Education Commons^™

Effects Of Peer Training On The Use Of Aided Language Modeling And Aac User Communicative Acts, Shelby Smith Sheets

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two peers versus one peer on the rate of aided language modeling. The peers were trained and then implemented the communication strategy while playing a tabletop game with an AAC user with extensive support and complex communication needs (ESCCN). A multitreatment design was used to compare the effects of the rate of aided language models (ALM) provided by peers, the rate of communicative acts (CA) provided by the AAC user, and the fidelity of peer implementation of ALM when two peers versus one peer played a tabletop game with …

Increasing Initiations Of Communication For Students With Moderate And Severe Disabilities Using A Prompt Hierarchy, Ryan Elizabeth Queenan

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to increase initiations of communication for high school students with moderate and severe disabilities using a prompt hierarchy in the context of environmental arrangements. A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a prompt hierarchy with an environmental arrangement. The results showed that when using a prompt hierarchy in the context of an environmental arrangement were effective in increasing initiations of communication for high school students with moderate and severe disabilities.

The Effects Of Peer Training And Coaching On The Implementation Of Aided Language Modeling With An Aac User With Extensive Support And Complex Communication Needs, Sara Elizabeth Henderson

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of training peers at a middle school in aided language modeling. The peers were trained and then coached as they implemented the strategy during a social break time in the resource classroom when communicating with an AAC user with extensive support and complex communication needs (ESCCN). A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the peer training and coaching program. The results showed that the implementation of a peer training and coaching program were effective in increasing the frequency of aided language modeling and the …

Teaching Social Communicative Intents To Elementary Aged Students Through The Use Of Aided Language Modeling, Kaitlyn Yvette Kousins

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to extend the research of using aided language modeling as an intervention with elementary aged students with extensive support and complex communication needs. A multiple probe design across participants was used to determine if there is a functional between an aided language modeling intervention and improvements in contextually relevant initiations (i.e., requests and comments) between children with extensive support and complex communication needs. The results showed that using aided language modeling within play-based sessions was effective in teaching social communicative intents to students with extensive support and complete communication needs.

Coaching And Training Paraprofessionals To Implement Communication Strategies In The Classroom With Students With Disabilities, Andrea Grace Antoniewicz

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effects of a training and coaching intervention on increasing paraprofessionals use of communication strategies to increase the participation between students with disabilities and paraprofessionals. Students with CCN struggle to interact with peers and communicate appropriately, and therefore need guided instruction by adults. To encourage interactions across contexts, paraprofessionals must first learn how to use communication strategies. This skill also was chosen to extend our knowledge on coaching paraprofessionals to use different communication strategies to promote communication with students with ESN and CCN.

Improvisation As A Teaching Tool For Improving Oral Communication Skills In Premedical And Pre-Biomedical Graduate Students, Marianne Phelps, Catrina White, Lin Xiang, Hollie I. Swanson

Theatre and Dance Faculty Publications

Objective:

To evaluate the relationship between training in theatre improvisation and empathy, communication, and other professional skills.

Methods:

Undergraduate and graduate students who were participants of a 10-week summer undergraduate research program engaged in theatre improvisation techniques during a 3-hour workshop. In Study #1, a de-identified, self-report questionnaire (known as the Empathy Quotient) was administered prior to and following the workshop. Paired sample 2-tailed t-tests were performed to evaluate pre- and post-test scores. To identify additional benefits of engaging in theatre improvisation techniques, Study #2 was performed. Here, a survey was administered to the participants following their completion of …

Building Communication, Collaboration, And Self-Efficacy Among Elementary School Counselors Through Communities Of Practice, Garrett Rimey

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

There are few life-changing experiences like transitioning from elementary school to middles school. A new setting, new peers, new teachers, and new structures have been shown to elicit a myriad of emotions from students as they transition into middle school. A student’s academic record, accommodations, and other pertinent academic information follow a student into middle school; however, their social and emotional portfolio does not. Research has shown that students who are negatively impacted the most by transitioning into middle school also show their academics are negatively impacted, with title 1 students showing to be even more negatively impacted. However, school …

Incorporating Environmental Arrangement Strategies Into Classroom Activities, Brandy M. Denton

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Individuals with extensive support needs, including those who have autism spectrum disorder and are classified as level 3 in the area of social communication, are more likely than same-age peers to display delays in age-appropriate social communication and engagement in activities. To address these issues, special education teachers, in collaboration with related-service providers, should create social communication and engagement objectives. Once objectives are identified, teachers can plan for and implement environmental arrangement (EA) strategies to promote these behaviors in a natural context. EA strategies are a long-standing approach to creating a communication-rich environment and can be used alone or paired …

Assessing Students’ Writing And Public Speaking Self-Efficacy In A Composition And Communication Course, T. Kody Frey, Jessalyn I. Vallade

Information Science Faculty Publications

One avenue for assessing learning involves evaluating self-efficacy, as this psychological beliefis a strong predictor of academic achievement. As such, the purpose of this study was to evaluate writing self-efficacy and public speaking self-efficacy in a composition and communication course. This course is structured to develop both writing and public speaking competencies; the research sought to determine whether students believed they were leaving the course feeling more confident in their capabilities within each respective academic domain. Results (N= 380) from pre- and post-test data suggest that students’ reported writing and public speaking self-efficacy significantly increased over the semester. Additionally, students’ …

Using A Naturalistic Time Delay To Initiate A Request For Preferred Objects From Same Aged Peers, Brian A. Newton

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to provide training to peer tutors in order to teach students with severe intellectual disability to initiate communication to obtain preferred objects. A multiple probe (days) across students was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the peer implementing a naturalistic time delay to teach the communication skill. Two of the four students were able to initiate communications with the peer tutors to use objects they preferred. One student showed increasing in responding prior to the implementation of the intervention. The results showed that the peers were able to maintain the instructional procedures to teach …

Effects Of A Collaboratively Developed Peer Mediated Intervention On The Social Communication Skills Of Students With Complex Communication Needs In Inclusive Classroom Settings, Alice L. Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Recent Federal education reform and legislation (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1997, 2004; No Child Left Behind Act, 2001) have shifted to emphasize the inclusion of all students in mainstream social and academic settings within the public schools. Despite the shift towards inclusion and the benefits of peer interaction experiences, recent observational studies have revealed that, for students with disabilities, social interactions are often limited. This study evaluated the effect of a collaboratively developed, peer mediated intervention on the social communication of students with complex communication needs in inclusive classroom settings. The study utilized a single-case multiple probe design across …

Learning To Retell Stories Through Comparative Teaching: Writing And Drawing, Rachel L. Lindle

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

Students who are emergent readers and writers are often difficult to assess, as they are unable to communicate understanding in writing. From my observations, these students communicate ideas best through concrete forms of expression, rather than the abstract formation of letters and writing that is unfamiliar to them. Drawing provides an alternate form of expression from writing. Based on information found in literature review and personal experiences from working with students who are emergent readers and writers, pictures and drawings are a bridge to communicate ideas with these students. This form of expression and communication may be a useful assessment …

Factors Community College Faculty Consider Important To Academic Leadership, Juston C. Pate, Lance R. Angell

Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice

Although many of the pressures leaders face come from external sources, the expertise of the faculty should not be ignored when preparing community college leaders. The current study analyzed survey data from community college faculty across the state of Kentucky to determine which attributes they considered important to academic leadership. The faculty members who responded to an online survey regarded most highly factors pertaining to communication, character, decision-making, teamwork, work ethic, and personal relationships.

Changing Strategies For Electronic Theses And Dissertations: Communication Between An Academic Library, Graduate School, Academic Departments, And Students, Lyndsey E. Calico, Cleophus V. Price, Adrian K. Ho, Jonathan Garrett

Library Presentations

Technology has long since removed the need for paper copies of theses and dissertations in the library. The latest strategy for receiving, reviewing, and archiving graduate student scholarship is the institutional repository (IR). An IR will allow online submission by a student from anywhere in the world, increasing convenience for local students and increasing global diversity.

The University of Kentucky Graduate School and the University of Kentucky Libraries have teamed to create an online submission process for all graduate student scholarship. UKnowledge, the University's IR, is now home to all digitally born graduate student scholarship. To make the student experience …

What Now? What Next? A Narrative Analysis Of Cross-Cultural Adaptation And College Student Retention, Jason Matthews Martin

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

First year college student retention is important to colleges and universities nationwide (Bean, 2005). Most of the research on retention focuses on self-report data collected from students after they withdraw from the institution. The present study focuses, instead, on student stories about school, as well as at and about “home” during their first semester.

The experiences of students who transition from high school to college are sometimes likened to those of individuals who enter a new culture for the first time. Thus, this dissertation is grounded in cross-cultural adaptation theory (Kim, 1988, 2001), which posits that successful adaptation occurs via …

The Communication Challenge Of Standards-Based Reporting, Thomas R. Guskey

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

As traditional reporting systems based on letter grades are replaced by standards-based reporting systems, parents are often left wondering how their child is doing in school. Mr. Guskey offers some suggestions for overcoming this communication challenge.