Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Using Assistive Technologies In Autism Care Centers To Support Children Develop Communication And Language Skills. A Case Study: Albania, Ardiana Sula, Evjola Spaho

Jandrisevits Faculty Publications

In this paper, we propose the use of the smart environment based on Internet of Things (IoT) and P2P technology as a form of assistive environment in autism care centers to support children develop communication and language skills. We are going to propose the use of the smart environment in Albanian Regional Center for Autism in Tirana, Albania. The smart environment is proposed as an assistive environment for this center in order to support students’ learning during the time that they come to the center for support. Our proposed system uses JXTA-Overlay platform and SmartBox device to monitor the children …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Involuntary Transfer: A Traditional Discipline Consequence, Amber Olson, Natalie Hoff, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Due to the lack of research surrounding involuntary transfer, research of family initiated transfer provides additional insight to the effects that school transfer has on students. Although there was no research surrounding involuntary or administrative student transfer, parallel research of family initiated student transfer, typically because of a family moving their residence, showed mostly negative outcomes for such transfers. Involuntary transfer is not recommended due to the method’s lack of behavioral correction and stressful effects it has on the student. However, if this method must be used, remedial efforts made by both schools involved are essential for student success. …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Truancy Reduction, Ann O'Connor, Reece L. Peterson, Jenna Strawhun

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Truancy and chronic absenteeism are an increasing problem in many schools that can have a serious impact on whether a student drops out or stays in school, as well as whether or not they might later have interactions with the criminal court system. Many states have laws requiring students to attend school to a certain age and require schools to enforce these attendance laws, often with punitive consequences. There are several different strategies to increase attendance rates including mentoring programs, family or parent-based interventions, locating community resources to assist in meeting the needs of students and their families, strategies …

Genetics Of Peripheral Vestibular Dysfunction: Lessons From Mutant Mouse Strains, Sherri M. Jones, Timothy A. Jones

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background

A considerable amount of research has been published about genetic hearing impairment. Fifty to sixty percent of hearing loss is thought to have a genetic cause. Genes may also play a significant role in acquired hearing loss due to aging, noise exposure, or ototoxic medications. Between 1995 and 2012, over 100 causative genes have been identified for syndromic and nonsyndromic forms of hereditary hearing loss (see Hereditary Hearing Loss Homepage http://hereditaryhearingloss.org). Mouse models have been extremely valuable in facilitating the discovery of hearing loss genes, and in understanding inner ear pathology due to genetic mutations or elucidating fundamental mechanisms …

A Phenomenological Study Of Inclusive Environments From The Perspective Of Rural Middle School General Education Teachers Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, James Barr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study explored the shared experience of rural middle school general education teachers of students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in inclusive classrooms. The study began by examining related issues associated with inclusive environments. Data analysis was structured around phenomenological organizational methods: that there exists within the phenomenon a descriptive experience, and within that experience there are voids of possible explanation and interpretation. The research incorporated observations, interviews, and documents as forms of data collection. This inquiry sought to uncover the ways in which general education teachers who serve students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disabilities find …

Becoming An Inclusive Educator: Applying Deleuze & Guattari To Teacher Education, Loraine M. Mckay, Suzanne Carrington, Radha Iyer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

New ways of thinking are required in teacher education to promote beginning teachers as change agents in education. Twenty years after the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) that called for schools to provide equitable opportunities for all children, teaching practices in many classrooms are informed by the deficit view of learning. Beginning teachers need to be prepared to challenge the ideological influences that operate in schools. Deleuze and Guattari’s (1987) model of the rhizome is used to report one beginning teacher’s journey as she learnt to negotiate structural and personal obstacles to create an inclusive learning environment. Data from reflective diaries, …

The Effects Of Peer Tutoring On Junior High General Education Students' Attitudes Toward Students With Severe Disabilities, Amanda Kim Hunsaker

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if and how the perceptions of general education students toward their peers with severe disabilities changes when they participate in a peer tutoring program. The study was conducted in a suburban/rural district in Utah and included 102 participants in treatment and control groups over three junior high schools. The data found mixed results. One of the three schools had a significant difference in the attitudes of the treatment group after being part of a peer tutoring program. The study shows that being part of a peer tutoring program can have a …

The Effect Of Metalinguistic Strategy Instruction On The Oral And Written Expression Of School-Aged Children, Karen Lara Dudek

Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge is critical for academic success; and research has indicated that students with low vocabularies can learn metalinguistic strategies that can improve their performance in school. In this study, I investigated the impact of metalinguistic strategy instruction on the oral and written expression abilities of elementary-aged children (third grade). The strategy was the Expanding Expression Tool (EET; Smith), which can help students to increase their oral and written expression by describing words using semantic features. I used a pretest-posttest-posttest between groups design to investigate the impact of three experimental conditions on oral and written expression over a nine week …

A Student Assessment In Value Of Cooperative Education Curriculum Integrated Through Character Development: The Greenwood School, Rebecca Clarke

Capstone Collection

Cooperative education programming as a model of teaching to varied learning styles, is based on a small scale school working to teach children to their specific learning styles centered around their brain function strengths and limitations. The Greenwood School is a boarding school located in Putney, VT specializing in teaching boys with academic, social, and behavioral differences. The school caters to about fifty boys from ages ten to eighteen. Within all of the programs operating on this campus, one of the newest is the internship program, which offers off-campus, community based work learning opportunities with adult mentors and small business …

Class(Ed)Room: Individualized Student Disciplinary Policies As Ignoring The Current Economic Order, Nicole H. Awwad

Capstone Collection

Students are socialized into the institution of education at an early age. Obedience to authority is the objective of much of the learning done in school. Teacher expectations and perceptions of students affect student behavioral and academic performance within the context of school. Student economic and material conditions affect their availability for learning in the school setting. This research questions the application of discipline policies across a student body with diverse academic, economic and social histories. In this case study of one rural Vermont school - tracking, teacher expectations and student economic, academic and behavioral history are assessed for correlation. …

Aac Intervention As An Immersion Model, Janet L. Dodd, Megan Gorey

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) based interventions support individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) in becoming effective and efficient communicators. However, there is often a disconnect between language models, communication opportunities, and desired intervention outcomes in the intervention process. This paper outlines a service delivery model that unites these elements of intervention. The social theory of language acquisition provides the foundation of this immersion model (Paul & Norbury, 2012; Pence & Justice, 2013) while adaptations of indirect language stimulation strategies create (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013; Paul & Norbury, 2012) the support system necessary to develop an independent and functional communicator. …

Tier 2 Intervention: Detention, Scott Fluke, Amber Olson, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Detention is one of the primary discipline strategies used by teachers and administrators across the country in elementary, middle, and high schools. Despite its popularity, very little research has been conducted on its effectiveness. What little research there is suggests that detention, particularly lunch detention, can be effective for some students; especially those who are not likely to repeatedly break school rules. However, detention is unlikely to be effective for students who repeatedly receive office referrals. It is recommended that before issuing a detention, teachers and administrators review records for the student in question. If the student has received …

Looking To The Future Of Deaf-Blind Services And The Role Of Interveners: A National Webinar Co-Sponsored By Ncdb And Nfadb, Amy T. Parker, Peggy Malloy

Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Peggy provides an overview of the Recommendations for Improving Intervener Services that were published by NCDB in 2012. The recommendations were developed in response to a request from the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs and are intended to improve the availability and quality of intervener services throughout the U.S.

Amy discusses the process for developing the Open Hands Open Access learning modules and the ways that parents are being included as creators, reviewers, and disseminators of information. The modules are a part of implementing the broader recommendations.

Tier 1 Intervention: Character Education, Ann O'Connor, Amber Olson, Natalie Hoff, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Although there are not a lot of data that verify the effectiveness of character education programs, these programs have become common in a large number of schools. Furthermore, there are many individuals and organizations that support character education, including the federal government. According to its advocates, effective character education requires an intentional, proactive, and comprehensive approach that promotes the core values in all phases of school life, and which requires moral leadership from both staff and students. Programs typically address both citizenship in a just society and personal adjustment, and are delivered via curricula and a variety of other …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Lowering Course Grades: A Traditional Discipline Consequence, Natalie Hoff, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

The act of lowering a student’s course grade has been utilized by schools in the past; however, in the eyes of the court this is seen as unconstitutional. Students’ grades are supposed to be a reflection of academic performance and should not be raised or lowered according to non-academic misconduct. Therefore, schools must consider taking alternative action in the face of student misbehavior.

Lowering course grades is a traditional disciplinary consequence which lacks logic and which may violate the law. It is without evidence regarding effectiveness in changing student behavior. No endorsement of its use should be implied in …

Adaptive Behaviors In Toddlers Under Two With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rhea Paul, Rebecca Loomis, Katarzyna Chawarska

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale was administered to 54 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before age 2, and a matching group of 18 toddlers with developmental delay (DD). The group with ASD was more impaired on all scales of the Vineland than DD peers. When 18 ASD/DD pairs very closely matched on age, verbal and nonverbal development were selected, differences were found only on Vineland Receptive Communication and Daily Living. Correlation analyses to explore connection of these areas of difference with cognition and autistic symptoms suggested that Vineland Daily Living scores were significantly correlated with nonverbal ability and …

Tier 3 Intervention: Family Group Conferencing, Ann O'Connor, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

The family group conference model is a useful tool for bringing together members of a family, a school, and a community to create a plan and offer support for students with chronic behavioral or mental health needs, as well as students who might otherwise be suspended or expelled for a variety of behavior serious incidents. It is an effective restorative practice for teaching offenders about the harm they caused (Bazemore & Umbreit, 2001). In the school setting, conferencing helps to address the power imbalances between school officials and the student and community. In the conference, everyone must listen respectfully, …

The Effects Of Using Smartboard And Interactive Games To Improve Reading Comprehension Of Secondary Students With Moderate Cognitive Disabilities, Melissa Coyle

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of using the Smartboard and interactive games to improve reading comprehension skills of secondary students with moderate cognitive disabilities. A total of 11 9th and 10th graders in a special services school participated in the study. A single subject design of ABC phases was used. During the baseline (Phase A), student listening comprehension was evaluated by their scores of correct responses to "Wh" questions on their paper. During intervention (Phase B), the teacher used the Smartboard and Boardmaker software to present fiction and nonfiction stories. Each session included the student listening to the story, read …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Higher Education Students With Disabilities, Allen J. Heindel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distance education has the potential to offer a meaningful alternative for students with disabilities. Colleges and universities have opportunities to provide quality online courses to students with disabilities; yet data show these students may often choose to discontinue higher education pursuits. Little is currently known about how students with disabilities experience the distance learning environment or how institutions of higher education. This phenomenological study focuses on the quality of the learning experiences and learner satisfaction of students with disabilities in distance education courses.

The purpose of this study is to investigate 1) how online learning is experienced by students with …

Graduate Bulletin, 2014-2015 (2014), Minnesota State University Moorhead

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.