Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

An Exploration Of The Use Of Functional Behavior Assessment And Noncontingent Reinforcement On Disruptive Behavior In Middle School General Education Classrooms, Melody C. Andreasen

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

Teachers sometimes experience problems with disruptive behavior in their classrooms. These aberrant and socially mediated behaviors can be difficult for teachers to manage without the proper research-based skills and training. This project explored the effects of training general education classroom teachers to conduct a functional behavior assessment and deliver noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) for disruptive classroom behavior(s). Participants included four middle school general education teachers and four students who have been identified by each teacher as exhibiting disruptive behavior(s). Procedures included four hrs of teacher training on conducting functional behavior assessments and delivering NCR followed by a post-training questionnaire and rubric …

Examining Barriers And Facilitators Of Community Based Vocational Instruction For Students With Significant Disabilities, Lavinia Gripentrog

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

This study examines the barriers and facilitators of community based vocational instruction (CBVI) for students with moderate to significant disabilities as identified by special educators. Community based vocational instruction (CBVI) involves students with disabilities receiving repeated instruction on vocational and other job related skills in community settings (Kim & Dymond, 2010). An electronic survey was sent to high school and transition special education teachers from four states including Utah, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Colorado. One hundred thirty-five participants completed the survey. Almost two-thirds of the respondents had a master’s degree and one-third a bachelor’s degree. The majority of respondents were …

The Promotion Of Self-Determination: A Survey Of General And Special Educators, Melanie P. Allen

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

Learning self-determination skills is critical for all students to ensure they advocate for themselves and participate in a seamless transition from the secondary school setting to college and career. This quantitative study surveyed 224 general education, 37 mild/moderate special education, 10 severe special education, 28 alternative high general educators, 5 alternative high special educators, 3 transition special educators’ mild/moderate, and 8 special education severe teachers in a suburban school district in the western US. A rating scale and open-ended questions were used to assess the degree to which teachers provide students with instruction and require students to demonstrate self-determination/self-advocacy skills. …

Lessons Learned From Lesson Study: Focusing On Differentiation For Ells And Students With Special Needs, Anne Marie Marshall, Khalilah Arrington

Publications and Research

This poster will present an overview of the lesson study process within the MATH-UP program. The poster will summarize the components of lesson study and highlight candidate learning from the process. Specifically, the lesson study selected will demonstrate evidence of candidate learning about emergent bilinguals.

School Counselors' Provision Of Career And College Transition Services To Students In Special Education, Pamela K. Lee

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

School counselors provide career and college guidance services to secondary students to prepare them for transition to post-secondary education and employment. Successful post-secondary transition is a desired outcome for students in special education. This project surveyed 96 currently practicing secondary school counselors from two Northern Utah school districts. A survey questionnaire using rating scale items and open-ended questions was administered to assess the degree to which school counselors provide specific career and college guidance services to students in special education, counselors rating of preparedness to provide such services, counselor beliefs about providing these services, and what factors negatively or positively …

The Effects Of A Training Session On Teacher Knowledge, Perceptions, And Implementation Of Assistive Technology In Secondary Schools., Robert Woodbury Jr

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

Despite the prevalence of students with mild disabilities in special education and the legal mandate to consider assistive technology to support their needs, research suggests low rates of assistive technology use by this population (Bouck, Maeda, & Flanagan, 2012; Derer, Polsgrove, & Rieth, 1996; Quinn, Behrmann, Mastropieri, & Chung, 2009). One major barrier to assistive technology consideration and implementation cited by teachers is a lack of training. This study examined changes in teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and implementation of assistive technology as a result of a hands-on teacher training session. Participants included 61 regular and special education teachers and administrators in …

The Attitudes And Beliefs Of Special And General Educational Professionals Concerning Alcohol And Drug Problems, Troy Wayne Kieser

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Drug and alcohol abuse is one of the greatest challenges of public education. Substance abuse affects student academic performance. Teacher attitudes concerning substance use are linked to drug and alcohol use by students. The purpose of this study was to assertion teacher attitudes and beliefs about drug and alcohol use. The data were collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was a modified version of the Addiction Belief Inventory (ABI) based on the five constructs (e.g., coping, efficacy, disease, lack of efficacy, moral weakness) of substance abuse (Broadus, Hartje, Roget, & Cahoon, 2010; Luke, Ribisi, Walton, & Davidson, 2002). The participants …

A Comparison Of Piprt To Vmo To Increase Social Play Skills In Children With Autism, Kathleen Scarlett Ohara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young children with autism often experience delays in social play skills. These delays result in poor relationships with adults and peers, decreased social interactions, and engagement, and eventually social isolation and withdrawal. Social play skill deficits are essential to the development of self-regulation and cognitive skills. Addressing these delays is critical to improve social functioning and minimize any detrimental effects on future engagement and academic achievement.

The purpose of this study was to use an alternating treatment design to determine whether PIPRT intervention or a VMO intervention would be effective to increase social play skills in two settings for four …

A Comparison Study Of Parents’ Perceptions Of Quality In Early Childhood Programs, Juanita Ortiz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research has demonstrated that high quality early childhood education (ECE) programs result in short and long-term benefits that are critical for children to reach their full potential and narrow the achievement gap. Parental involvement has been accepted as integral to quality ECE programs, and parental perception drives parental involvement. Perceptions and contributions of parents and caregivers including those who do not speak English have not been adequately addressed in the research. Furthermore, research has not addressed how parental perception regarding quality in ECE programs may vary according to whether their child has or does not have a disability.

This study …

The Effectiveness Of An Intervention Designed To Increase The Positive To Negative Ratio Of Instructor Interactions During After-School Programming, Rikki K. Wheatley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of two interventions used to train instructors to increase PN ratios. The first intervention (workshop training) followed a didactic workshop-training model. The second intervention (coaching) included the components of the didactic workshop model with the addition of modeling, role-play, and performance feedback. In this study four instructors in an after-school program were randomly assigned to one of two groups to participate in training programs. These programs were designed to help them increase PN ratios when interacting with students during homework time in the after-school program. Group 1 received only the …

An Evaluation Of An Ipad-Based Activity Schedule, Kassidy Stuart Reinert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A visual activity schedule is a set of pictures or words that can be used to teach an individual with disabilities to complete a set of tasks. These schedules can help individuals with disabilities to become more independent and complete tasks appropriately. Children with autism often engage in behaviors that are repetitive or not appropriate when playing. Visual activity schedules have been used to teach a variety of skill and teach appropriate play. Typically, activity schedules are paper based; this study examines the use of an activity schedule taught on an iPad. This study included three young boys with a …

Indicator 13 Training For Transition Teachers: Comparison Of Pre-And Post Test Scores On Writing Of Goals, Christina B. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Special education teachers sometimes experience problems with knowing how to construct and write transition goals that meet Indicator 13 requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This project examined the effects of teacher training in Indicator 13 requirements on the quality of transition goals. Participants included 17 special education teachers from one school district located in a western state. Target behaviors where increasing each participants’ post-test goal quality scores from individualized transition plans (ITP) written after they demonstrated knowledge about requirements through a post-instruction goal quality writing probe. Procedures involved (a) a pre examination of participants’ transition goals that …

The Effects Of Unidirectional Peer Tutoring On Mathematics Outcomes For Students With Learning Disabilities In An Inclusive, Secondary Setting, Daniel Pyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with disabilities included in general education settings often require varying levels of supports and services to execute classroom routines effectively while maximizing their learning opportunities. One support that holds potential to increase outcomes for students with disabilities in general education settings is peer tutoring. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects that a targeted, unidirectional tutoring intervention had on the math outcomes for students with learning disabilities in a Secondary Mathematics I class. High school students that had advanced skills in mathematics served as interventionists (i.e., peer tutors) and were trained to deliver the unidirectional …

Teacher- And Student-Developed Summaries Of Performance: Perceptions Of Teachers And Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, Heidi S. Preece

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Special education students often struggle to access services upon graduation from high school. A summary of performance is a document that should ease this transition, but often is nothing more than a meaningless piece of paper. This study sought to use a student-completed portfolio as a summary of performance.

A student-completed portfolio and a teacher-completed summary of performance document was evaluated by special education teachers and Vocational Rehabilitation counselors. Results indicate the usefulness of a student-completed portfolio for person centered planning.

Using Video Prompting On An Ipod Touch To Teach Multiple-Step Recipes To Transition-Age Students With Moderate To Severe Cognitive Disabilities, Kjerstin Mourra

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated effects of video prompting using an iPod Touch to teach recipe-following to four 16-19 year-old youth with intellectual disability and autism in a transition classroom. Target behaviors involved correctly following three multi-step recipes: microwave dinner, brownies, and gelatin. A multiple-probe design across recipes was replicated across participants. After low levels of responding in baseline probes, researchers presented participants with an iPod Touch showing each step of the task using video and with audio narration. Following the video prompting phase, maintenance and home-based generalization probes were conducted. The intervention increased recipe-following performance for all participants. Performance maintained and …

An Evaluation Of Group Activity Schedules To Train Children With Autism To Play Hide-And-Seek With Their Typically Developing Peers, Jessica S. Akers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulties with social and play skills. The purpose of this study was to determine if three young children with autism could learn to play a complex social game, hide-and-seek, with three typically developing peers. Participants were taught to play hide-and-seek using photographic activity schedules. Photographic activity schedules are a type of visual schedule that teach children with autism to engage in chains of behavior. Two schedules were present during
teaching sessions, a seeker schedule and a hider schedule. Each group member played the role of the seeker once during the game. The three participants, …

A Multi-Case Study Examining Co-Teaching Approaches And Practices In High School Mathematics And Literature/Composition Classes, Patti A. Cleaveland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Special education provides a variety of instructional models to ensure the success of students with disabilities. The increasingly utilized model of co-teaching allows students with disabilities access to the general education environment with the support of special education teachers. The co-teaching model consists of one general and one special education teacher who work together to ensure the success of both the special education and general education students. This qualitative study investigated and explained the co-teaching approaches and practices used by co-teaching partners participating in the academic areas of literature/composition and mathematics classes at the high school level. A multiple case …

Stories From Nejapa, Kathleen Vantol

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"A word picture of what inclusion looks like at the Nicaragua Christian Academy – Nejapa."

Posting about one teacher’s work with inclusive education in Nicaragua from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/stories-from-nejapa/

Analysis Of Data On The Effect Of Early Intervention For Children On The Autism Spectrum, Catherine R. Maxwell Dumont

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Early Intervention promotes preschool age children, identified on the autism spectrum, with increased independence and positive social skills in the classroom. Preschool children who do not have access to such programs tend to display negative and socially inappropriate behavior, such as acts of aggression, withdrawal, and inability to attend to lessons. Lovaas as cited in Eikeseth and Smith (2011) is referred to as the pioneer of Early Intervention, who dedicated almost fifty years of his life to improving the lives of families among the autism community. Lovaas’ studies were the first documented to indicate that children who received early intensive …

Coming To Understand Diversity And Education: Life Experiences And Educational Opportunities, Steven Paul Chamberlain

Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications

Coming to understand how cultural differences influence interactions between educators and students and their parents is a complex and perhaps life-long discovery. Culture helps to define groups’ belief systems and expectations for appropriate behavior, often at a hidden level. Pre-service teachers need multiple opportunities to interact with diverse populations in supervised and reflective environments. This article recounts key experiences in one White American’s life that have led to his current understanding of diversity and the role of diversity in education. These experiences occurred throughout my life; some were by chance and others were more prescribed. The article concludes with reflections …