Digital Commons Network^™

Supporting Elementary Educators Through A Nervous System Regulation And Social-Emotional Learning Skills Workshop Intervention: An Musc Capstone Project, Lily Morgan

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Teachers have a great influence on developing children’s emotional intelligence, regulatory capacity, and occupational engagement. These professionals also happen to report some of the highest rates of stress, mental health challenges (Agyapong, B. et al, 2022), and burnout (Xie, M., et al, 2022). Providing teachers with education and support on nervous system regulation, social-emotional learning skills, and related topics can improve their ability to manage job stress, enhance modeling and interactions with students, and improve their quality of life. This project aimed to enhance knowledge, provide access to resources, and serve to support elementary educators at an inner-city school in …

The Lived Experiences Of Teachers Teaching High School Students With Learning Disabilities In An Online Learning Environment: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Michael John Ekers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the shortfalls in professional development and training of online teachers as it pertained to students in high school with learning disabilities receiving their accommodations in an online learning environment in a mid-Atlantic school district. The theory guiding this study was the connectivism theory, introduced by George Siemens, as it described the overall framework for knowing how to learn, which remained the focal point of this study. What have online high school general education and special education teachers experienced in professional development or training to provide accommodations to students with learning …

Wild Magic Farms: Increasing Student Engagement And Decreasing Academic Regression In Middle School Extended School Year Through Use Of A Role-Playing Game, Maryanne Cullinan

Educational Studies Dissertations

The Extended School Year (ESY) is a federal program that falls under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Law (2004) as part of Special Education in public schools in the United States. It is intended to help reduce regression in student progress towards Individualized Education Program goals. However, in New Hampshire, ESY struggles with a lack of clear goals, student buy-in and quality engagement. This study examined how a researcher designed role-playing game (RPG) could impact both summer academic regression and student engagement in a middle school ESY. Utilizing i-Ready testing (n=13) data and attendance data (n=9), this study compared …

Teaching Methods To Build The Numeracy Skills Of Preschoolers With Disabilities And Complex Communication Needs, Avery Briggs

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This project explored the use of a curriculum that incorporates naturalistic and explicit instructional approaches through literature and direct teaching moments on the numeracy skills of three students with disabilities and complex communication needs. The numeracy skills targeted included patterning and sorting, shape discrimination, and quantity discrimination. This project took place during Extended School Year (ESY), a program that extends the traditional school year to provide services to students with disabilities. Student present levels and progress were assessed through a pretest and posttest given on the first and last days of ESY, in addition to progress monitoring data taken during …

Providing End-Of-Life Counseling: A Narrative Inquiry, Carol Hecht, Sibyl West

Adultspan Journal

This qualitative study aimed to address the gap in the research related to end-of-life counseling by exploring the experiences of counselors working with clients at end of life. While counseling literature and education are lacking regarding end of life, many counselors will work alongside clients approaching death. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to better understand the nuanced experiences of counselors providing end-of-life counseling and (b) to explore the supports and preparations helpful for counselors to provide end-of-life counseling. A narrative approach, using the Listening Guide (Gilligan, 2015), was employed to analyze and present the stories of three …

Elementary Science Essential Elements Curriculum Map & Progress Monitoring With Evidence-Based Teaching Strategies, Tasha Jenkins

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Little research has explored the field of science instruction tailored to students with significant disabilities. However, research studies have begun to emerge that suggest, with specific instructional strategies, these students can be successful in learning science curriculum. This project evaluated literature to find evidence-based instructional strategies for teaching science to students with significant cognitive disabilities. Six strategies were consistently found across multiple studies. The six strategies include (1) time delay, (2) systematic instruction, (3) multiple exemplar training, (4) task analysis, (5) graphic organizers, and (6) guided inquiry-based learning. These strategies were shared with a team of nine special education teachers …

Strategies For Integrating Aging And Older Adulthood Into Counselor Training, Matthew C. Fullen, Jordan Westcott, Kailey Bradley, Natese R. Dockery, Jungeun Lee, Rumbidzai Mushunje, Afroze N. Shaikh

Adultspan Journal

Following recent changes to Medicare mental health law, counselors will have expanded opportunities to work with older adults. Historically, there has been a dearth of counselor training dedicated to counseling older adults, necessitating greater attention to understanding and applying best practices for preparing counselors to serve older adult clients. Looking to professions that have a longer history of serving older adults, specifically gerontology, social work, and geropsychology, we describe approaches to training counselors to work with older adults that may prove helpful for the counseling profession.

Culturally Responsive Practices In Graduate Training: Challenges, Strategies, And Recommendations, Khadija Ali, Jolinpreet Dhami, Odessa Luna

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This paper examines three women of color perspectives on the relevance of incorporating culture and race discussions, activities, and assignments into graduate courses. The authors provide a description of their upbringing to highlight how their personal experiences shaped their perspective on culture and race in educational settings. The challenges of delivering instruction to encompass culture are discussed alongside a student’s evaluation of these barriers. In addition, instructors outline strategies they have implemented to incorporate a culturally responsive practice. Lastly, the authors present recommendations to urge other faculty members and students to use and advocate for culturally responsive practices.

Empowering All Students To Participate: Utilizing Aac To Respond During Lessons, Robbie Cromwell

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

Previous research indicates that frequent and active participation of all students (including diverse student groups) improves student outcomes, as does using a variety of methods to respond during classroom instruction. Current research is limited in examining two key areas: 1) Increasing active participation of AAC users by encouraging engagement through frequent response opportunities during instruction and 2) Utilizing a variety of response methods to enable participation during instruction. Given the gaps that exist in the research, the purpose of this study is to examine whether incorporating a variety of opportunities to respond has an impact on AAC user’s engagement and …

Recognizing Ableism And Practicing Disability Humility: Conceptualizing Disability Across The Lifespan, Katherine M. Atkins, Tamekia Bell, Tilottama Roy-White, Maria Page

Adultspan Journal

Disability culture is often misunderstood by counselors who lack extensive training in working with individuals with disabilities (IWDs) (Stuntzner & Hartley, 2014). This quantitative study used the Counseling Clients with Disability Survey (CCDS) to explore the beliefs and perceived knowledge of counselors-in-training (CITs), counselors, and counselor educators regarding preparation to counsel IWDs, which is particularly important as disability status can change across the lifespan, and given that the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Standards Review Committee provided a guide to the draft standards incorporating the infusion of disability concepts. Results indicate that counselors were competent …

The Spirit Empowering Counselors To Be Culturally Competent In A Racially And Ethnically Changing Society, Sandra K. Richardson, Yasmine A. Godinez, Lemuel J. Godinez

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

Significant change in the counseling field begins in counselor education programs. Concerns of biased, incompetent, and ineffective counseling services for culturally diverse clients plague the mental health profession (ACA, 2021; Sue & Sue, 2016). Rapid shifts in the racial and ethnic demographic composition of American society and the overt expression of hate and violence on the lives of People of Color place a greater demand on mental health professionals to pursue and acquire multicultural competencies (Brown, 2020; Embrick, 2015). Cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills are needed to establish meaningful therapeutic relationships, to provide effective treatment, and to effectively advocate for …

How Does Exposure To Pelvic Health Content In Entry Level Physical Therapy Curricula Impact Students’ Comfort Level Discussing Sexual Health With Future Patients?, Elizabeth Levay

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between exposure to pelvic health content in physical therapy school curricula and Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students’ comfort levels discussing sexual health issues with future patients. As holistic, autonomous health care providers, physical therapists must be confident in addressing all aspects of health with patients, including sexual health. Lack of attention to patients’ sexual issues may result in aspects of health going unaddressed, leading to poor patient care. The research hypothesis was that increased exposure to pelvic health topics within entry level physical therapy education will improve students’ …

District 75 Redesigned For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Elizabeth White

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper is intended to analyze what is currently offered by the New York City Department of Education, and District 75 (D75) school programs, to students with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. Changes to District 75 programming, based on current research, could vastly improve educational outcomes for students with ASD. Individuals on the autistic spectrum have been historically underrepresented, under-resourced, and underestimated. This paper highlights an educational and social justice need for change. Using the framework that analyzes race and ability called Dis/ability Race Studies (DisCrit), educators and administrators will come to understand that disability …

Adjusting To Change: Learning American Sign Language Online During A Global Pandemic, Kara Gournaris

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Second language acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) requires opportunities for engagement with native language models (Krashen, 1988). The shift to online instruction due to the impact of COVID-19 presented unique challenges for ASL programs across the United States. With little time to redesign courses, instructors and students had to navigate the experience of online learning together. The students who participated in this 2020 study at Western Oregon University (WOU) shared their raw experiences related to this transition, and unfortunately, one year later, many of the same barriers reported by students persist. The purpose of this article is to share …

What Are The Testimonios Of Immigrant Students In A South Texas Middle School And How Do Their Narratives Of Schooling Emerge In Their Stories?, Jessica Marie Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

This research follows the tenets of qualitative-interpretivist research. The study focused on the following question: What are the testimonios of immigrant students in a middle school and how do their narratives of schooling emerge in their stories? The stories of immigrant students’ educational experiences attending U.S. schools, in particular South Texas Middle School, and their parent’s discourses on border crossings were taken via testimonio. The methodology was constructed from the theoretical frames of four emancipatory types of frameworks used, that consisted of Critical Race Theory, Latino/Latina Critical Theory, Subtractive Schooling, and Funds of Knowledge. …

An Introduction To The Culturally Responsive Education Model (Crem): A Personal And Professional Journey To Reflective And Transformative Pedagogy, Monica R. Manns

Virginia English Journal

The Culturally Responsive Education Model (CREM) is a framework by which educators can recognize, digest, and implement cultural responsiveness in their classrooms and school communities. Based on the research of James Banks, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Zaretta Hammond, Marva Collins, Bell Hooks, Geneva Gay, James Comer, and Paulo Freire, the CREM serves as a tool, a practitioner’s guide to culturally responsive teaching and learning, with specific focus on content integration (the curricular and programmatic expansion to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of diverse groups); knowledge construction (helping students understand how people create beliefs based on their diverse biographies while validating students’ funds …

All About The Special Education Process: A Handbook For Parents, Mikayla Reinke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Until 1976 and the passing of P.L. 94-482 parents or caregivers of children with disabilities were not significantly involved in the education of their children. Even after this, many parents have felt they were in unknown territory regarding the field of special education. With different types of meetings, definitions, and processes that are not explained in a form that those who have not studied special education would understand, how could there not be unknown territory? Parents are provided with the Parent’s Guide to Special Education (2018) and the Parental Rights for Public School Students Receiving Special Education Services: Notice of …

Use Of Chinese Herbal Medicines Is Related To A Reduction In Depression Risk Among Patients With Insomnia: A Matched Cohort Study, Yun-Wen Chiao, Hanoch Livneh, How-Ran Guo, Wei-Jen Chen, Ming-Chi Lu, Miao-Chiu Lin, Chia-Chou Yeh, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Subjects with insomnia have a higher risk of depression, thus possibly making them live with serious health conditions. To date, information regarding the effect of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs), a commonly used complementary and alternative medicine, on depression risk among people with insomnia is still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effect of CHMs on the risk of depression among individuals with insomnia.

Methods: This cohort study used a national health insurance database to identify 68,573 subjects newly diagnosed with insomnia, aged 20–70 years, who received treatment between 1998 and 2010. Using propensity score matching, we …

The Effects Of Systematic Manipulation Of Reinforcement Within A Classroom Management System, Amanda Gayle Chavez

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Research suggests that best practice is for teachers to incorporate evidence-based classroom management strategies into their daily routines to improve student behavior. One aspect crucial to evidence-based practices is the rate at which teachers deliver reinforcement. Though research recommends reinforcement be provided frequently within classroom management systems (Robacker et al., 2016), no objective recommendation exists that assists teachers in delivering it systematically. In this study, a single case withdrawal design was used to analyze the effects of the systematic delivery of reinforcement within ClassDojo on the off-task behavior of three students in a fifth-grade general education classroom. The participating teacher …

Exploring The Impact Of Musical Mnemonic Strategies On Student Achievement And Engagement In Inclusive Science Classes, Zinna Eaton

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

Students with disabilities often struggle with comprehending material and performing at grade level, and teachers often find new ways to help their students comprehend the curriculum. A common challenge for special education teachers is incorporating different learning styles and various instructional strategies to better assist their students. One teaching strategy and resource that many teachers incorporate is the use of music in their instruction. This research project examines how incorporating music teaching strategies into daily instruction impacts the level of engagement and the academic achievement level of sixth-grade students with and without mild/moderate disabilities within inclusive science classrooms. The study …

Effects Of An Anchored Career-Focused Curriculum On The Knowledge And Attitudes Of At-Risk High School Students, Megan E. Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Students with disabilities (SWD) face an unfavorable employment future because many drop out of school at a disproportionate rate. The employment outlook for SWD who graduate from high school is also a concern because current studies show that only about half of them find jobs. In addition, most jobs they do find are entry level and low paying. One predictor of post-secondary success is career awareness. The purpose of this study was first to develop a curriculum especially designed for teaching career awareness of SWD and then to test its effects with a pretest-posttest randomized trial. Results indicated that the …

Examining The Practices And Quality Of Preschool Teachers’ Practices Managing The Challenging Behaviors Of Young Children, Cameron A. Tyrrell

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

All teachers have to manage a classroom environment and meet the needs of their students. In early childhood educational settings, challenging behaviors have been found to be a significant responsibility. The variables involved in effectively intervening in challenging behavior, and developing behavior support plans, are often determined by various factors. Previous research into challenging behaviors of young children have focused on the effectiveness of certain behavioral interventions, professional development opportunities, and curriculum such as the Pyramid Model. This proposed qualitative study centered the practices teachers reported using interceding in problem behavior, and inquired about the influences behind why teachers used …

Differential Effects Of Criteria For Increasing Delay Intervals In Progressive Time Delay, Kaitlin O'Neill

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to compare the differential effects of response-independent and response-dependent criteria used to determine when to increase to the next delay interval in the progressive time delay (PTD) procedure. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the relative efficiency of two variations of the PTD procedure when teaching expressive word identification to elementary-aged boys with moderate to severe disabilities, language impairments, and reading deficits. The participants’ school was closed due to a pandemic prior to completion of the study. Therefore, conclusions about results should be considered in light of this limitation. Results obtained …

Toward Critical Counseling: A Content Analysis Of Critical Race Theory And Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Community College Counselor Education, Lyman A. Insley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Prior to the early 1990s, most counselor preparation programs did not have multicultural competencies. Therefore, a call was made for the use of multicultural competencies in counselor preparation programs. Yet, the popularization of multicultural competencies of this time in education had a Eurocentric bent, a kind of colorblindness

More recently, scholars confirmed that these Eurocentric multicultural competencies had become the primary template from which counselor preparation programs taught culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy. Therefore, a call was made for the use of critical race theory (CRT) in counselor preparation programs to challenge and change Eurocentric cultural competence.

Purpose: This …

Engaging In A Rural Deaf Community Of Practice, Kara Gournaris

Dissertations and Theses

The number of students taking American Sign Language (ASL) at the post-secondary level continues to increase as more Deaf-related graduate programs and employment settings require fluent ASL skills. Western Oregon University (WOU) is one of the few existing programs in the United States that offers four years of ASL instruction; however, as a rural university it has limited access to a Deaf community. The problem of practice is that students often have little exposure to rich language models who are fluent in ASL, which impacts their legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) in the local Deaf communities of practice (CoPs) and reduces …

Increasing The Success Of African American Males With Learning Disabilities Attending California Community Colleges, Amar I. Abbott, Windy F. Martinez

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this article is to identify strategies to increase the access, progress, and success for African-American males with Learning Disabilities (LD) attending the California Community College. California has the fifth largest population of African American people in the US, including over 1 million African American males. There is a growing body of literature discussing the barriers faced by African American males attending college, particularly in the areas of retention, persistence, and degree attainment. This journal article discusses how to ameliorate the issues regarding African-American males being successful in the community college environment. With special programs such as Umoja, …

Benefits Of Educational Services For Students With Disabilities, Miguel Zazueta-Ruiz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone research project examines the benefits of educational services that schools offer to students with disabilities for a smooth transition from elementary school level to middle school and high school level. Federal and state laws, e.g. the Re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) of 2004, ensure that students with disabilities receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) specifically designed to provide services to meet the needs of individual student with disabilities through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Through the use of relevant literature review and surveys …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Preparedness Of Student Affairs Professionals: The Difference Between A Council For Accreditation Of Counseling And Other Related Educational Programs Accredited And Council For The Achievement Of Standards- Best Practice Guided Academic Preparation Programs, Kelly J. Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A complicated relationship exists among several variables related to entry-level student affairs professionals’ preparedness for their first positions in the field of student affairs. In order to better understand the academic preparation of and the unusually high levels of attrition for entry-level student affairs professionals, their influence on job satisfaction and self-efficacy needed to be examined. The purpose of this study was to determine a difference between Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) best practice guided and Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program (CACREP) accredited academic preparation programs and intentions to leave the profession of …

Just World Beliefs, Identity Development, And Social Justice Advocacy Of Counselor Trainees, Sara Rundlett

All Master's Theses

This was the first study exploring the relationship between the belief in a just world, identity development, and social justice advocacy (SJA). A mixed methods design was conducted using a nationwide sample of ninety-seven counselor-in-training participants. Hypotheses included positive correlation between identity development and SJA, negative correlation between belief in a just world and SJA, and negative correlation between belief in a just world and identity development. Results were not significant but provided implications for future research and counselor training programs.