Education Commons^™

How Mothers Of Children With Significant Disabilities Navigate Special Education Services, Kristin S. Wiseley

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation used a qualitative approach to understand the experiences of mothers of children with significant disabilities from diagnosis through age 21. Specifically, the focus of the research was to identify how mothers negotiated access to opportunities to learn and how they involved themselves in the process of education for their child. The researcher used a retrospective phenomenological approach to the qualitative study. The importance of the study was to make a significant contribution to understanding how mothers see the process and how school systems might facilitate bringing mothers in as meaningful partners so that the partnership can improve the …

The Impact Of A Multisensory Intervention On Literacy Attitudes Of Students With Dyslexia, Lorena De La Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the impact of a pull-out multisensory reading intervention on the attitudes towards reading and writing of fourth-grade students identified with dyslexia. Students identified with dyslexia must receive an evidence-based reading intervention as required by Texas educational state law. The multisensory reading intervention utilized in this study and known as Structured Literacy, included explicit instruction in phonological awareness, sound-symbol association, syllabication, orthography, morphology, and reading comprehension. The researcher focused on a variety of data sources including field notes, audio-recorded interviews, reading interest survey responses, and spelling assessments. The data collected …

Orientation And Mobility Service Decisions: What Is Guiding Them If It Is Not Assessment?, Lauralyn Kay Randles

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: In this study, I sought to determine what tools are used during assessment and service delivery decisions. Also, the study worked to explore O&M specialist’s perceptions of factors impacting assessment results and service delivery decisions. Methods: A survey was employed to gather this information from O&M specialists spread throughout Midwest region of the United States. Seventy six O&M specialists completed the survey sharing about their experiences with O&M assessments and service delivery decisions. Analysis was completed using Microsoft Excel and a researcher establish codebook. Results: The participant’s caseloads and employment details varied greatly from one to another. The results …

The Effects Of Movement Breaks In The Classroom On Reading, Kelly A. Simon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of an increase in physical activity in the classroom on (a) the on-task behavior of special education students and (b) the reading comprehension scores in a READ 180 classroom. The aim of this study is to identify teaching strategies that impact the behavior and academic success of students with special needs. Five sixth graders, three males and two females, with learning disabilities participated in the study. A single-subject ABAB design was used. During the baseline phases, students did independent reading and a reading comprehension assignment without movements immediately beforehand. During …

Direct Instruction In Blending And Segmenting Phonemes, Stephanie D. Minosse

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how third grade special education students' reading abilities were affected after receiving direct instruction in phoneme segmentation and blending. During the study students spent an average of two weeks practicing segmenting phonemes and another two weeks blending phonemes utilizing various activities. The last weeks of the study focused on applying the skills into actual reading situations. The study showed benefits in various areas including the utilization of manipulatives in relation to phonemes. Students were also positively impacted directly after receiving the direction instruction and practice activities, as there was an increase in …

Improving Co-Teachers’ Relationship: How Teaching Experience Affects Perceptions Of Teamwork, Asher Samuel

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is an instructional strategy wherein two teachers, a general education teacher and a special education teacher, share instructional responsibilities in a general education class that includes students with disabilities (SWDs) (Friend, 2010). Co-teaching has emerged as a strategy for ensuring that SWDs are taught to the general education curriculum while receiving specially designed instruction within the least restrictive environment (LRE) appropriate to their needs. One of the most important components of co-teaching is the relationship between the two teachers (Kohler-Evans, 2006), which has been described as a professional marriage (Friend, 2010). However, there is limited information on the factors …

Teachers' Attitudes Toward The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities In The General Education Classroom In A Rural School District, Robin M. Pelt

Theses and Dissertations

According to the research, inclusion in the general education setting is valuable to the academic and social development of students with disabilities. Teachers play a significant role in the success of students with disabilities in this setting (Coombs-Richardson & Mead, 2001; Fuchs, 2010; Test et al., 2009). Research shows that teachers display positive and negative attitudes toward inclusion based on the severity of the disability category (Cook, 2001; Ernest & Rogers, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom in a rural school district. An …

Effects Of Behavioral Skills Training With In Situ Training On Workplace Conversational Skills Of Transition-Aged High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Holly N. Whittenburg

Theses and Dissertations

Young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high rates of unemployment in the years immediately following high school (Hendricks & Wehman, 2009; Roux et al., 2015), yet very few studies to date have investigated approaches to teaching transition-aged high school students work-related social skills within competitive, integrated workplace settings. Furthermore, difficulties in developing relationships with coworkers within the workplace may negatively affect employment (Baldwin et al., 2014; Sperry & Mesibov, 2005). Research is needed that examines methods for improving interactions with coworkers.

This study investigated the effects of a behavioral skills training (BST) with in situ training intervention package …

Interpersonal Competency Configurations And The School Adjustment Of Early Adolescents With Disabilities: A Person-Centered Approach, Brittany I. Sterrett

Theses and Dissertations

The transition to middle school is a critical time in adolescence. The more complex school environment provides opportunities for growth and challenges for students with disabilities. Although special education strives to provide individualized supports to students with disabilities through data-based decision-making, the tools used to understand and meet the needs of these students are often unresponsive to the dynamic nature of development and student adjustment as they age. Grounded in developmental science, this study sought to create a data collection framework through a person-centered approach to inform the individualization process. Specifically, this study: 1) explored a decision process that allows …

Language-Supportive Strategies And Their Associations With Child Language Outcomes During Instructional Time, Erin S. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I conducted a correlational study that examined the frequency of educator-delivered language-supportive strategies during instructional time in public Kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, I explored the association between educators’ use of language-supportive strategies and child language outcomes. To index child language, I assessed a sample of 96 children from 10 different classrooms on standardized measures of expressive and receptive language. I recruited 10 educators to participate in the present study and assessed their use of language-supportive strategies during instructional time in the classroom through transcription and coding of audio recordings. The educators completed demographic forms for themselves as well …

An Efficiency Tactic For Behavioral Skills Training, Brian Liu-Constant

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to enhance the use of behavioral skills training to teach staff members a discrete trial training (DTT) procedure in a setting with a low trainer-to-staff ratio. Although effective, the rehearsal and feedback components of behavioral skills training can be time consuming and require more time with an expert trainer than the trainer has available.

For the behavioral skills training protocol, the researcher recorded and presented instructions and modeling on video and developed scripts that participants followed during rehearsal and feedback. Each participant was assigned to a group of three. Participants took turns in one of …

An Exploration Of Task Independence For High School Students In A Self-Contained Classroom Using Structured Work Systems, Lorinda Rene Otto

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of a method to support higher levels of independent performance and generalization of skills using a structured work system with a visual schedule when teaching online task completion skills to high school students with ASD and intellectual disabilities. Students with ASD and intellectual disabilities are typically deficient in independent skills. They often struggle to initiate and complete tasks on their own. By learning to complete tasks independently, high school students with ASD and intellectual disabilities gain essential life skills needed for employment. Structured work systems, along with visual schedules, have shown to be useful in …

A Qualitative Study Of Collaborative Lesson Planning For Teachers Of Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities, Wendy K. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

During the generic qualitative research, a system for facilitating collaborative lesson planning for teachers of students with significant cognitive disabilities was developed and studied. The collaborative model allowed teachers to meet both school and district expectations for lesson plans. The purpose of the study, however, was to focus on the teachers’ experience of participating in the collaborative lesson planning system.

Questions were asked of teachers at three points during the study: (a) during business as usual individual planning, (b) after 3 weeks of collaborative lesson planning training and practice, and (c) at the end of 6 weeks of PLC lesson …