Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

The Experience Of Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder During The Transition To Middle School, Hannah M. Berry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The transition to the middle school setting from elementary school has been the subject of research for decades as data shows a decline in academic success, socio-emotional health and motivation for students. There is a lack of research based transitional programs to support the needs of students at this time, specifically those with special needs. Though the name and specific criteria for students with ADHD has shifted, the impact this neurological disability has on students and learning is comprehensive. Symptoms of this disorder reach and affect each part of the student and their school experience, as well as those around …

Large Group Video Modeling: Increasing Social Interactions In An Inclusive Head Start Classroom, Jennifer Margaret Buchter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Social skills are associated positive academic and well-being outcomes across the lifespan, especially for individuals with disabiliites (Carter, Sisco, Chung, & Stanton-Chapman, 2010; Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, Berk, & Singer, 2009; Lifter, Mason, & Barton, 2011; Rubin, Bukowski, & Laursen, 2009). Without instruction, children with disabilities often have social skill delays that result in social isolation and peer rejection (Barton, 2015; Goldstein, English, Shafer, & Kaczmarek, 1997; Gresham, 1982; Nelson, McDonnell, Johnson, Crompton, & Nelson, 2007; Rogers, 2000; Travis, Sigman, & Ruskin, 2001). Direct and explicit instruction, not only for the targeted child but also for their peers, is required to support …

Creative Self-Efficacy: Students In General Education, With Learning Disabilities, And With Gifts And Talents, Jennifer Elaine Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Creative self-efficacy is the belief in one’s own ability to be creative. It is a component of creativity and is vital for future success. Within the construct of creative thinking, four areas of creative thinking (i.e., fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality) have been suggested.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of creative self-efficacy in third, fourth, and fifth grade students in general education, with learning disabilities, and with gifts and talents in terms of fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality. Along with educational sub-type and grade level, an exploration of the relationship of gender and ethnicity were …

Students With Emotional–Behavioral Disorders As Cross-Age Tutors: A Synthesis Of The Literature, Gavin W. Watts, Diane Pedrotty Bryant, Megan L. Carroll

Special Education Faculty Publications (Archived)

The purpose of this quantitative synthesis was to evaluate the effectiveness and related outcomes of the cross-age tutoring model when students with or at risk for emotional–behavioral disorders (EBD) serve as tutors. Research questions were posed to identify the shared and unique components (e.g., dosage, tutor training) of the cross-age tutoring model; the extent to which students with EBD can effectively serve as cross-age tutors (i.e., fidelity of implementation and tutees’ improvement); the extent to which the model was effective in promoting desired academic and/or social–emotional–behavioral outcomes for tutees and tutors with EBD; the generalization, maintenance, and social validity of …

The Ebp-Cot Assignment: Increasing The Use And Understanding Of Ebps In Preservice Teachers, Margaret Bowman

Honors Theses

This study investigated whether the use of the Evidence-Based Practice-Classroom Observation Tool (EBP-COT) assignment in an introductory teacher education practicum increased the understanding of Evidence-Based Practice-Classroom Observation Tools (EBPCOT). Participants in this study were consenting special education majors in their introductory block practicum course at a mid-south university in the fall semester of 2018. Students were asked to complete the EBP-COT assignment to include focused checklists components and reflections as well as a pretest and posttest. The assignment, pretest, and posttest were analyzed for similarities in increased understanding of evidence-based practices and comfort with the use of evidence-based practices. Overall, …

Choice, Voice, And Agency : A Photovoice Study Exploring Multiple Means Of Expression As Inclusive Pedagogy, Francesca M. Ciotoli

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Pedagogy that centers primarily on oral and written language significantly limits the educational progress of students with disabilities because it may not regularly afford them opportunities to express what they have learned. It stands to reason that increased opportunities for expression through multiple ways or modes of meaning-making will lead to greater expressivity for all students. This research study documents, examines, and helps support five general and special education teachers’ learning of pedagogical practices that foster increased opportunities for expression of learning with respect to students with disabilities in elementary and middle school (grades 3-7) classrooms. I use photovoice research …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Motor Planning With Core Vocabulary: A Behavior Analytic Account, Alison Judith Karnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) increases, it is important for practitioners to continue to improve evidence-based practices (EBP) for the treatment of ASD symptoms (i.e., impairments in social communication and repetitive behaviors and restricted interests; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). It is estimated that 30-50% of individuals with autism do not acquire functional speech (Wodka, Mathy, & Kalb, 2013). These individuals would make appropriate candidates for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC; Mirenda, 2003). One form of AAC is the speech-generating device (SGD). Over the last ten years, tablet-based technologies including iPad minisⓇ have been emphasized in the …

A Grounded Theory Study Explaining Teachers’ Instructional Decision-Making On Mathematics Fact Fluency For Students With A Mathematics Learning Disability, Awilda Soto Rudd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this systematic grounded theory study was to explain the process teachers undergo when making instructional decisions on mathematics fact fluency for students with a learning disability in mathematics (MLD). The study focuses on revealing the factors, influencers, and knowledge that teachers negotiate to make instructional decisions. These constructs are necessary to understand and explain as the field of mathematics looks to improve the use of evidence-based instructional practices for students with MLD. There are currently no studies that provide an in-depth understanding of teachers’ decision-making within the construct of instructional decisions in mathematics fact fluency for students …

Exploration Of Learning, Social, And Behavioral Experiences Of Female High School Graduates With Emotional Behavior Disorder From Public Schools In The United States: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Christie Renee Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study is to describe the lived experience of public high school female college preparatory graduates diagnosed with an emotional behavior disorder (EBD) in the United States. The queries are: (a) how do female students with EBD describe their high school experience, and (b-d) what learning factors, behavioral supports, and environmental influences contributed to their ability to meet graduation requirements. The theory guiding this study is Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory as it is firmly grounded in behaviorism and explains the impact of complex interactions on behavior, learning, personal development, and social outcomes. Miller’s (1976) …

Teaching For Whose America?: Corporate Education Reform And Students Labeled As Disabled, Barbara A. Hubert

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Today’s education reform movement is funded heavily by a network of wealthy elite that often prize neoliberal and free-market interests. Within this network, Teach for America (TFA) is at the nexus of overlapping interests in an educational marketplace where corporate values become the norm for defining both progress and success. Students labeled as disabled and placed in special education have generally not been well-served by neoliberal, free-market reforms yet TFA overwhelmingly places corps members in urban special education classrooms. Because TFA has a large network of alumni that go on to lead schools, educational organizations and influence policy, this study …

A Space To Learn, Amy R. Goods

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I explore what it means to different people, in different places throughout life’s spectrum to create a space to learn. This dissertation is a collection of work that I have written throughout my time at the CUNY Graduate Center. The chapters herein represent an arch of my learning over the past five years. The title, A Space to Learn, has multiple meanings. For one, writing this dissertation has provided me a space to explore and reflect on a variety of topics, ranging from memory loss, to teacher preparation programs, to eugenics and special education, to tracking and …

Effects Of Online Program Vs. Handheld Flashcards On Multiplication And Division Fact Knowledge Of 4th Grade Learners With Exceptional Needs, Lindsay M. Siegman

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a time series design to investigate the effects of a computer-based math fact program called Xtramath.org vs. the use of traditional handheld flashcards. Students were given a baseline assessment before beginning the school district's method for learning basic math facts: Xtramath.org. They were tested again after 6 weeks and then began to use traditional handheld flashcards. Students were tested again to compare the results. Eight 4th grade students (5 male and 3 female) with special needs were included in this study. These students attend school in a wealthy, suburban area with a predominantly white population.

Fluency in …

Yoga And Mindfulness In The Self-Contained Classroom, Deborahlee M. Wehner

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the effectiveness of the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) intervention of yoga and mindfulness in a third through fifth grade self-contained classroom. Specifically, the study analyzed the effects of yoga and mindfulness on (a) self-efficacy and (b) self-regulation. Ten students participated in the study, five males and five females. This research used an experimental/control group design. Prior to the six-week intervention period both the control group and experimental group completed a questionnaire rating their self-efficacy in the areas of academics, social and behavior. Post intervention the students completed the self-efficacy questionnaire again. During the six-week intervention period …

Improving Inclusion Teacher Self-Efficacy Through Narrative Inquiry, Kylie Damico

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project was to engage in narrative inquiry to explore teacher self-efficacy of inclusion teachers in a classroom where teachers may have low sense of teacher self-efficacy. Two special education teachers who have experienced challenges in co-teaching in the regular classrooms explored pre-conferencing with the general education teacher before class and reflecting with the general education teacher after the class period to try and increase teacher self-efficacy. They met regularly throughout the study and discussed their sense of teacher self-efficacy as it relates to the techniques explored and completed the Teaching Students with Disabilities Scale. The …

Analysis Of The Perceptions Of Principals, Teachers, And Parents Regarding The Implementation Of The Arkansas Dyslexia Law, Joeanna Lynn Cooper

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of principals, teachers, and parents regarding the implementation of the Arkansas Dyslexia Law. Principals, teachers, and parents were interviewed in regard to multiple aspects of the state’s mandated dyslexia law implementation. The overall findings of this study revealed that the Arkansas Dyslexia Law had substantial effects in Arkansas Schools on program funding, interventions and basic understanding of statutory requirements. Although findings indicated that the training of teachers and interventionists created an initial delay of services in some schools, the majority of participants agreed that the dyslexia intervention program selected …

High-Needs Schools: Preparing Teachers For Today's World

Occasional Paper Series

In the second decade of the 21st century, some schools are in trouble and some schools are not. The subject of this Occasional Paper is the preparation of teachers for schools that--lacking sufficient resources, effective leadership, or vocal advocates--are failing to educate their students by any reasonable measures. The teachers and teacher educator contributors to this volume offer a more variegated set of responses grounded in a diversity of local experiences. Their approaches to researching and understanding the immediacy of becoming a teacher are based on decades of working in hard-pressed urban schools and the institutions that supply them with …

Harmonizing Social Emotional Learning For Students With Special Needs, Deema Shihadih

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically face difficulties with social emotional skill sets, yet many classrooms for students with ID do not incorporate social emotional learning in the curriculum. Modifying SEL programs to fit the needs of students may be an improved solution, however, little research exists exploring the effects of modifying various SEL programs to fit the needs of students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This research explores the benefits of modifying multiple social emotional learning (SEL) programs to best fit the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. Qualitative methods were used in order to investigate how SEL programs and …

The Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Middle School Special Education Students, Michelle Castillo

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Abstract

Adolescence is a vulnerable period to a child’s emotional and social environment due to the puberty-related changes in hormones, which has an effect on their judgement, impulse control, and emotional regulation. Middle school students face several daily stressors at school, at home, and in their communities. Although adolescents face stressors in and out of school, a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) can be beneficial. This research focuses on the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on Latino middle school special education students in regards to their attention and behavior in general education classes as well as their self-perception. While prior studies address …

Language Interventions And Social-Emotional Learning Helps Students Who Are Emotionally Disturbed, Megan Walsh

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Students who are classified as being Emotionally Disturbed (ED) often struggle in the general education classroom setting because they do not receive the proper support to be the most successful. Many teachers do not understand how to work with these students due to a lack of training and understanding of the disability. Additionally, these students who typically have behavioral issues will continue to act out without forming interpersonal relationships with their teacher. Although research has demonstrated some understanding of working with these students, few studies have explored the use of language interventions and social-emotional learning to promote positive student-teacher relationships. …

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

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Though extensive studies exist regarding teaching life skills at the middle school and high school level in special education to support transition, a comparable amount of research is still needed to support the need for 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 to target specific life skills impacted 2nd - 5th grade students with moderate to severe disabilities. The skill areas that were targeted: hygiene (hand-washing), social skills (appropriate greetings) and money skills (collecting money). The life skills were worked on …