Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Effectiveness Of Teacher Training On The Use Of Universal Design Learning Strategies With Special Education Students In Middle School, Seanessy W. Gavin

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In inclusive classrooms, the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) presents a viable schema to inform instructional materials, lesson design, and teaching practices to meet the needs of diverse groups of learners. UDL principles and guidelines emphasize using multiple means of representation, action, and engagement to employ different learning networks and address the multitude of learners in the classroom, with the hopeful outcome of benefiting all students. Current literature has yielded inconclusive results about the concrete effects of the UDL framework, including an ongoing challenge in defining UDL practice in the classroom. This quantitative study explored UDL practices in …

The Effect Of Online Education On Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge Of Peer Tutoring, Dominic S. Ratto

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The purpose of this study was to find the effectiveness of online education compared to text-based education when teaching pre-service educators about peer tutoring in physical education. As students with disabilities are being more regularly included in general education classes, it is important that pre-service teachers have ample and quality opportunities to learn about important topics and strategies within education, such as peer tutoring. This study compared knowledge scores between the experimental group (online education) and the control group (text-based education). The online education group received the knowledge through podcasts that were created using Mayer’s principles for multimedia learning. No …

Developing Conceptual Understanding And Procedural Fluency In Algebra For High School Students With Intellectual Disability, Andrew J. Wojcik

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching students with Intellectual Disability (ID) is a relatively new endeavor. Beginning in 2001 with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the general education curriculum integrated algebra across the K-12 curriculum (Kendall, 2011; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010), and expansion of the curriculum included five intertwined skills (productive disposition, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and conceptual understanding) (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001). Researchers are just beginning to explore the potential of students with ID with algebra (Browder, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Harris & Wakeman, 2008; Creech-Galloway, Collins, Knight, …

Reducing Adolescent Anger And Aggression With Biofeedback: A Mixed-Methods Multiple Case Study, Jedidiah S. Savard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent anger, aggression, and violent outbursts are social problems significantly affecting each of us. Individual therapeutic management of pathological anger is treated in various ways depending on practitioners’ theoretical orientations and competency levels. Popular psychological individual and group therapies addressing anger and aggression in adolescents focus primarily on cognitive-behavioral techniques that manage anger’s symptoms. Evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapies often require clients to self-identify emerging antecedents of anger without assistance; such therapies employ predetermined strategies to assist the client to emotionally de-escalate prior to an angry or aggressive episode. However, cognitive responses to an emotional upheaval stemming from an emergence of anger …

Middle School And High School Students Who Stutter: A Qualitative Investigation Of School Experiences, Tiffany Cobb

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO STUTTER: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCES

by

TIFFANY COBB

MAY 2017

Advisor: Dr. Derek Daniels

Major: Speech-Language Pathology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and further understand the ways in which middle school and high school students perceive their school experiences within the school environment.

School has an important impact on the social development of children (Milsom, 2006). Learning is not done individually as classrooms are inherently social places. This suggests that students do not learn alone, but rather in the presence of many …

Students With Specific Learning Disabilities; Perceptions Of Postsecondary Accommodations, Barriers, And Self-Advocacy, Jodi Elizabeth Stohl

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Once students graduate from public education, the supports for individuals with disabilities change significantly. The law requiring school districts to support students with disabilities no longer applies upon graduation. As the familiar support structure no longer exists, the transition for students with disabilities is very difficult. The purpose of this qualitative case study will be to learn the perceptions of students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) in regard to accessing accommodations from the Office of Disability Services in a public community college setting, identifying barriers, and utilizing self-advocacy skills.

Examining High School Placement Methodology With Strategies To Improve Students With Autism Outcomes, Elaine Martin

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Graduation statistics indicate that students with disabilities like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are now completing high school at an average rate of about 60 percent. The purpose of this literature examination and application is to analyze the methodologies and criteria for the placement of high school students with ASD, to explore the present best practices in the assessment and placement of these students, and to suggest strategies to improve individual outcomes. High schools across America follow clearly defined academic and legal parameters that rely on careful assessment, consistent accommodations, community support, and self-regulation but students are still being placed in …

Success For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Julie J. Soderlund

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Special education students with emotional and behavioral disorders have the right to receive an education that addresses their specific, individual needs. There are many challenges that accompany these students. It is beneficial for teachers to take a positive perspective of support and value collaboration with team members when working with these students. Teachers must also accept a mindset and perspective of the importance of inclusion for all students, regardless of disability or behavioral challenges. All students deserve the opportunity to access general education curriculum with their peers. This is how E/BD students will achieve future success.

The Role Of Self-Determination And Co-Construction To Support Meaningful Student Participation In An Individualized Education Program Meeting In High School, Trudy Ruth Gross

Doctoral Dissertations

By participating within the educational setting in making decisions about their lives that reach beyond choice-making, students with disabilities who acquire the skills of self-determination may express interests and goals through their own authentic voice. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the experiences and participation of two high-school students labeled with intellectual disability or autism at their Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings following participation in the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI). Student participation in the IEP process provides an avenue through which self-determined qualities emerge, and verbal and nonverbal participation can occur in a meaningful …

Rap: A Reading Comprehension Strategy For Students With Learning Disabilities And Concomitant Speech-Language Impairments Or Adhd, Suzanne E. Kemp

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Students with learning and language disabilities and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently struggle with reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a paraphrasing cognitive strategy that consists of read, ask, put (RAP) on reading comprehension. In addition, the maintenance effects two months after treatment for three students with learning disabilities either concomitant speech-language impairmenst or ADHD was also studied. Read, ask, put was taught using the Strategic Intervention Model (SIM). A multiple baseline design across participants was used with three fourth grade students with learning disabilities. Results indicated the use of …

Tier 3 Intervention: Expulsion, Natalie Hoff, Shir Palmon, Allie Heifner, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Expulsion is a disciplinary consequence that has been around for many years and serves the purpose of removing students who violate the school codes of conduct or pose an immediate threat to the school. While this strategy was created with school safety in mind, it has been found to lead to serious detrimental outcomes for students and has apparently been over used due to zero tolerance policies. Not only do schools use this strategy for behaviors for which it was not intended, it is also applied disproportionally to students based on ethnicity, gender, and disability status. To address these …

Gfi1Cre Mice Have Early Onset Progressive Hearing Loss And Induce Recombination In Numerous Inner Ear Non-Hair Cells, Maggie Matern, Sarath Vijayakumar, Zachary Margulies, Beatrice Milon, Yang Song, Ran Elkon, Xiaoyu Zhang, Sherri M. Jones, Ronna Hertzano

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Studies of developmental and functional biology largely rely on conditional expression of genes in a cell type-specific manner. Therefore, the importance of specificity and lack of inherent phenotypes for Cre-driver animals cannot be overemphasized. The Gfi1^Cre mouse is commonly used for conditional hair cell-specific gene deletion/reporter gene activation in the inner ear. Here, using immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, we show that the Gfi1^Cre mice produce a pattern of recombination that is not strictly limited to hair cells within the inner ear. We observe a broad expression of Cre recombinase in the Gfi1^Cre mouse neonatal inner ear, primarily …

Development Of Tract-Specific White Matter Pathways During Early Reading Development In At-Risk Children And Typical Controls, Yingying Wang, Meaghan V. Mauer, Talia Raney, Barbara Peysakhovich, Bryce L. C. Becker, Danielle D. Silva, Nadine Gaab

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Developmental dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a strong genetic basis. Previous studies observed white matter alterations in the left posterior brain regions in adults and school-age children with dyslexia. However, no study yet has examined the development of tract-specific white matter pathways from the pre-reading to the fluent reading stage in children at familial risk for dyslexia (FHD+) versus controls (FHD−). This study examined whitematter integrity at pre-reading, beginning, and fluent reading stages cross-sectionally (n = 78) and longitudinally (n = 45) using an automated fiber-tract quantification method. Our findings depict white matter alterations and atypical lateralization …

An Investigation Into The Self-Efficacy Of Jamaican Preservice Teachers For Working In Inclusive Classrooms, Sharon A. Anderson Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this applied dissertation was to examine changes in the self-efficacy of preservice teachers on completion of a special needs course and to determine whether there is a correlation between self-efficacy and several demographic variables. Studies conducted in several countries revealed that, despite participation in a special needs course, preservice teachers often expressed low levels of confidence for the inclusion of students with special needs in their general education classrooms. Because there is not much research in the Caribbean on this subject, this study sought to further explore this issue within a different cultural context. The case study, …

Effects Of A Peer-Tutoring System Utilizing Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorders As Tutors And Students With Intellectual Disabilities As Tutees, Vicki Koslin Howell

Theses and Dissertations

High school students with intellectual disabilities often find appropriate ways and times to socialize with their peers. In self-contained settings, students are often limited to interacting with only those within the classroom. In addition, students with emotional behavioral disorders often have deficits in social domains and in self-esteem. Improving socializations of students with disabilities has always been a concern of both parents and teachers. Peer-mediated learning has been a proven effective way to instruct students with disabilities. Placing a student with an emotional behavioral disorder in the position of a peer tutor allows them to feel more secure in their …

Perceptions Of The Paraprofessional’S Roles, Rachela Nicholls

All Capstone Projects

This action research project was designed to survey the perceptions of special educators and paraprofessionals on the various paraprofessional roles and levels of training offered. The most common paraprofessional roles and types and amounts of training opportunities available were analyzed so that school districts would have the essential data to make programming decisions regarding the effectiveness of the paraprofessional programs within their schools. By using a survey process, paraprofessionals and special educators were asked a series of questions pertaining to the frequency of participation in each paraprofessional role, levels of formal and/or on-the-job training provided, and how the paraprofessionals’ jobs …

Assessing General Education Teacher Training On Idea And Section 504 Law, Yolian Cintron

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to assess how much general education teachers actually know about the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in order to identify training needs for general education teachers regarding these two laws. A survey was created to cover several areas within the legal mandates of IDEA law (2004) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Results showed that teachers have a lot to learn about 1) the referral, assessment, and placement process; and 2) requirements of the IEP team meeting and the IEP document; and …

Teacher Knowledge And Use Of Universal Design For Learning, Katherine D. Mavrovic-Glaser

All Capstone Projects

Today's classrooms are composed with a wide variety of students. It is important for all teachers, both special and general education, to have the ability to teach a diverse group of students. In recent years, Universal Design for Learning {UDL) has gained a positive reputation as a scientifically validated teaching method that considers individuality. The purpose of this investigation is to assess teachers on their knowledge and use ofUDL. A small pool of licensed teachers in the Chicago metropolitan area were polled by means of an electronically disbursed, anonymous survey. The results show 55% of participants claim to be familiar …

Special Education Teachers' Voices On Co-Planning In A Suburban School District, Corinne Jeffers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited co-planning between special education and general education co-teaching partners has been documented in professional literature as a significant problem. Special education teachers do not adequately co-plan for the implementation of accommodations for students with disabilities educated in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze the perceptions of special education teachers in one suburban elementary school district in the United States regarding co-planning with regular education teachers. The theory of self-efficacy was utilized as the conceptual framework to understand how teachers' beliefs and experiences influenced planning and goal setting for special education students. …

Professional Conversations Within Self-Contained Classrooms: The Shared Perspectives Of Teachers, Paraprofessionals, And Administrators, Travis Brett Henderson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Paraprofessionals in self-contained settings are often involved in helping students to learn the skills to manage their behaviors. A need has been identified for paraprofessionals to join teachers in professional development opportunities in order to better meet the needs of the students who receive their services (Konza & Fried, 2012). By recognizing paraprofessionals as vital members of a student’s educational team (Boudreau & Twigg, 2011), informal professional development opportunities throughout the school day, such as professional conversations, may provide paraprofessionals with opportunities to share their experiences with each other and with their teachers, as well as to make collaborative decisions …