Education Commons^™

Paraprofessional Training Materials, Program Implementation & Review, Breann Brewer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

If ever you enter a special education classroom, you may encounter a few events. You may witness a classroom of impressive, almost automatic interactions, delivered in a way so eloquent that the students and staff seem to be in an effortless dance with one another. Or, you may witness a classroom that feels heavy with needs; needs of more staff, more help, more hands, and more time. This visual exercise demonstrates how the structure of a special education classroom sets the tone for student growth and success.

One pivotal part of a special education classroom is the paraeducators. Paraeducators, also …

Evidence-Based Practices For Tiered Math Interventions For Elementary Students, James Schyma

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Abstract is not required for a Starred Paper.

Strategies To Decrease Physical Aggression In Elementary Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katie Majerus

Culminating Projects in Special Education

A growing number of individuals have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Students with autism spectrum disorder may exhibit a variety of physically aggressive and self-injurious behaviors that are problematic and difficult for caregivers and educators to manage. Due to these behaviors, educators and caregivers are facing burnout and exhaustion. The research shows that there are interventions that can help identify the function of the behaviors and are effective in reducing the physical aggression or self-injurious behaviors. The focus of this review is to identify therapeutic interventions that have a positive impact on elementary students with autism spectrum disorder who …

Spilling The Lgbt(Ea)Q: A Study Of Lgbtq Youth Early School Experiences, Nicholas Catania

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this arts-based qualitative study, I explore the experiences of LGBTQ youth regarding inclusion during their early schooling. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of youth participants regarding inclusion during their early school experiences to better assist educators and policy-makers at all levels with information to provide safe and equitable learning environments for LGBTQ youth to succeed. The intent of this study was to uncover the ways schools may marginalize or be inclusive of LGBTQ youth by examining school experiences with a particular focus at the elementary level. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, …

Teachers' Attitudes Toward The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities In The General Education Classroom In A Rural School District, Robin M. Pelt

Theses and Dissertations

According to the research, inclusion in the general education setting is valuable to the academic and social development of students with disabilities. Teachers play a significant role in the success of students with disabilities in this setting (Coombs-Richardson & Mead, 2001; Fuchs, 2010; Test et al., 2009). Research shows that teachers display positive and negative attitudes toward inclusion based on the severity of the disability category (Cook, 2001; Ernest & Rogers, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom in a rural school district. An …

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist Collaborative Practice: A Literature Review, Kaija R. Elenko

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Background: School-based speech language pathologists (SLPs) are increasing collaborative engagement with educators and other professionals in school settings. Collaborative practice in the general education classroom increased student’s awareness of literacy concepts. The push-in model of service delivery reached students with varied levels of literacy understanding. There is insufficient empirical evidence regarding school-based interprofessional practice (IPP) available to clinicians. Systemic reviews provide a model for educators and SLPs to follow; many professionals hesitate to engage in IPP because there is a deficiency in evidence of success.

Aims: Investigation of the necessary components for successful IPP and the impacts of collaboration on …

A Survey Of Teacher Attitude Regarding Self-Awareness And Inclusive Education Of Special Education Students, Brooke Parvi

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Self-awareness is not something that develops individually or in solitude. Merriam-Webster (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2019) defines self-awareness as, “an awareness of one's own personality or individuality.” Schools have started to increase their understanding of the relevance of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and have been progressively providing more training in this area to their teachers. Inclusion happens when students with disabilities to mingle and learn with typically developing students; learn from each other and experiencing social expectations together. Research has indicated that students with learning and behavior disabilities lack social and emotional skills, specifically self-awareness skills.

In this study, educators were …

Life Skills For Life-Long Learners: Teaching Functional Skills To Elementary Students With Special Needs, Emily H. Derecat

Education | Master's Theses

Though extensive studies exist regarding teaching life skills at the middle school and high school level in special education to support students’ transition to adulthood, a comparable amount of research is still needed to examine the use of life skills-based programs in elementary special education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a six-week intervention using research-based practices targeting specific life skills impacted 2nd - 5th grade students with moderate to severe disabilities. This study involved a group of 7 students with varying disabilities and behavioral challenges, using video and peer modeling to enhance specific life skills …

Effects Of Social-Emotional Instruction On The Behavior Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Kelsey Olson

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Students with learning disabilities who spend the majority of the school day in a general education classroom often struggle to appropriately deal with feelings of frustration and anxiety. There is currently a gap in understanding how special education teachers can support the social and emotional inclusion of students with learning disabilities when they are in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study is to explore the results of implementing a social-emotional curriculum both in a pullout setting and in the general education setting and examine the effect of the program on the behavior of students with learning disabilities …

The Effects Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports For Students With Emotional Or Behavioral Disorders, Aaron Samuel

Culminating Projects in Special Education

This starred paper consists of reviews of literature regarding the effects of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders. The paper includes seven studies conducted at the elementary level and four studies conducted at the middle school/high school level.

The Effect Of A Font Intervention For 4th And 5th Graders With Dyslexia, Steven L. Powell

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Dyslexie is a font developed by Christian Boer specifically to enhance reading fluency in students with dyslexia. The present study examined its potential impact on the performance of 36 4^th and 5^th grade students with SLD on story reading. We found that Dyslexie, when compared to other common fonts that have been adjusted to control for Dyslexie’s large size and spacing, appears to have no effect on readers’ ability to read text correctly, comprehend text, or read faster.

A Quantitative Study Of Co-Teaching As An Instructional Model To Serve Elementary Students, Susan M. Gerlach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to address the use of the co-teaching instructional model to serve elementary special education students in general educational classrooms. Recent trends and legislation have increased the use of inclusive education for students with disabilities. At this time, few large-scale studies on co-teaching have been conducted to date, and empirical research in terms of quantified student measured outcomes is limited. As a result, districts face challenges when considering implementation of a co-teaching model. This study used a quasi-experimental design from intact existing groups of fourth grade students on the State STAAR Reading test. Cross …

Effects Of A Token Economy On A Student With Autism Exhibiting Disruptive Behavior In A General Education Classroom, Taylor W. Webb

Undergraduate Theses

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges; and estimates that one in 68 children in the United States are affected by it (CDC, 2014). This prevalence rate is much higher than that of prior decades and has led to trends and factors related to educational programs that include an increase in the inclusion of students with ASD in general education classrooms. For this reason, it is crucial that teachers have access to efficient, teacher-friendly, and research-based interventions for students with ASD in …

Reducing Off-Task Behaviors In First Graders With Disabilities Through An Adaptation Of The Good Behavior Game, Chelsey Martin

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this mixed methods, single subject quasi-experimental study was to measure if an adaptation to a group-based contingency intervention, known as the Good Behavior Game, lead to decreases in off-task behaviors for first-grade students with disabilities during whole group instruction, and if the classroom teacher viewed the intervention positively. Three first grade, male students with disabilities, their first-grade teacher, and the first-grade class were participants in the study. The class was split into two teams and reminded of the expectations for on-task behavior. Positive reinforcement in the form of verbal praise and a team point were rewarded at …

Understanding The Expressive Cartoon Drawings Of A Student With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Michael S. Collins

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the highly expressive comic drawings of Amy, a child with autism. This study connects larger fields of research: the study of how people with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] process faces and emotions; and, research about artists with ASD. Amy's understanding of emotion was analyzed by asking her to view and identify humans and cartoon characters expressing different emotions. Her ability to illustrate emotion is tested by asking her to respond to various drawing prompts. The study concluded that Amy has difficulty identifying the emotions of humans and cartoons, but she does have the ability to illustrate …

Importance Of Accommodating Elementary School Students With Learning Disabilities, Angelica R. Rivera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone examines the rationale why it is important to accommodate the students with learning disabilities at the elementary schools. Mainstreaming students with disabilities with those in regular general education classrooms remains a very important issue for principals and teachers. Through the use of literature review and interviews with a principal and a teacher from their respective schools in the Monterey County area, the results show that there is a gap between the services provided to students with learning disabilities.

Elementary General Education Teachers' Perspectives Towards The Inclusion Of Students With Emotional Disturbances, Leona E. O'Dear

Theses and Dissertations

Inclusion of students with emotional disturbances (ED) is encouraged nationally through litigation and legislation. Despite this fact, 38.1% of the students with ED spend less than 40% of their day in a regular education classroom due to several barriers. Research has demonstrated that one of the barriers to inclusion exists in general education teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities. The purpose of this research study was to use a qualitative design to study the perspectives of general education teachers at the elementary level in an urban Illinois school district towards the phenomenon of the inclusion of students …

Multi-Sensory Techniques In Spelling Instruction: An Action Research Study For Students With Dyslexia, Alyssa Ashbaugh

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to use instructional inquiry to study multisensory spelling instruction with a single fourth grade student diagnosed with dyslexia. Multisensory teaching techniques and strategies stimulate learning by engaging students on multiple levels encouraging students to use some or all of their senses. To examine the effectiveness of multisensory teaching techniques in spelling, I conducted pre- and post assessments of two spelling inventories, collected weekly dictated sentences, identified writing samples from his classroom, and had conversations with the student and the student’s teacher. The student continued to receive intervention services as previously scheduled twice …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Inclusion In Elementary Classroom Settings, Delicia Peacock Peacock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusion classrooms were introduced in the United States in 1990 when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required that special education students be instructed in a general education setting. Ensuing changes in instructional formats have caused role confusion for special and general education teachers, resulted in mixed attitudes toward teacher responsibilities, and lowered teachers' sense of efficacy about being able to teach their students. Guided by Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, this bounded case study design in a rural elementary school in a southeastern state was used to understand the perceptions of general and special educators regarding their work in …

Classroom Strategies For Elementary Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Jennifer Downing

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Focus of Paper: I identified 12 studies for the Chapter II Literature review. Given the broad range of the is topic, I chose to narrow it by focusing mainly on the inattention form of ADHD and elementary students in grades Kindergarten through sixth grade. The studies in Chapter II were conducted in both educational and clinical settings. The Academic Search Premier and Google Scholar database I used to locate studies focus on a variety of keywords and keyword combinations: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Special Education, inattention, elementary, teaching strategies, learning strategies, therapy ball, stability ball, multimodal therapy, …

The Effects Of Peer-Led Interventions, "Stay, Play, Talk", On Social Skills With Students With Autism, Elizabeth G. Deganian

Specialist in Education Degree (Ed.S.) Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the peer-led intervention, “Stay, Play, Talk” on three target social skills with elementary aged children with autism. The target skills are as follows: 1) initiating a greeting by either waving or saying, “hi”; 2) waiting his/her turn while playing a structured game/activity; and 3) staying close to a peer during a 10 minute free play period. A multiple probe across behaviors combined with a multiple probe across participants demonstrated that “Stay, Play, Talk” as an effective intervention for social skills on three participants served in an autism classroom. Additionally, this study examined …

Teachers Attitudes Toward Co-Teaching In Elementary Reading Classrooms, India Stone

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Co-teaching occurs when a special and general education teacher instructs a classroom of students with and without disabilities through modifications to the core curriculum. The author wrote this paper to evaluate teacher attitudes toward co-teaching in elementary reading classrooms. During co-teaching, educators face several disadvantages such as lack of professional development, absence of co-planning, disagreements among modifications within the curriculum, and confusion with co-teaching approaches. The research within this paper describes the attitudes, issues, and strategies that educators experience through inclusive, co-taught elementary classrooms within the reading curriculum.

Examining The Effects Of Self-Regulated Strategy Development In Combination With Video Self-Modeling On Writing By Third Grade Students With Learning Disabilities, Katie Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the effects of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD), a cognitive strategy instructional method, on opinion writing by third grade students with learning disabilities. A video self-modeling (VSM) component was added to the SRSD method. A multiple probe across participants, single-subject design was used to determine the effectiveness of the SRSD instructional strategy, (POW + TREE), in combination with video self-modeling. Data from various components of writing, including essay elements, length of responses, time spent writing, and overall writing quality, were collected and assessed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. All students who received the intervention improved their …

Students With Reading Disabilities Participating In Literature Discussions: A Case Study, Elysha Patino O’Brien

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative case study addressed a lack of research concerning literature discussions for students with learning disabilities in reading. Fourth and fifth grade students with reading disabilities participated in twice-weekly literature discussions, 30- to-60 minutes each, for 12 weeks. The students attended a Title I school and most were Hispanic males. Together, they read and discussed five postmodern picturebooks. The purpose of the study was to understand (a) reader responses to the illustrations, text, and postmodern features of the books, and (b) the individual reader’s response habits. Situated within a sociocultural frame, the theories guiding this study pertained to language …

Secondary Intervention For Students At Risk For Emotional And Behavioral Disorders Within A Positive Behavior Support Model, Jennifer Anne James

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring is an intervention growing in popularity with a weak research foundation. This study combines mentoring and social skill training within a positive behavior support framework. Targeting a fourth-grade, Latino student at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, this single-subject study looks at his ability to master a specific social skill. The mentor served to reinforce social skill learning through practicing, role-playing, and goal setting. The student was chosen using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders and the social skill was created using the School Social Behavior Scales that identified social skill strengths and weaknesses. Student demonstration of the social …

Bibliotherapy: School Psychologists' Report Of Use And Efficacy, Marci A. Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the use of bibliotherapy by school psychologists. A survey was created and distributed to 119 registered and licensed school psychologists in Utah to obtain information on this topic. Forty-one percent returned a completed survey. Results indicated that bibliotherapy is used by 82% of the participants in the study, and 31 of 34 (91%) use bibliotherapy with children grades K-6. Topics most used with bibliotherapy included self-esteem, bullying, divorce, anxiety, and grief. Efficacy varied depending on the topic of bibliotherapy. However, school psychologists regarded bibliotherapy across all topics to be very effective to effective.

Developing Career Awareness For Upper Elementary Grade And Special Education Students, Shirley Huang

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Establishing A Positive School Climate On The Playground For Students With Serious Behavioral Disabilities: A Collaborative Effort, Mildred Carol Fletcher Garcia

All Graduate Projects

Social skills deficits of students with serious behavior disabilities are often an obstacle to integration into the regular education system. Many of the most troublesome problems occur outside the classroom on the playground due to the lessened structure constraints of the playground environment. As a result, the students are labeled "bad kids" by the teachers and paraprofessionals, are socially rejected by nondisabled peers, and the downward spiral of a negative social "trap" is begun.

The purpose of this study was to create an inservice training packet promoting collaboration between teachers and paraprofessionals providing students with serious behavior disabilities a positive …

A Comparison Of A Math-Center And A Traditional Program In Mathematics With First Grade Pupils In The Roosevelt Elementary School, Barbara Jean Knecht Eldredge

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The phone rang at the home of the principal the evening of the first day of school. The voice on the telephone said, "I must talk with you-- tonight!" The principal arranged an appointment for 7:30 that evening in his office at the school.