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Full-Text Articles in Special Education and Teaching

School Culture For Students With Significant Support Needs: Belonging Is Not Enough, Diane Carroll, Connie Fulmer, Donna Sobel, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Lorenso Aragon, Lisa Coval Oct 2015

School Culture For Students With Significant Support Needs: Belonging Is Not Enough, Diane Carroll, Connie Fulmer, Donna Sobel, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Lorenso Aragon, Lisa Coval

Connie L. Fulmer

This qualitative study examined the influence of school culture on services for students with significant support needs. Students with significant support needs are defined as those who typically have cognitive impairments, often paired with sensory and physical challenges, and who require substantial supports to receive benefit from education. Using Schein's (1988) definition of culture, ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews and artifacts, were used to collect data related to artifacts, values, and assumptions. Results of this study indicate a strong sense of family, community and belonging. However, belonging did not include critical components of instruction as described as best practice in …


School Culture For Students With Significant Support Needs: Belonging Is Not Enough, Diane Carroll, Connie Fulmer, Donna Sobel, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Lorenso Aragon, Lisa Coval Sep 2015

School Culture For Students With Significant Support Needs: Belonging Is Not Enough, Diane Carroll, Connie Fulmer, Donna Sobel, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Lorenso Aragon, Lisa Coval

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

This qualitative study examined the influence of school culture on services for students with significant support needs. Students with significant support needs are defined as those who typically have cognitive impairments, often paired with sensory and physical challenges, and who require substantial supports to receive benefit from education. Using Schein's (1988) definition of culture, ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews and artifacts, were used to collect data related to artifacts, values, and assumptions. Results of this study indicate a strong sense of family, community and belonging. However, belonging did not include critical components of instruction as described as best practice in …


Measuring Rater Reliability On A Special Education Observation Tool, Carrie Lisa Semmelroth, Evelyn Johnson Aug 2015

Measuring Rater Reliability On A Special Education Observation Tool, Carrie Lisa Semmelroth, Evelyn Johnson

Carrie Semmelroth

This study used generalizability theory to measure reliability on the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) observation tool designed to evaluate special education teacher effectiveness. At the time of this study, the RESET tool included three evidence-based instructional practices (direct, explicit instruction; whole-group instruction; and discrete trial teaching) as the basis for special education teacher evaluation. Five raters participated in two sessions to evaluate special education classroom instruction collected from two school years, via the Teachscape 360-degree video system. Data collected from raters were analyzed in a two-facet “partially” nested design where occasions (o) were nested within teachers …


Special Education Teacher Evaluation: Why It Matters, What Makes It Challenging, And How To Address These Challenges, Evelyn Johnson, Carrie Lisa Semmelroth Aug 2015

Special Education Teacher Evaluation: Why It Matters, What Makes It Challenging, And How To Address These Challenges, Evelyn Johnson, Carrie Lisa Semmelroth

Carrie Semmelroth

There is currently little consensus on how special education teachers should be evaluated. The lack of consensus may be due to several reasons. Special education teachers work under a variety of complex conditions, with a very heterogeneous population, and support student progress toward a very individualized set of goals. In addition, special education is marked by historical rates of attrition, with a lack of highly qualified teachers entering the field, and a number of special education teachers completing alternate certification programs, leading to a combined effect that impacts overall professional quality. In this article, we first review the challenges associated …


Differentiated Instruction At Work. Reinforcing The Art Of Classroom Observation Through The Creation Of A Checklist For Beginning And Pre-Service Teachers, Pearl K. Subban, Penny N. Round Jan 2015

Differentiated Instruction At Work. Reinforcing The Art Of Classroom Observation Through The Creation Of A Checklist For Beginning And Pre-Service Teachers, Pearl K. Subban, Penny N. Round

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional experience is viewed as integral to shaping philosophy and acquiring skills in the area of classroom teaching. Classrooms are complex places, with educators implementing differentiated strategies to cater for student diversity. Pre-service teachers who observe these lessons often miss the intuitive practices, as there is much to absorb during a typical observation session. Equipping them with a checklist enhances this experience, giving them intentional guidelines with regard to observation. The current study, utilized a qualitative approach, to gain an understanding of specific dynamics that impact on a pre-service teacher’s professional experience. The intersection of data and the literature led …