Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Lds Doctrinal Insights Into Contemporary Pedagogical Theories About Effective Praise, Leland M. Anderson, Dr. K. Richard Young

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Effective praise has many applications as a powerful means for motivating people. This research reviews literature about effective praise and shows how doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) (1) corroborates and (2) enlightens contemporary pedagogical theories about effective praise. The research culminates in an honors thesis available through the University’s Harold B. Lee Library.

Mukono District, Uganda Secondary Schools: Equity And Importance Of Resources, Allyson Flake, Steven Hite

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Ugandan government has limited knowledge of the location and situation of many of its secondary schools. This lack of knowledge inhibits proper management of the schools and appropriate distribution of funding. Secondary schools often have disproportionate resource access, which leads to variance in school quality and performance. Physical, financial and human resources are of critical importance to secondary schools yet these resources are scarce for most Ugandan schools. In order to improve school performance and raise national test scores for students, schools must gain access to these resources. The research conducted this summer in Mukono District, Uganda focused on …

Determinants Of School Success: Performance In Secondary Schools In Mukono, Uganda, Troy Smith, Dr. Julie Hite

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years, test scores and school performance have become hot topics in the United States. The US federal government recently set up school standards and established ways for students and parents to leave “failing” schools for better performing ones. While the United States has just begun applying the theories of competitive economics to the education system, several countries throughout the world have been dealing with such a system for some time. Uganda, in particular, has an array of both private and public schools, with success based on standardized test scores. A school’s student test scores influence its continued existence …

An Examination Of Student Perceptions Of Regional Safe School And Public School Services, Elizabeth Degruy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of students with Individualized Education Programs who attend regional safe schools of their educational experiences. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that students with disabilities be provided a free, appropriate, public education in the least restrictive environment; however, the students who participated in this study had been removed from their home public schools. This study employed a qualitative research methodology to investigate the students' perspectives on their experiences at public schools and a regional safe school.

Participants in this study were 8 high school students with disabilities who attended …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Bullying Intervention For Bullying Behaviors, Jenna Strawhun, Scott Fluke, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

The effectiveness of these targeted programs are all contingent upon the use of accurate data collection, efficient progress monitoring tools, competent school personnel, ongoing and embedded professional development, and formal coaching and coordination supports (Sugai, Horner, & Algozzine, 2011, p. 3). As stated previously, students who qualify for additional supports should not receive “more of the same” techniques or programs that have proved ineffective for them. Instead, targeted efforts should try to be tailored across the social ecology (e.g., school, family, community) and consider the function of the bullying behaviors (i.e., to receive peer or adult attention, to escape …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Restorative Practices, Emily Moss, Ann O'Connor, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Restorative practices include a variety of different specific practices. A substantial number of studies that have been conducted on these practices, and the research has shown positive results. This framework and these practices have been used in a variety of settings including schools. These programs are concerned with repairing the harm to the victim and helping the victim and the offender to heal so that relationships can be restored. To implement, schools must assess what their needs are, implement the philosophy , and then choose the specific practices that best fits those needs.

Note: See related Strategy Briefs on …

The World Needs All Kinds Of Minds: Ted Talk Annotated Resource List, Brooke Cooper

Undergraduate Research Award

Undergraduate research award given by WKU Libraries and University Experience, Library Skills, for best annotated resource, December 3, 2013

Tier 3 Intervention: Dropout Recovery, Paige T. Lembeck, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Given the multitude of problems associated with dropping out of school, it is surprising that only a small number of programs focus specifically on recovering dropouts. Although Steinberg and Almeida (2004) argue that college readiness must become the standard, the general consensus throughout the existing literature on dropout recovery suggests that the ultimate goal of recovery programs should be preparing these individuals for life in general, not just college. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of dropout recovery programs as a whole has not been evaluated using rigorous experimental methods (Bloom, 2010). However, some of the specific programs mentioned are supported by …

Special Educator Evaluation: Cautions, Concerns And Considerations, Carrie Semmelroth, Evelyn Johnson, Keith Allred

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is currently little consensus on how special education teachers should be evaluated in a way that is effective, fair and responsive to their unique teaching responsibilities. In this paper, we explain several of the current approaches to teacher evaluation under consideration, and then provide an overview of the challenges associated with the use of these models for special education teachers. We describe a model currently under development that is designed to better meet the unique characteristics of special education teacher evaluation. Our alternative approach proposes to evaluate special education teacher effectiveness through two primary components: observations of the special …

Differential Outcomes At Follow-Up For Psychotherapy Clients Whose Therapists Received Feedback And Clinical Support Tools, Mark D. Oshida, John Okiishi

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Based on intake and follow-up scores on patients’ perceptions of their well-being, approximately 10% of patients who see trained psychotherapists have a negative treatment outcome. Additionally, 30%-40% see no positive differential change at all. Because of these negative statistics, researchers have studied various methods that might improve therapy outcome. A team of BYU researchers has identified that providing feedback and Clinical Support Tools (CSTs) to therapists about patient progress has been effective in promoting patient progress as well as efficient service delivery. This feedback is given in the form of graphs that chart the rate of client change based on …

Pressing Issues In College Counseling Centers: A National Survey, Breanda Dean, Jared A. Durtshi

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Traditionally, university counseling centers provide academic and psychological services to students in need of assistance. However, professionals in counseling centers have become increasingly aware of changes in higher education in general and in students’ presenting problems in particular, with a notable trend toward increasing severity and chronicity of mental health concerns. These trends, together with diminishing university fiscal support for student services, have created significant challenges for college counseling centers (American College Personnel Association, 1990; Bishop, 1990; Dworkin & Lyddon, 1991). These national trends were emphasized fifteen years ago (Stone & Archer, 1990), but the field could now benefit from …

Inclusion: Problems And Potential Solutions In Mathematics Instruction, Lynnea Marie Salscheider

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was (1) to identify and describe the attitudes and beliefs of general and special education teachers about inclusion and (2) to identify significant recommendations based on teacher attitudes for improving the teaching of mathematics to special needs students using inclusion.

Exploring The Effects Of Conversational Repair As A Scaffolding Strategy To Promote Mathematics Explanations Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Jia Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Conversational repair often occurs in conversations when people attempt to address communicative breakdowns or inaccuracy by way of repeating what have been said or putting them in another way. The review of literature on conversational repair revealed that as an important concept in pragmatic aspect of language, it is an effective strategy to improve communication of different populations with disabilities. However, it is rarely studied in the domain of mathematics and with the population with learning disabilities/difficulties (LD). In current reform-based, discourse-oriented mathematics classrooms, students with LD encounter difficulties articulating or explaining well their reasoning processes due to the mathematical …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports, Scott Fluke, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Given the extremely strong research base for positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS), and the usefulness of the tiered model in making intervention decisions, and its widespread use (in over 18,000 schools according to its website), PBIS has become the pre-eminent strategy for improving student behavior in school settings. Its framework establishes a clear emphasis on prevention of behavior problems, but also permits data based decision making about the intensity of interventions needed when problems do occur. It has become the basic tool to address behavior in school settings.

Tier 2 Intervention: Saturday School, Emily Moss, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

While there is little research on Saturday School and as a result it is difficult to judge its effectiveness, some schools have reported success in decreasing suspension and absences after implementing Saturday school. Given the alternatives, Saturday school may be a promising strategy.

Stabilizing Developmental Language Trajectories In Infants/Toddlers: A Preliminary Study, Christine Marvin, Miriam E. Kuhn, Lisa L. Knoche

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Parents’ interactions with their children can have influential effects on children’s language outcomes. Special supports may be needed however, when young children live in poverty and show developmental delays early in life. This study analyzed data for a subset of children enrolled in Early Head Start programs and participating in a randomized trial of the Getting Ready intervention (Sheridan, Marvin, Knoche, & Edwards, 2008). These 41 children had standard scores below 85 on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II when the EHS and intervention services began. Statistically significant benefits were observed for the 28 children in the treatment group compared …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Anger Management, Kenneth Parnell, Russell Skiba, Reece L. Peterson, Scott Fluke

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusions

Students who engage in aggressive behaviors often have cognitive distortions that can be addressed in a therapeutic setting. Anger management programs challenge these distortions with the goal of replacing aggressive reactions to peers and the environment with positive, adaptive, and prosocial reactions. There has been relatively little definitive research on this topic. Existing research on anger management programs is promising with several studies demonstrating that a variety of programs can lead to positive outcomes for youth. However, much of this research has been conducted by program developers, prompting calls for research confirming their promising findings.

Anger management provides students …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Middle To High School Transition, Janeen Erickson, Reece L. Peterson, Paige T. Lembeck

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Providing all students, but particularly students at risk of dropping out, with a variety of supports for the transition from middle to high school is an intervention with both strong research support as well as practical logic.

Note: Several examples of secondary school programs which focus on transition from middle to high school can be found in the Examples of Middle to High School Transition Programs, Program Description document which is also available from the Student Engagement Project.

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Restitution, Ann O'Connor, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

The restitution model may be a useful alternative to traditional punishment oriented discipline consequences. This model requires a different type of orientation that the traditional approaches, but might offer a better chance to bring about changed behavior and “healing”. Preliminary research shows much promise in this approach as a discipline alternative which will reduce the number and intensity of discipline incidents.

Note: See related Strategy Briefs on Family Group Counseling, Mediation, and Restorative Practices.

Racial Biases In Psychotherapy Treatments: An Ongoing Meta-Analysis, Denise Spät Albino, Dr. Timothy Byron Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

For the past several years, the psychology literature has investigated the possibility that mental health services are racially biased. Studies assessing treatment outcomes in multicultural settings have increased over the past few years, with now hundreds of articles comparing treatment outcomes of people of color and whites. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to conduct a meta-analytic examination of recent studies to inform the field of the results accumulating on ethnically sensitive interventions. The first step of this project consisted of locating data to be examined. Thus, in order to identify published and unpublished articles investigating outcomes of multicultural …