Education Commons^™

The Importance Of Teacher Behavior In Increasing Student Success: Are Teachers Prepared To Meet The Needs Of Students With Emotional Or Behavioral Disorders?, Justin T. Cooper

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Despite the dissemination of specific instructional practices including High Leverage Practices and other pedagogical strategies that are considered fundamental to the success of students with emotional/behavioral disorders, research suggests that many of these practices are occurring in schools at unacceptably low rates. This research-to-practice gap is not a new phenomenon. This paper provides an overview of some of these specific teacher-driven instructional behaviors and the implications of the paucity of their use in schools. In addition, the importance of the role that teacher preparation programs play, and steps that they can take to alleviate the research-to-practice gap are discussed.

Teacher Candidates’ Emerging Perspectives On Trauma Informed Teaching, Mary S. Thomas, Penny B. Howell, Shantel Crosby, Elmedina Brkic, Kaleb Clemons, Lydia Mckinley, Sedekia Peter

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

A transdisciplinary team of candidates with teacher and social work educators describe their perspectives of trauma-informed teaching and intentions to use evidence-based practices in classrooms. We studied classroom management from a trauma-informed perspective in the first course in the program, then reflected back on these through a professional learning community created to intentionally focus on trauma informed teaching. We highlight findings around candidates’ perspectives and specific actions they attended to in order to incorporate those practices.

Collaboration With Community Partners To Enhance Clinical Practice, Susan Keesey, Christina Noel, Nancy Hulan, Pete Hoechner

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Teacher preparation programs are shifting focus to models that integrate pedagogy and coursework into an applied clinical teaching model. Research clearly supports this change to help new teachers prepare for the demographics of today’s classrooms. Teacher preparation is improved through the implementation of high-leverage practices, the key skills new teachers are expected to know and apply. This article highlights a collaborative professional development day designed to strengthen the clinical partnership by developing a shared vision and common language by incorporating high-leverage practices.

Music Therapy’S Role In The Education System, Madison Riley, Tori L. Colson, Moriah Smothers

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Music therapy is a lesser-known and used related service, yet it provides significant benefits to students that have language, behavioral, and social needs. This article reviews the literature on music therapy, discusses its historical and theoretical roots, and examines its use in educational settings. Special attention is given to therapeutic practices that are geared toward students on the autism spectrum because their social and communication needs are often a good fit for music therapy practices. Recommendations on using music therapy in special and general education classrooms are also made. Additionally, recommendations for including music therapy content in teacher preparation programs …

Choice As An Antecedent Intervention Provided To Children With Emotional Disturbances, Alexandra J. Taylor, Amy Lein

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Students with ED typically demonstrate social, behavioral, and academic deficiencies within the school setting. This article addresses the antecedent behavior interventions (ABI) of the provision of choice-making opportunities which are an effective practice within the PBIS framework. This study employed a single-subject multiple-baseline across-participants design to examine the effect of choice-making provided in social skills instruction on both academic (i.e., correct responses) and behavioral outcomes (i.e., task engagement, disruptions) for three elementary-aged students with ED.

Results demonstrated improved behaviors of three student participants. All participants showed an increase in task engagement and a decrease in number of disruptions from baseline …

Using A Token Economy Combined With A Mystery Motivator For A Student With Autism Exhibiting Challenging Behavior, Todd Whitney, Justin T. Cooper, Amy S. Lingo

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

A common characteristic of students with autism spectrum disorder is difficulty attending to and staying on task in classrooms, which can lead to inappropriate and/or disruptive behavior.

Benefits of a token economy have been examined with various individuals but few have examined its effects with children with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined the effectiveness of a token economy combined with a mystery motivator in decreasing inappropriate behaviors displayed by a student with an autism spectrum disorder in a small group setting. Results indicated that the token reinforcement program was effective in decreasing the inappropriate behaviors displayed by the student.

Bringing High Leverage Practices To The Bluegrass: A Statewide Collaborative Effort, Kera B. Ackerman, Todd Whitney, Amy S. Lingo

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

As a means to improve instruction for all students, Kentucky joined the national network of states engaged with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accreditation, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center. Part of this initiative was to hold a statewide summit for all Kentucky stakeholders in an attempt to build awareness of high leverage practices in educator preparation programs; strengthen and sustain partnerships; build capacity for continuous improvement; and share strategies for enhancing clinical practice. This article discusses the results of a survey given to those attending the statewide summit. Participants were asked to rate their knowledge and perceived importance of eight …

Transformative Apprenticeship: Enacting Teacher Identity In A Clinical Model, Melissa Wrenn, Peggy Otto, Rachel Leer

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This content analysis investigates how teacher candidates (TCs) in a clinical model enact professional identity through their reflections. The researchers assume that learning is situated within specific contexts, and discursive interactions reveal much about individual beliefs. TCs in this study are part of an elementary and special education dual degree program situated within a clinical teacher preparatory academy at a large, public university. Findings indicate that TCs transition to teaching, construct practice, and internalize teaching experiences. Results contribute an understanding of how TCs develop new schema for teaching experiences and transition from novices to experts within their classroom communities.

Classroom Management Through Teacher Candidates’ Lenses: Transforming Learning Communities Through A Community Of Practice, Mary S. Thomas, Penny B. Howell, Shantel Crosby, Khirsten Scott, La'que Newby, Hannah Evans, Sophie Daneshmand

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

• To better prepare teacher candidates for classroom management through attention to learning communities that affirm and support diverse students, including those effected by trauma, four instructors redesigned a required, undergraduate course. This study describes findings from three teacher candidate co-authors who were enrolled in that course. One semester after completing a course on classroom management and building community, candidates were asked to review their course products and other artifacts to consider what they learned and build upon their prior knowledge. Candidates used stimulated recall to respond to prompts on community building and relationships, gender and racial inclusivity, trauma …

School Social Workers: Important Assets In Rural Areas, Dana C. Branson

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

As the American educational system continues to evolve and take on more social service responsibilities for students, their families, and the community, the need for school social workers has intensified. However, the demand considerably exceeds developed positions for school social workers. The increase in awareness of childhood trauma, toxic stress, poverty, and potential to spill over into the classroom places schools in a position where they need to be responsive to students’ multi-faceted needs. This conceptual article will discuss the overwhelming need for school social workers, barriers to obtaining school social workers, and the benefits school social workers can bring.

A Review Of Literature: Identifying Barriers To Academic Success Among Students With Disabilities Attending College In Rural Regions, Kaycee Lynn Bills

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

College students who have disabilities are an oppressed population that faces many challenges related to accessibility barriers in higher education located in rural environments. The number of adults with disabilities attending college has been steadily increasing over the past decade. As the number of college students with disabilities continues to rise, it is essential for researchers to identify the barriers education attainment barriers they face in rural college settings. This study is a systematic review of literature that analyze past studies in order identify the challenges students with disabilities face in higher education settings located in rural regions. It also …

Fape, Lre, And Related Laws: Implications For Inclusion And Co-Teaching, Tori L. Colson, Moriah J. Smothers

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Unfortunately, IDEA implementation is still a problem for many schools today (Hill, Martin, & Nelson-Head, 2011). What are the causes of this? Could it be because many teachers do not have knowledge of the law? More and more students with disabilities are being served in the general education program with their peers. This is a result of several federal laws enacted to ensure that students with special needs are educated in the least restrictive environment. Inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education curriculum is a way to make sure that students are taught in the least restrictive environment …

Developing A Clinical Literacy Experience That Improves Outcomes For Students And Preservice Teachers, Susan Keesey, Charley Jo Allen, Madison Loy, Amanda Schaefer

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Improving literacy outcomes so more students graduate from high school career- and college- ready is critical in today's society. There is a wealth of evidence-based practices for teachers to utilize and yet student literacy outcomes fail to improve. This article provides an example of how a clinical model literacy clinic, housed in a partner elementary school, improved learning outcomes for preservice teachers and the at-risk students they instructed. During this twice weekly, semester-long literacy clinic, the preservice teachers explicitly taught all five critical literacy components to support struggling readers with the focus on using high-leverage practices for instruction. This taught …

Developing Growth Mindset And Grit In Preservice Teachers, Susan Keesey, Amanda Schaefer, Madison Loy, Charley Jo Allen

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Educator preparation programs are charged with developing preservice teachers ready to meet the many challenges of today's classrooms. Developing a growth mindset and GRIT provides future educators with important dispositions to increase their teaching effectiveness and improve the success of their students. A growth mindset helps learners realize that intellect is not fixed but through time and effort, skills will increase. Developing GRIT (i.e., growth, resilience, integrity, and tenacity) builds the perseverance to continue until goals are reached. Developing GRIT and a growth mindset helps teachers understand that all students, even diverse learners, can be successful if provided the appropriate …

Using American Sign Language To Support Sight Word Acquisition In English Learners, Kaitlin A. Woodrow, Susan Keesey, Christina Noel

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

English Learners constitute a growing, and important, portion of our school communities, yet the research base regarding evidence-based practices to support effective instruction for English Learners is minimal, especially for those with disabilities. American Sign Language has effectively supplemented curriculum for different student populations, but there has been little research on how sign language can be used to teach English Learners. Sight word acquisition is often a challenge for English Learners so this alternating treatment, single subject research design explored if adding American Sign Language to sight word instruction of first grade English Learners would increase learning of sight words …

Using High-Leverage Practices To Support Twice Exceptional Learners, Susan Keesey, Kelsey Highbaugh

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Students documented as twice-exceptional, possessing both giftedness and a disability, are a group of learners that despite strong potential, are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Often, for these students, either the giftedness hides the disability or the disability overshadows the giftedness. It is important that teacher education programs help preservice teachers learn how to recognize and support students classified as twice-exceptional. High-leverage practices can help support twice-exceptional students. This article demonstrates how all four key components of HLPs (i.e., collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral practices, and instruction) can be incorporated into the plan to support twice-exceptional learners and maximize learning outcomes for these …

How Shall We Prepare Teachers For Deeper Community Partnerships?, Jared R. Stallones

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Increasingly, high schools partner with local communities to provide students with meaningful work-based learning experiences, yet teacher preparation programs do not teach candidates how to facilitate, maintain, and make best use of these partnerships. This article investigates how to prepare candidates to work in these new school formats.

A Study Of Kentucky School District Websites: They’Re Colorful And Informative….But Are They Ada Compliant?, John A. Huss, Shannon Eastep

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

An often-overlooked component of a school district website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. This study investigated the accessibility of school district websites in Kentucky by selecting a random sample of 50 school districts and analyzing their home pages using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator), which reports accessibility violations by annotating a copy of the page that was evaluated and presenting embedded icons and indicators to disclose breaches with ADA. Out of 50 districts, …

The Efficacy Of Teacher Made Special Education Referrals In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Schools Of Kentucky, John T. Elliott

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This quantitative study utilized a causal-comparative research design to determine the difference in efficacy between teacher made special education referrals in Appalachian and non-Appalachian schools of Kentucky. Data were provided from the 2014-2015 academic year. A total of 109 Kentucky schools provided data for the study. This study will help educators better understand multi-disciplinary referrals for special education as they relate to referral efficacy as based upon student qualification rates. This quantitative study determined the difference between special education qualification rates for teacher made referrals in Appalachian and non-Appalachian schools in the state of Kentucky.

Addressing Reading Fluency Of Students With Intellectual Disabilities Using A Multiple Probe Design, Sarah N. Merimee

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Despite making up less than one percent of the student population, students with significant intellectual disabilities have the same rights to receive the best education possible as their typical peers. There is currently a paucity of research regarding effective reading instruction within a comprehensive approach, particularly in the area of reading fluency. The purpose of this study was to investigate if there was a functional relation between repeated reading and choral reading and the words correct per minute of six high school students with significantintellectual disabilities. Additionally, the extent to which fluency impacts reading comprehension was also examined. Five of …

Inside Research: An Interview With Ashley Munie, Erin Wallace

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Inside Research: An interview with Ashley Munie

Conducted by Erin Wallace, co-editor, Steeplechase

Date recorded: Monday, February 13, 2017

Recording Location: Department of Music Recording Studio

2nd floor Doyle Fine Arts, Murray State University, Murray, KY

Inside Research: An Interview With Shannon Wood, Laura Guebert

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Inside Research: An interview with Shannon Wood

Conducted by Laura Guebert, co-editor, Steeplechase

Date recorded: Friday, February 10, 2017

Recording Location: Department of Music Recording Studio

2nd floor Doyle Fine Arts, Murray State University, Murray, KY

Cover, Bentley Utgaard, Rachel L. Wood

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Cover page for Steeplechase Vol. 1, Issue 1