Education Commons^™

An Exploration Of The Use Of Functional Behavior Assessment And Noncontingent Reinforcement On Disruptive Behavior In Middle School General Education Classrooms, Melody C. Andreasen

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

Teachers sometimes experience problems with disruptive behavior in their classrooms. These aberrant and socially mediated behaviors can be difficult for teachers to manage without the proper research-based skills and training. This project explored the effects of training general education classroom teachers to conduct a functional behavior assessment and deliver noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) for disruptive classroom behavior(s). Participants included four middle school general education teachers and four students who have been identified by each teacher as exhibiting disruptive behavior(s). Procedures included four hrs of teacher training on conducting functional behavior assessments and delivering NCR followed by a post-training questionnaire and rubric …

Examining Barriers And Facilitators Of Community Based Vocational Instruction For Students With Significant Disabilities, Lavinia Gripentrog

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

This study examines the barriers and facilitators of community based vocational instruction (CBVI) for students with moderate to significant disabilities as identified by special educators. Community based vocational instruction (CBVI) involves students with disabilities receiving repeated instruction on vocational and other job related skills in community settings (Kim & Dymond, 2010). An electronic survey was sent to high school and transition special education teachers from four states including Utah, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Colorado. One hundred thirty-five participants completed the survey. Almost two-thirds of the respondents had a master’s degree and one-third a bachelor’s degree. The majority of respondents were …

The Promotion Of Self-Determination: A Survey Of General And Special Educators, Melanie P. Allen

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

Learning self-determination skills is critical for all students to ensure they advocate for themselves and participate in a seamless transition from the secondary school setting to college and career. This quantitative study surveyed 224 general education, 37 mild/moderate special education, 10 severe special education, 28 alternative high general educators, 5 alternative high special educators, 3 transition special educators’ mild/moderate, and 8 special education severe teachers in a suburban school district in the western US. A rating scale and open-ended questions were used to assess the degree to which teachers provide students with instruction and require students to demonstrate self-determination/self-advocacy skills. …

Comparison Of Neurological Activation Patterns Of Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorders When Verbally Responding To A Pragmatic Task, Daphne U. Hartzheim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the neurological activation of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) while performing a pragmatic judgment task. In this study, children between the ages of 9 and 15 years responded to questions regarding a social situation, taken from the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language, while concurrently having their brain activity measured. We targeted four brain regions for analysis: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), superior temporal gyrus (STG), and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL).

Ten children with ASD and 20 typically developing (TD) children participated. Matching occurred in a bracketing manner with each child in the ASD …

The Effects Of A Training Session On Teacher Knowledge, Perceptions, And Implementation Of Assistive Technology In Secondary Schools., Robert Woodbury Jr

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

Despite the prevalence of students with mild disabilities in special education and the legal mandate to consider assistive technology to support their needs, research suggests low rates of assistive technology use by this population (Bouck, Maeda, & Flanagan, 2012; Derer, Polsgrove, & Rieth, 1996; Quinn, Behrmann, Mastropieri, & Chung, 2009). One major barrier to assistive technology consideration and implementation cited by teachers is a lack of training. This study examined changes in teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and implementation of assistive technology as a result of a hands-on teacher training session. Participants included 61 regular and special education teachers and administrators in …

School Counselors' Provision Of Career And College Transition Services To Students In Special Education, Pamela K. Lee

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

School counselors provide career and college guidance services to secondary students to prepare them for transition to post-secondary education and employment. Successful post-secondary transition is a desired outcome for students in special education. This project surveyed 96 currently practicing secondary school counselors from two Northern Utah school districts. A survey questionnaire using rating scale items and open-ended questions was administered to assess the degree to which school counselors provide specific career and college guidance services to students in special education, counselors rating of preparedness to provide such services, counselor beliefs about providing these services, and what factors negatively or positively …

Negative Reinforcement Through Contingent Easy-Task Presentation, Cicely Irene Nickerson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Escape from instructional demands is one of the most common functions of problem behavior. Some research suggests that a switch from difficult to easy tasks may function as a reinforcer for problem behavior. This is of particular concern for situations in which easy tasks are part of the intervention procedure to reduce problem behavior. This project examined the reinforcing effects of a switch from low-probability (low-p) to high-probability (high-p) tasks for individuals whose problem behavior was maintained by escape from demands. It also provided preliminary evidence as to the quality of reinforcement provided by a switch from low- high-p tasks. …

Using Video Prompting On An Ipod Touch To Teach Multiple-Step Recipes To Transition-Age Students With Moderate To Severe Cognitive Disabilities, Kjerstin Mourra

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated effects of video prompting using an iPod Touch to teach recipe-following to four 16-19 year-old youth with intellectual disability and autism in a transition classroom. Target behaviors involved correctly following three multi-step recipes: microwave dinner, brownies, and gelatin. A multiple-probe design across recipes was replicated across participants. After low levels of responding in baseline probes, researchers presented participants with an iPod Touch showing each step of the task using video and with audio narration. Following the video prompting phase, maintenance and home-based generalization probes were conducted. The intervention increased recipe-following performance for all participants. Performance maintained and …

Indicator 13 Training For Transition Teachers: Comparison Of Pre-And Post Test Scores On Writing Of Goals, Christina B. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Special education teachers sometimes experience problems with knowing how to construct and write transition goals that meet Indicator 13 requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This project examined the effects of teacher training in Indicator 13 requirements on the quality of transition goals. Participants included 17 special education teachers from one school district located in a western state. Target behaviors where increasing each participants’ post-test goal quality scores from individualized transition plans (ITP) written after they demonstrated knowledge about requirements through a post-instruction goal quality writing probe. Procedures involved (a) a pre examination of participants’ transition goals that …

The Effects Of Unidirectional Peer Tutoring On Mathematics Outcomes For Students With Learning Disabilities In An Inclusive, Secondary Setting, Daniel Pyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with disabilities included in general education settings often require varying levels of supports and services to execute classroom routines effectively while maximizing their learning opportunities. One support that holds potential to increase outcomes for students with disabilities in general education settings is peer tutoring. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects that a targeted, unidirectional tutoring intervention had on the math outcomes for students with learning disabilities in a Secondary Mathematics I class. High school students that had advanced skills in mathematics served as interventionists (i.e., peer tutors) and were trained to deliver the unidirectional …

A Translational Investigation Of Positive And Negative Behavioral Contrast, Megan A. Boyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Applied behavior analysts implement research-based techniques to improve behavior. However, research with nonhumans suggests that intervening to improve behavior in one context may result in a worsening of that same behavior in another context (behavioral contrast). Although there are clinical implications of behavioral contrast, the vast majority of research on contrast has been conducted with nonhuman animals. Results from basic research suggest that contrast is influenced differentially depending on whether a change in conditions follows versus precedes a given context. For example, a child might encounter three contexts each day: home, school, and daycare. An intervention to reduce the child’s …

An Evaluation Of Group Activity Schedules To Train Children With Autism To Play Hide-And-Seek With Their Typically Developing Peers, Jessica S. Akers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulties with social and play skills. The purpose of this study was to determine if three young children with autism could learn to play a complex social game, hide-and-seek, with three typically developing peers. Participants were taught to play hide-and-seek using photographic activity schedules. Photographic activity schedules are a type of visual schedule that teach children with autism to engage in chains of behavior. Two schedules were present during
teaching sessions, a seeker schedule and a hider schedule. Each group member played the role of the seeker once during the game. The three participants, …

Perceptions Of Customized Employment Among Employers: A Survey And Focus Group, Melanie D. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Employment for individuals with significant disabilities can be achieved through customized employment. Unfortunately the employer perspective of customized employment is often overlooked. This study sought to identify employer's feelings about customized employment.

A focus group developed a list of barriers and facilitators to customized employment. The list was turned into a survey that was given to a different group of employers. The results showed that employers were unfamiliar with customized employment and were most concerned with the cost of accommodations. Researchers found that employers considered support from other agencies, financial incentives and increased productivity to be upsides to customized employment.

The Effectiveness Of An Intervention Designed To Increase The Positive To Negative Ratio Of Instructor Interactions During After-School Programming, Rikki K. Wheatley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of two interventions used to train instructors to increase PN ratios. The first intervention (workshop training) followed a didactic workshop-training model. The second intervention (coaching) included the components of the didactic workshop model with the addition of modeling, role-play, and performance feedback. In this study four instructors in an after-school program were randomly assigned to one of two groups to participate in training programs. These programs were designed to help them increase PN ratios when interacting with students during homework time in the after-school program. Group 1 received only the …

Teacher- And Student-Developed Summaries Of Performance: Perceptions Of Teachers And Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, Heidi S. Preece

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Special education students often struggle to access services upon graduation from high school. A summary of performance is a document that should ease this transition, but often is nothing more than a meaningless piece of paper. This study sought to use a student-completed portfolio as a summary of performance.

A student-completed portfolio and a teacher-completed summary of performance document was evaluated by special education teachers and Vocational Rehabilitation counselors. Results indicate the usefulness of a student-completed portfolio for person centered planning.

An Evaluation Of An Ipad-Based Activity Schedule, Kassidy Stuart Reinert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A visual activity schedule is a set of pictures or words that can be used to teach an individual with disabilities to complete a set of tasks. These schedules can help individuals with disabilities to become more independent and complete tasks appropriately. Children with autism often engage in behaviors that are repetitive or not appropriate when playing. Visual activity schedules have been used to teach a variety of skill and teach appropriate play. Typically, activity schedules are paper based; this study examines the use of an activity schedule taught on an iPad. This study included three young boys with a …