Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Paraprofessional Training Materials, Program Implementation & Review, Breann Brewer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

If ever you enter a special education classroom, you may encounter a few events. You may witness a classroom of impressive, almost automatic interactions, delivered in a way so eloquent that the students and staff seem to be in an effortless dance with one another. Or, you may witness a classroom that feels heavy with needs; needs of more staff, more help, more hands, and more time. This visual exercise demonstrates how the structure of a special education classroom sets the tone for student growth and success.

One pivotal part of a special education classroom is the paraeducators. Paraeducators, also …

A Discourse Analysis Of Parents' And Teachers' Social Constructions Of School Readiness And Transition To Kindergarten For Children With Disabilities, Ronica Senores Toyota

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This study examined parents’ and teachers’ social constructions of disability, school readiness, and the transition to kindergarten process for children with disabilities who participated in a self-contained preschool special education (SPED) class, called a special day class (SDC). The 12 participants included parents of children with disabilities (i.e., three with autism and one with Down syndrome), four preschool SDC teachers, two kindergarten SDC teachers, and two general education kindergarten teachers. They were recruited from a large urban school district in Southern California. Semistructured interviews were conducted to invite participants to share their experiences working with students with disabilities and their …

Using Peer-Models And Aac To Increase Expressive Vocabulary In Preschool Children With Developmental Delays, Jazmine Wiles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of training peer models to implement the system of least prompts and model augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on expressive language in children with developmental delays. Using a multiple probe across participants design, 4 students with developmental delays were trained to use a language output app on the iPad to communicate five common phrases. Results for 3 participants indicated a functional relation between the peer modeling and expressive language. One student did not complete the intervention due to excessive absences. In most cases, students increased verbal language. Two participants made …

The Evolution Of Deaf Education In The United States- A Historical Analysis With Recommendations For Enhancing Deaf Education In The Future, Jaymie Bianca

Senior Theses and Projects

When deaf education formally began in the United States in 1817, it started as an entirely new concept. Founders of the American School for the Deaf, Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc, introduced numerous teaching methods during this time, the most prominent being American Sign Language (ASL). While the public did not know much about deaf education, Clerc and Gallaudet worked diligently to ensure that they educated the public on the importance of deaf education. Thus, this thesis ponders what public perceptions of deaf education and relevant teaching methods of deaf education were like through an in depth historical analysis of …

Reading Robot, Gillian Watts, Andrew Myers, Sabrinna Tan, Taylor Klein, Omeed Djassemi

General Engineering

Presently, there is an insufficient availability of human experts to assist students in reading competency and comprehension. Our team’s goal was to create an improved socially assistive robot for use by therapists, teachers, and parents to help children and adults develop reading skills while they do not have access to specialists. HAPI is a socially assistive robot that we created with the goal of helping students practice their reading comprehension skills. HAPI enables a student to improve their reading skills without an educator present, while enabling educators to review the student's performance remotely. Design constraints included: physical size, weight, duration …

Using Coaching Strategies To Support Parents When Promoting Social Communication In Individuals With Disabilities, Molly Baldridge

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

The purpose of this practitioner’s piece was to provide educators with a research-based coaching model that will increase opportunities for meaningful collaboration with parents or guardians in order to promote family-centered and socially meaningful child outcomes for their children with autism or other intellectual disabilities. The training model was based on Lane et. al.’s (2016) brief coaching method approach. Other suggested components to parent training included cultural competency, goal setting, planning for generalization, following up and asking for feedback, and troubleshooting any problem behaviors.

Motivating The Unmotivated: How Are We Supporting Struggling Readers In Upper Elementary Classrooms?, Maci V. Wood

Honors College Theses

Motivating struggling students to read is a question considered by many general education reading teachers and special education teachers alike. Since student classroom experiences today differ greatly from classrooms of the past in terms of instructional practices and learning supports, scripted materials that seldom cater to student interest have often been promoted due to the pressure of standardized assessment. With little to no student engagement present in the classroom, it is up to the student to find the will to read or to the teacher to utilize alternative strategies in increasing student motivation (Cambria & Gunthrie, 2008). However, there is …

Application Of Response-To-Intervention In A Pre-Kindergarten Special Education Classroom, Justin J. Daigle

Dissertations

Lovaas (1987) applied behavior analysis to the treatment of autism and demonstrated a 47% “recovery” rate. He also reported that around 10% of the population that received his services made little-to-no improvement. The present study used a response-to-intervention framework to systematically identify and treat students in an early childhood, special-education classroom who were in danger of falling within that 10%. This study set out to identify, classify, and differentiate the treatment based on the student’s response to the standard classroom intervention. Improvements in multiple students’ rates of acquisition based on this system were recorded. This indicated a possibility of improved …

"See, Two Yellows Make A Rectangle!": Constructing Meaningful, Emergent Learning Moments In A Structured Special Education Program, Lucy Bayer

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper explores the relationship between emergent, child-driven learning and the structured curricula of a special education program. Relying on current research and theory as driving forces, the author designed and implemented a series of math lessons with a small group of kindergarten students in a self-contained, special-education setting. The paper begins in narrative form, detailing the author’s journey to her current line of inquiry. Empirical research and educational theory about both emergent, child-driven learning and math instruction are then summarized. The following two chapters chronicle the author’s work with her students. These chapters are presented as both narrative documentation …

The Association Of Preschool Enrollment And The Predictive Traits Of Special Education Identification, Sarie Elizabeth Ates-Patterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early childhood education (ECE) consists of educational programs that serve children in the preschool years and are designed to improve elementary school performance. Colorado early childhood education programming has two preschool classifications that include Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) which is determined by a student's risk factors, and the State Preschool Special Education (Preschool SPED) program which is determined by the student's identified disability prior to attending elementary school. For the two cohorts who participated in Colorado preschool programming during 2009-2010 school year, special education and demographic extant data are compared in order to study the subsequent identification for special education …

Parents' Access To Information And Ability To Advocate For Their Young Children With Disabilities, Ellen W. Fisher

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study was motivated by the fact that there is an overrepresentation of child­ren from minority backgrounds with disabilities in the United States school system (Ar­tiles & Trent, 1994; Cartledge, 1999; Chinn & Hughes, 1987). In considering factors causing the inequality in the special education system, this study explored (a.) parents' access to information regarding the preschool special education system and (b.) how that access to information affects parents' ability to advocate on behalf of their young child­ren with disabilities. Through twelve anonymous surveys and six interviews with par­ents, information was collected regarding who has and does not have access …

Evaluation Of A Distance Learning Program For The Preparation Of Special Education Teachers, Tami Seifert

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The primary purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of the distance learning Commonwealth Special Education Endorsement Program (CSEEP) delivered by Old Dominion University. The CSEEP program was designed to address economic and geographic barriers confronting teachers seeking to complete requirements for endorsement in special education, improve the quality of education teachers, help reduce the shortage of fully licensed special education teachers, and increase teacher retention in special education.

This evaluation was designed to assess program results, examine the effectiveness of the program, and determine the impact on both the participants and the schools, and identify ways to …

Utilizing Applied Behavior Analysis: A Handbook For Teachers Who Are Dealing With Developmentally Delayed Children, Cleresse Sprague

All Graduate Projects

The author's perception is that a need exists for a classroom behavior management handbook targeting developmentally delayed children ages three years through first grade. Several occurrences have prompted this perception: 1. Approach by other teachers asking how to handle certain behaviors 2. Author's own experiences and frustrations 3. Participation in group discussions regarding behaviors The author has chosen to do this study and develop a handbook to meet this perceived need.

A Developmental Curriculum For Multiply Handicapped Preschool Children In The Areas Of Visual Motor, Fine Motor, And Sensory Skills, Denise Ghislaine Wentz Page

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to design a developmental curriculum of activities for nonambulatory-multiply handicapped preschoolers, ages birth to 5 years. Visual motor, fine motor, and sensory skills were the areas specifically designed for the curriculum. A review of literature was conducted, investigating current information of curriculum for preschool nonambulatory-multiply handicapped children. Samples of curriclum from a variety of preschool project models were examined. A compilation of data resulted in a preschool curriculum for nonambulatory-multiply handicapped children.

An Instructional Packet Of Teacher Activities Designed To Teach Elementary Students K-3 About Exceptional Children, Lori J. Hanson

All Graduate Projects

The need for and delivery of programs in our public schools to educate elementary students K-3 about Exceptional children was studied. An Instructional packet of ideas, resources, and activities was presented that could be used in an elementary classroom K-3, to help children overcome negative attitudes toward the handicapped and to recognize the rights of the handicapped individual to pursue a normal life.