Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Proposal For Recruiting Candidates To Join The Special Education And English As Second Language (Esl) Combined Program, Sungti Hsu, Dr. Lynn K. Wilder

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The key to a successful recruitment for this project is to identify individuals who are qualified, and the best way of distributing information about the Culturally Responsive Special Education and ESL Combined Program. According to the personnel preparation grant written by Drs. Prater, Marchant, and Wilder in the department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, qualifying individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and be either ethnically diverse, bilingual (Spanish preferred), or have a disability. The grant was awarded by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in 2004 for the length of …

Improving Conditions For Families With Children With Disabilities, Mallory Grover, Dr. Lynn K. Wilder

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many families with a child with disabilities undergo much stress. Lack of communication and delayed development, along with other factors are causes of problem behavior among children with a disability. In order to prevent problem behaviors from elevating, support service intervention is key.

Spirituality And Eating Disorders, Bridger Jensen, Dr. Scott Richards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Eating disorders are approaching epidemic proportions, being purported in more than 5% of adolescent girls and young women, and up to 20% of college women (Lelwica, 1999, p. 3-4). These numbers are shocking and demonstrate the prevalence of eating disorders. In many cases, eating disorders result in death. One of the most severe and life-threatening eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, is “an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a minimally accepted body weight, intense fear of weight gain, and distorted body image” (Dubé, 2004).

Instructional Effectiveness Of An Integrated Theater Arts Program For Children With Disabilities, Rachel Reynolds, Heidi Abraham

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My project was to see if students with or without disabilities could improve in their memorization skills and other skills needed for the learning process through practicing and performing a theatrical play. The purpose for this study is to see if theatre could be used like occupational therapy to help stimulate the students in many areas. I tested their improvements by doing some memorization exercises with the children at a daycare before working on a play with them to see where they stood as well as after to check their improvements.

Orca Final Report, Kimberly Peet

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The final report of my ORCA project is one of success! I was able to complete a thorough meta-analysis of 39 previous studies on the effectiveness of multicultural training on a therapist’s competence in dealing with ethnically diverse cliental.

Understanding The Support Needs Of People With Intellectual And Related Developmental Disabilities Through Cluster Analysis And Factor Analysis Of Statewide Data, Yuwadee Viriyangkura

Theses and Dissertations

Through a secondary analysis of statewide data from Colorado, people with intellectual and related developmental disabilities (ID/DD) were classified into five clusters based on their support needs characteristics using cluster analysis techniques. Prior latent factor models of support needs in the field of ID/DD were examined to investigate the factor structure of the support needs construct using confirmatory factor analytic procedures.

Schooltipline: Online Incident Reporting, Maren Dennis, Dr. Betty Ashbaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

SchoolTipline.com is a website where students can report issues of school violence, drugs, or other problems to administrators. This service provides students, parents, and administrators with a two-way communication system that aids in reporting and dealing with school safety issues. Students can access School Tipline 24/7 and anonymously report any problems they see or experience at school directly to school administrators. After receiving the report, administrators can respond to student reports and take preventative action to effectively help students and create a safe school environment.

Meta-Analysis Of Client-Therapist Ethnic Matching: Client Outcomes, Serena Bohn, Dr. Timothy B. Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research was to conduct a meta-analysis of past and current psychological studies in order to assess what trends have occurred within the field of multi-cultural psychology in regards to the effect on client outcomes through matching clients and therapists based on race or ethnicity. A meta-analysis is the study of the results of other studies. Articles and manuscripts are collected and the data from within is analyzed and converted to a standard statistic, allowing for an overall look at what the collection of data implies. Positive client outcomes were defined in this study as a decrease …

Multicultural Counseling Issues: Ethnic Groups’ Attitudes Towards Mental Illness, Rose Hirt, Dr. Timothy B. Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the world of counseling, there are many issues that arise due to differences between cultures. These differences are particularly apparent in how different cultural groups view mental illness. There have been studies done on this topic, but the literature must be compiled and compared in order for any overall effect to be measured. My research set out to begin compiling this literature.

Limited Interest In The Orca Grant And Their Causes, Jordan Dille, Dr. Betty Ashbaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The BYU Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) provides BYU undergraduates with the unique opportunity to plan and conduct funded research in an area of interest or field of study. No other University provides this type of experience to its students; yet each year only a low percentage of students apply for an ORCA research grant. The aim of my research was to discern the reason for this. My goal was to discover how many students are aware of the ORCA opportunity, and then discern why they either did or did not apply. Through this research I hoped to …

Book In A Bag: An Integrated Approach To Social Skills Instruction, Jennae Thomas, Dr. Michelle Marchant

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There is a much needed improvement in American school children’s behavior skills. Evidence of this concern comes from the increase in disciplinary referrals, suspensions, and expulsions (Sugai, G., Horner, R., Dunlap, G., Hieneman, M., Lewis, T., Nelson, C., et al 2000). With more effort and time directed at implementing these disciplinary actions, teachers are required to spend less time fulfilling their lesson plans. However, by including social skills in the normal curriculum, teachers would be able to use a universal preventive measure of educating, thus lowering the need for disciplinary intervention later. The research supports this offensive measure or “front-loaded” …

Developing Their Refuge: A Study Of The Infrastructures Behind Programs For Children With Disabilities In Developing Nations, Ashley Dean, Barbara Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Penilla can be found along a back road, half way up a steep hill on the outskirts the urban city Iași, Romania. From the outside, the building’s yellow panels look much newer than the blanket of cement that seems to cover every other structure within a 20-mile radius, which is intriguing itself; yet the building’s novelty goes far deeper.

Graduation Rates Of Latino Students: Contributing And Deterring Factors, Rebecca Richards, Dr. Betty Ashbaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A major concern among educators is the consistently high number of dropouts among Latino students. While the graduation rate has improved over the last decade, this improvement has been marginal. According to a study done in 2001, 43.4% of Hispanic students ages 16-24, born out of the country, were high school dropouts. Equally disturbing, a study performed by the Na-tional Center for Education Statistics confirmed that among Hispanic students, by their sopho-more year, 11.2% had already dropped out.

Characterization Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Adolescent Novels, Katherine Way, Tina Dyches

Journal of Undergraduate Research

We examined ten juvenile books using a qualitative, descriptive design, to evaluate the characterization of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in adolescent novels (Dyches & Prater, 2005; Dyches et al., 2001). To be included in the study, the books were required to meet four criteria. They must have (a) included a main or supporting human character with an ASD; (b) been recognized as a novel written for teenagers or young adults, in story format, including biographies written in story format; (c) been published initially in English between 2007 and 2009; and (d) been published by a commercial publisher rather than through …

Book In A Bag: An Integrated Approach To Social Skills Instruction, Katrina Anderson, Michelle Marchant

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There is a much needed improvement in American school childrens’ behavior skills. Evidence of this concern comes from the increase in disciplinary referrals, suspensions, and expulsions (Sugai, G., Horner, R., Dunlap, G., Hieneman, M., Lewis, T., Nelson, C., et al 2000). With more effort and time directed at implementing these disciplinary actions, teachers are required to spend less time fulfilling their lesson plans. However, by including social skills in the normal curriculum, teachers would be able to use a universal preventive measure of educating, thus lowering the need for disciplinary intervention later. The research supports this offensive measure or “front-loaded” …

Meeting The Needs Of Gifted Students By Providing Year-Long Professional Development On Differentiated Instruction, Barbara M. Rollins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focused on how teachers' planning and teaching methods changed after they acquired more confidence in applying differentiated strategies in their instructional units. Teachers were given a questionnaire about their skills, qualifications and teaching beliefs comparing teaching general education students and gifted education students within the typical classroom setting. Then teachers received several professional development opportunities within the school year exposing them to different forms of differentiation. Time was given between trainings so that teachers would have ample time to integrate what they learned into their planning and instructional design. At the end of the study, teachers were given …

Predicting Performance On The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment For Reading For Third Graders Using Reading Curriculum Based Measures, Robert S. Kirkham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite flexibility waivers granted to states by the United States Department of Education from some provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, our nation’s public schools continue to struggle to improve reading proficiency as measured by high stakes assessments. To reach state targets for reading proficiency schools must use data at the earliest point possible to inform instructional strategies and identify students at risk of failure. The response to intervention model holds promise for improving reading outcomes particularly for early elementary students.

The effective use of reading curriculum based measures (R-CBM) to determine if instruction is adequate to produce …

Supplemental Algebra Vocabulary Instruction For Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities, Joanna Stegall

All Dissertations

Vocabulary is vital for success in secondary content area curricula and students with learning disabilities often have limited vocabulary knowledge which inhibits their success in secondary-level content area classes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an explicit algebra vocabulary intervention with graphic organizers on vocabulary knowledge and skills in algebra for students with learning disabilities in high school Algebra I. A single-case repeated acquisition design with pre- and posttest measures was used to determine the effects of the intervention for students with learning disabilities who received special education services. The study included 10 students …

Advance Organizers In Secondary Special Education Resource Classrooms: Effects On Student Engagement Behaviors, Lisa King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student engagement and appropriate behaviors are essential for effective instruction in secondary special education classrooms. Research suggests that proactive engagement strategies and interventions can have a greater effect on overall classroom behaviors than negative consequences. A single case experiment measured the effects of expository advance organizers on academically engaged behavior, respectful behavior, and disruptive behavior in the special education self-contained resource classroom. The single-case A-B-A-B design for this study evaluates these components of student engagement during academic instruction over a four-week period. Three secondary special education small-group resource Language Arts classes from a Northeast Georgia high school comprised the subject …

Using A Mobile Device To Deliver Visual Schedules To Young Children With Autism, Leslie Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently display an inability to self-regulate (use materials appropriately and refrain from self-stimulatory behavior) and self-monitor (complete each step in a task before continuing to the next step) their behavior and therefore experience a great deal of failure within their respective school and home environments and frequently end up receiving instruction in restrictive, self-contained classrooms. Visual schedules have been used to help students with ASD self-regulate their behaviors in academic and community settings (NPDC, 2010; NSR, 2009). The purpose of this study was to determine whether high-tech visual schedules increase the self-regulation and …