Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Teaching Sweet (Students Who Have Experienced Extreme Trauma), Mavis J. Averill

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

High school youth who live in the inner city, many of First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) descent, have traditionally had struggles within school systems. Many have had a great deal of personal trauma in their lives. This presentation subscribes to the idea that the trauma they have experienced has affected them in a way, which compromises learning and causes students to be continually distracted from their classroom lessons. The presentation will illustrate how to work with these youth using trauma-informed teaching practices to support their emotional, behavioural, mental and spiritual well being.

Educators Voices From Integrated Writing And Problem Solving Common Core Workshop, Karen T. Jackson, Penny Wallin, Anna K. Lee

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article provides an opportunity to discuss and examine information gathered during a focus group of K-12 educators involved in an integrated writing and problem solving workshop. Findings demonstrate that some educators are frustrated by the culture of testing versus the culture of learning that exist as a result of the Common Core Standards implementation. Educators are eager to learn and implement new ways of learning in order to promote deeper learning and critical thinking skills. Strategies and recommendations for providing support and resources for educators to meet the expectations to prepare students to be college and career ready are …

Special Education Was Called That For A Reason: Is Special Education Special Yet?, Virginia J. Dickens Ph.D., Cynthia T. Shamberger Ph.D.

Journal of Research Initiatives

The authors of this essay revisit what Special Education for students with disabilities in schools was intended to be in the post-Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) era. They highlight the similarities in pressures and concerns which have plagued, and still plague, the field of Special Education across the last two decades, including issues related to funding and teacher preparation. The authors challenge readers with the statement that, “Now is the time to ask hard questions about the efficacy of special education efforts.” To respond to the title question of the essay, they pose a set of questions based upon …

How Cinema Excerpts Enhance A Culturally Relevant Responsive-Value Driven Pedagogy, Sunni Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract

Most certainly “good styles of teaching” match the needs of students. As technology distractions within society grow more and more tearing students away from a classroom’s pedagogy, it becomes even more important today for teachers to find effective ways to engage students. Cinema clips is one-way educators can apply a cultural value driven pedagogy to connect students to lessons. For one, the use of cinema clips allows teachers to use multi-media resources to translate or deconstruct a lesson through video and auditory mechanism. Furthermore, it offers a differentiated style of teaching for students. What makes the use of …

Accommodations At Uno; What You Don't See, Steph Hengen

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

At the primary and secondary levels, students with disabilities receive supports by law through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans. However, students with disabilities at the post-secondary level are typically required to self-identify and request supports independently (Getzel and Thoma, 2008). This poster describes the demographics of students who were registered with the Accessibility Services Center at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Spring of 2016. Those who attend this poster session will have a better understanding of the population who receive support through the Accessibility Services Center and what that support looks like.

Comprehensive Personnel Development In Deafblind Education: Exploration Of A Model, Catherine Nelson, Amy T. Parker

Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The diverse learners who are deafblind have unique and often intensive needs that require the services of qualified, specifically trained educators. Although the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has developed competencies for Teacher of the Deafblind, the role is not officially recognized in most states. Therefore, sustaining personnel development training in deafblindness has been challenging. This webinar explored a model for a comprehensive system of personnel development in deafblind education that looks at standards, preservice training, inservice/professional development, leadership development, research, and finally, national and local planning, coordination, and evaluation.

Consumer Advisory Council Celebrates Success, Jolynne Lyon

Blog Posts

Blog post is about the consumer advisory councils' success.

Metas Group Teach Independence, Jolynne Lyon

Blog Posts

The blog post is about the METAS group teaching independence.

Legislators Need To Hear From You, Jolynne Lyon

Blog Posts

Blog post is asking its readers to reach out to their local legislators about funding for the Up to 3 program.

Diversity Speaker Series: Dr. David Stovall, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Speaker Series

Dr. Stovall studies the influence of race in urban education, community development, and housing. His work investigates the significance of race in the quality of schools located in communities that are changing both racially and economically. From a practical and theoretical perspective, his research draws from Critical Race Theory, educational policy analysis, sociology, urban planning, political science, community organizing, and youth culture.

In 2006, he published the book chapter "From Hunger Strike to High School: Youth Development, Social Justice and School Formation" in Beyond Resistance: Youth and community change-New democratic possibilities for practice and policy for America’s youth.

From The Co-Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

A Universal Design For Robotics Education, Mustafa Şahin Bülbül

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In this century technological and educational needs increase drastically. Out of local language, educators need to teach robotic language and use necessary technologies to design robots like Arduino set. This set let users to know less code/computer language and knowledge about electronics. Users may develop their own robots with this set. It also improves design and implementation skills. However, it is not a suitable design for blinds. Universal design approach suggests educators to design courses in a way to meet the needs of all participants. By this approach, learning environments are helpful and useful for participants with special needs. With …

Urlend Collaborates On Attitudes Toward Sexuality Survey, Jolynne Lyon

Blog Posts

Blog post is about a survey on the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities.

Beyond Laggards And Morons: The Complicated World Of Special Education, Robert L. Osgood

Education's Histories

Robert L. Osgood responds to Benjamin Kelsey Kearl's biographical approach to special education in "Of Laggards and Morons."

Diversity Speaker Series: April Wells, April Wells

Speaker Series

April Wells is the Coordinator for Gifted, Advanced Placement, Academies, and World Languages in Illinois School District U-46, where she redesigned District U-46’s gifted programming in 2012-2013. April serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Association for Gifted Children and has presented at conferences including IAGC, National Association for Gifted Children, the Statewide Conference for Teachers Serving Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students, and the College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education. Interests focus on equity pedagogy, underrepresented learners, developing a gifted continuum of services,and providing instructional supports that allow students to maximize their pursuits. April has …

A Circle With Edges: How Story Time Privileges The Abled Learner, Melissa Tsuei

Occasional Paper Series

Takes a critical look at one of the commonplace features of early childhood classrooms—story time. In her essay, Melissa considers the ways in which story time reinforces unequal power dynamics for diverse learners by privileging the able-bodied learner. In response, Melissa creates and presents the SPHERE model, which promotes active engagement and shared dialogue through collaborative storytelling and nurtures an inclusive literacy-learning environment.

Lunch Detention: Learning From Students In Our Little Barred Room, Lisa A. Johnson

Occasional Paper Series

Pulls back the “facades of inclusion” to reveal emotional violence and deep-seated discriminatory practices against special education students. Lisa, herself blind, describes how she was approached by an administrator to take over the role of lunch detention supervisor for the “little barred room.” In a short time, the “little barred room” becomes a place of refuge for Lisa and the other students, who share stories of friendship and create an inclusive space that empowers them to challenge a culture of oppression.

I [Don’T] Belong Here: Narrating Inclusion At The Exclusion Of Others, Emily Clark

Occasional Paper Series

Borrowing from narrative research and Disability Studies in Education, Emily tells the story of her adoptive siblings Maria and Isaac, who were orphaned by AIDS. She explores the paradox of inclusion which is that it sometimes, if not oftentimes, fails and results in exclusion. A chief reason for the failure of inclusion, Emily argues, is that children with real and perceived differences challenge the “grammar” of schooling—that is, they stand out for their differences.

Hitting The Switch: ¡Sí Se Puede!, Stephanie Alberto, Andrea Fonseca, Sandra J. Stein

Occasional Paper Series

Takes us into the lifeworld of first-grader Jason at Castle Bridge Elementary School, a public, dual-language school in New York City. Written by Jason’s teachers Stephanie and Andrea in conjunction with his mother Sandra, this essay puts forward the ethos ¡Sí se puede! (Yes, you can!), which relies on children’s empathy and calls for a collective response to inclusion. “Hitting the Switch” concludes with practical suggestions for creating an inclusive space for children who use assistive communicative devices so that they can become meaningful participants in the classroom community.

Talking Tolerance Inside The “Inclusive” Early Childhood Classroom, Karen Watson

Occasional Paper Series

Provides an inside look into what the Australian government calls “inclusive learning communities.” This term emerges from a national early-years learning framework that highlights ability and disability as diversity. Following the course of a six-month period in three “inclusive” early childhood classrooms, Karen offers an account of the transformative potential of inclusion in contrast to the harmful effects of teaching tolerance. Tolerance, as Karen’s study reveals, preserves the dualism of normal versus abnormal (or Other) and hinders critical reflection about ableist assumptions.