sources enhance validity and utility of these evaluation efforts.

Cooperative Teaching: Levels Of Involvement, Jack Hourcade, Jeanne Bauwens

Jack Hourcade

No abstract provided.

Family-Centered Assistive Technology Assessment, Howard Parette, Mary Brotherson, Jack Hourcade, Robert Bradley

Jack Hourcade

Outlines a family-centered, culturally sensitive approach to working with young children with disabilities and their families.

Cooperative Teaching: A Strategy For Successful Inclusion, Jeanne Bauwens, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

Perhaps the single most dramatic development in American education over the past decade is the fast-emerging consensus that the traditional educational structure of the schools - that is, one teacher teaching and responsible for only one group of students - is inadequate for today and will be even more inadequate tomorrow. This traditional approach to instruction, based as it is on the implicit assumption of a homogeneous student population, is ineffective in a school system that is increasingly diverse.

Making Co-Teaching A Mainstreaming Strategy, Jeanne Bauwens, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

Examines cooperative teaching as one structure for collaborative programming in the United States. Implementation considerations; Suggestions for problem solving; Use of interpersonal skills.

Family Issues And Assistive Technology Needs: A Sampling Of State Practices, Howard Parette, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

A survey of 28 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part H coordinators throughout the nation investigated current assessment practices used to prescribe augmentative and alternative communication devices for young children with disabilities. Few respondents reported that they provided training "to a great extent" in the uses of the devices for the child or family.

Funding Assistive Technology And Related Health Services In Service Settings, Crystal Kemp, Howard Parette, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

In 1997, amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required IEP/IFSP teams in service settings (e.g., child care programs, schools) to consider whether a child requires assistive technology (AT) devices and services in order to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). AT includes augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems (from simple communication boards and wallets to sophisticated electronic communication devices), mobility aids (from long white canes for students with visual impairments to powered wheelchairs), and computer-based devices such as adapted keyboards, touch windows, and speech recognition systems. However, securing the funding …

Cooperative Teaching: The Renewal Of Teachers, Jack Hourcade, Jeanne Bauwens

Jack Hourcade

Little has affected American education as dramatically as the growing sense that the way education has been structured in the past is less than adequate today and will be even more inadequate in the future. The increasing cultural, linguistic, academic, and behavioral diversity of America’s classrooms is challenging long established approaches to curriculum and instruction. In terms of cultural and linguistic diversity, the state of California may be the best example of what America will look and sound like in the future. As of 1997, students with limited English proficiency composed 25 percent of California’s total school population, up from …

School-Based Sources Of Stress Among Elementary And Secondary At-Risk Students, Jeanne Bauwens, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

Studies school-based sources of stress among elementary and secondary students. Background information on stress in children; Participants; Interview; Demographics; Sources of stress; Implications.

Building An Initial Information Base: Assistive Technology Funding Resources For School-Aged Students With Disabilities, Crystal Kemp, Jack Hourcade, Howard Parette

Jack Hourcade

Due in large part to the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), individualized education program (EP) teams increasingly are identifying assistive technology (AT) for students with disabilities to ensure the provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Though this law requires that AT must be considered when developing the EEP of a student with a disability, the high costs of AT devices and services may lead some IEP teams to conclude that such technology is not accessible.

IDEA remains the primary funding source for assistive technology that is identified as …

Hey, Would You Just L.I.S.T.E.N.?, Jeanne Bauwens, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

No abstract provided.

Using Animation In Microsoft Powerpoint To Enhance Engagement And Learning In Young Learners With Developmental Delay, Howard Parette, Jack Hourcade, Craig Blum

Jack Hourcade

Over the past decade, a wide array of instructional technology applications have found their way into early intervention settings (Anderson, Grant, & Speck, 2008; Parette, Blum, Boeckmann, & Watts, 2009; Siraj-Blatchford & Whitebread, 2003). Of particular importance to young learners who evidence developmental delays or are at risk for school failure are those technologies with the potential to more effectively teach basic emergent literacy skills such as the following: Phonemic awareness (Torgesen, Wagner, Rashotte, Herron, & Lindamood, 2010). Alphabetic principle (Travers, 2010). * Word recognition (Hitchcock & Noonan, 2000). Alliteration (Blum & Watts, 2008). Comprehension (Blok, Oostdam, Otter, & Overmaat, …

Mentors Increasing Special Education Retention, Michael J. Humphrey, Evelyn S. Johnson, Keith W. Allred, Jack J. Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

Lack of effective professional mentoring and minimal ongoing support programs have been suggested as two primary contributors to the chronic shortages of special education teachers. Few programs have been designed to address these specific causes. In this article we describe TATERS, a partnership between a university special educator preparation program, a state Department of Education, and district level administrations designed to (a) develop effective mentoring systems, and (b) strengthen training and recruitment of preservice and new special education teachers, especially in rural areas.

Special Educators And Mathematics Phobia: An Initial Qualitative Investigation, Michael Humphrey, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

Special educators are uniquely challenged to be content experts in all curricular areas, including mathematics, since students in their case loads may require academic instruction in any area. However, special educators with math phobia may be limited in their ability to provide effective instruction to their students with mathematical deficits and/or needs, and may experience additional challenges in their professional and personal lives. This qualitative study sought to better understand the nature of math phobia in two special educators through extensive interviews, journaling, and observations in math experiences, with a number of primary themes identified. Several potential resolutions for the …

Handy Manny And The Emergent Literacy Technology Toolkit, Howard P. Parette, Jack Hourcade, Nichole Boeckmann, Craig Blum

Jack Hourcade

This paper outlines the use of a technology toolkit to support emergent literacy curriculum and instruction in early childhood education settings. Components of the toolkit include hardware and software that can facilitate key emergent literacy skills. Implementation of the comprehensive technology toolkit enhances the development of these critical literacy skills in at-risk young learners.

Use Of Writing With Symbols 2000 Software To Facilitate Emergent Literacy Development, Howard P. Parette, Nichole Boeckmann, Jack J. Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

This paper outlines the use of the Writing with Symbols 2000 software to facilitate emergent literacy development. The program’s use of pictures incorporated with text has great potential to help young children with and without disabilities acquire fundamental literacy concepts about print, phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, vocabulary development, and comprehension. The flexibility and features of the software allow early childhood professionals to create a variety of early literacy tools for the classroom, including worksheets, storybooks, and interactive activities.

Using Clicker 5 To Enhance Emergent Literacy In Young Learners, Howard P. Parette, Jack Hourcade, Jenny M. Dinelli, Nichole M. Boeckmann

Jack Hourcade

Best practices in emergent literacy instruction for young children acknowledge and facilitate the smooth progression between children’s early engagement with print materials and subsequent fuller literacy mastery. In so doing, model programs target five key emergent literacy skills. The rapid rise in the breadth and depth of educational technology, including computer software, is offering early childhood education professionals new and powerful tools in teaching early literacy. This paper offers a brief review of best practices in emergent literacy, notes the growth of technology in this instruction, and examines the potential contributions of one specific software program, Clicker 5, in helping …

Using Microsoft® Powerpoint™ To Support Emergent Literacy Skill Development For Young Children At-Risk Or Who Have Disabilities, Howard Phillips Parette, Jack J. Hourcade, Nichole M. Boeckmann, Craig Blum

Jack Hourcade

In the 21st century, “Digital Children” (Edyburn, 2002) are growing up in a world rich with technology, including cell phones, iPods, email, PalmPilots, Web sites, discussion boards, chat rooms, the Internet, and electronic toys and learning games (Siraj-Blatchford & Whitebread, 2003). Young children whose families use technology acquire knowledge of and skills in language and literacy in part through exposure to technology in the home (Jewitt, 2006). For example, McGee and Richgels (2006) observed that many young children become aware of the existence of print and its use by their families in their daily lives through screen presentations on the …

Schools And Boys: Implications For Special Educators, Jack Hourcade, Holly Anderson

Jack Hourcade

Throughout history boys and girls have been perceived by schools and society as possessing different and distinctive learning styles and capabilities. More recently, boys may be more "at-risk" under contemporary school practices. Three differences were identified: 1) Boys are significantly more likely than girls to demonstrate learning and behavior characteristics associated with school failure. Special educators should provide greater opportunities for boys to learn and be evaluated through nonverbal activities, including multi-media presentations. 2) Boys may have higher activity needs than girls. This causes problems when boys are asked to sit for extended periods of time. Special educators should provide …

Gender-Based Learning And Behavioral Differences: Implications For Special Educators, Jack Hourcade, Holly Anderson

Jack Hourcade

Special educators who acknowledge and accommodate for learning and behavior differences between boys and girls can enhance the academic success for all students. This presentation will review research-based differences between boys and girls in the schools, and will offer practical implications for special educators.