Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons^™

What I Taught My Stem Instructor About Teaching: What A Deaf Student Hears That Others Cannot, Annemarie Ross, Randy K. Yerrick

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Overall, science teaching at the university level has remained in a relatively static state. There is much research and debate among university faculty regarding the most effective methods of teaching science. But it remains largely rhetoric. The traditional lecture model in STEM higher education is limping along in its march toward inclusion and equity. The NGSS and Common Core reform efforts do little to help university science teachers to change their orientation from largely lecture-driven practice with laboratory supplements. While it is impossible to address all diverse student groups, the need for accommodations tend to be overlooked. As a Deaf …

From The Co-Editors, Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

We continue to work diligently to improve JSESD. One of the largest challenges to the journal remains the solicitation of manuscript submissions. As such, we are asking the journal’s readership to assist us in advertising the journal. If you are familiar with individuals who might be interested in submitting a manuscript, please pass along the JSESD author link provided above. We are especially interested in articles on science education for students with varying types of disabilities and at a full range of grade levels (K-12 and postsecondary).

A Historical Perspective On The Revolution Of Science Education For Students Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired In The United States, Cary A. Supalo Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The following was an invited presentation given by Dr. Cary A. Supalo to the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois annual state convention that was held in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, October 28, 2011. These remarks were slightly modified for the Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities.

Cary A. Supalo

What does the term Revolution mean? To some it can simply mean change. To others, it can mean drastic change, and still to others, revolution is no more than a descriptor for something else. In this context, I believe revolution refers to a time of significant change.1 …

Effects Of Common Core Curriculum Standards On High School Students With Disabilities, Nancy Beth Thompson Loedding

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study examined the effect of implementing the Common Core Curriculum Standards (CCCS) on students with disabilities (SWD) in a county in northeast Georgia. The study investigated teachers' perceptions regarding the effect of implementing the CCCS in high school English language arts and mathematics classes on the academic success of SWD and their ability to graduate from high school with a regular diploma. Information was also gathered to determine if teachers offered additional supports to SWD as part of the increased academic expectations of the CCCS. In addition, teachers were asked about the preparation they received prior to teaching …

The Perceptions And Experiences Of General Education Teachers Toward Cotaught Inclusion Classes, Beth Milhoan Feustel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This project study addressed the low rate of general education teachers volunteering to coteach inclusion classes at a large urban high school in southeastern Georgia. This low volunteer rate caused administrators at this school to assign general education teachers, who did not opt in, to coteach inclusion classes. Teachers' efficacy was negatively impacted when they were required to teach classes that they did not volunteer to teach. The model of cooperative teaching advanced by Bauwens, Hourcade, and Friend's work served as the conceptual framework for this intrinsic case study. The purpose of the study was to examine how general education …

Each One, Teach One: A Blackprint For Mentoring Postsecondary “Twice Exceptional” Student Scholars In “Search Of Education, Elevation And Knowledge”, Selena T. Rodgers, Tiffany Cudjoe

Journal of Research Initiatives

Through the prism of a faculty-student mentoring relationship, this article highlights best practices to gain insight into resources for “twice exceptional” student scholars. Practical application stands at a position of intersecting domains—changing the tapestry of scholarly service and undergraduate research mentoring, and as an Each One, Teach One black-print model for mentoring. The article concludes with recommendations for best practices for post secondary mentors, educators, and counselors invested in developing student scholars in Search of Education, Elevation, and Knowledge.

Providing The Fuel (And Passing The Flame), Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

At the risk of opening with a cliché statement- at the heart of the most effective mentor is a burning passion. The fuel for this passion is a desire to convince, not just try to, but actually convince your mentee that you care about their success (be it in the classroom, career, or personal life). I am guilty of believing in, and living by, this cliché. However, despite passion being my primary motivator, I am not unwilling to admit that rationale for mentoring can sometimes transcend this ethically normative line of thinking. I believe that there are also sometimes quantitative, …

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Increasing The Accessibility Of Science For All Students, Samantha Langley - Turnbaugh, Glenn Wilson, Lynn Lovewell

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This paper evaluates the accessibility of selected field and laboratory high school science activities, and provides suggestions for increasing accessibility for students with disabilities. We focused on GLOBE (Global Learning Observations to Benefit the Environment) protocols, specifically the new Seasons and Biomes investigation currently being developed as part of the GLOBE program. Five university students with disabilities majoring in science or technology were recruited to test the GLOBE protocols, and 10 protocols were evaluated for accessibility. Based on our results, we make several suggestions with regards to instructions, equipment, safety, outcomes and activity significance that will increase the accessibility of …

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Students With Disabilities: Making Idea Transition Services Work, Rhonda Sutton

Theses and Dissertations

Students with disabilities are less prepared to meet the challenges of adulthood, more likely to continue to live with their parents after high school, and engage in fewer social activities (Burgstahler & Kim-Rupnow, 2001). For many of these students, transition services are not being implemented and monitored as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), therefore, the probability for a successful transition from high school to adulthood for these students is severely jeopardized. Transition planning is a formal process of long-range cooperative planning that will assist students with disabilities to successfully move from school into the adult world …

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Development Of An Instrument To Measure The Attitudes Of Christian School Leaders Towards Factors That May Influence Their Decisions To Implement Special Education Programs, Julia Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to develop and field-test the School Leader's Special Education Decision-Making Scale and to determine its validity and reliability for use with Christian school leaders. This 11-item scale, derived from the literature, measures the attitudes of Christian school leaders towards decisions to implement a special education program based on four factors: shared vision, parental considerations, teacher input, and religious concerns. This study was exploratory in nature and sought to extend a previous qualitative study by determining a way to quantify six intangible factors identified in that study. Three panels of experts in the fields of …

The Effects Of Collaborative Strategic Reading On Informational Text Comprehension And Metacognitive Awareness Of Fifth Grade Students, Margaret Mccown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on informational text comprehension and metacognitive awareness of fifth grade students. This study tested the theories of metacognition and social cognition with a focus on self-regulation and self-efficacy. Participating students included a heterogeneous mix of regular education students, students with disabilities, and English learners (ELs). Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design, this study examined the effects of CSR on informational text comprehension using the Qualitative Reading Inventory-5 (QRI-5) and Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Metacognitive awareness was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI). Data …

Family Experiences And Children With Autism Who Use Speech Generating Devices, Rebecca Elizabeth Mullican

Dissertations

Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate family experiences with their children with autism who use Speech Generating Devices (SGDs).Six parents were interviewed on two separate occasions about their experiences with their child, ages three-eighteen. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the interviews. Five super-ordinate themes emerged: (a) Complexity of speech generating devices as tools for communication, (b) Tension between structure and play, (c) Interplay between requesting and social interaction, (d) The fluctuating role of parent advocate, and (e) Building a diverse support network. These qualitative findings can be used to inform families and professionals working with children who …

International Volunteers’ Serving As Teachers In Rural Indigenous Schools In Ecuador: Challenges And Opportunities For Culturally Relevant Teaching, Julia A. Rao, Sarfaroz Niyozov

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This ethnographic study is situated in the complexities and dilemmas of international aid education (IAE), the volunteer sector and cross-cultural learning and teaching. It examines the challenges and opportunities faced by three international volunteers (IVs) teaching in Indigenous communities in rural Ecuador. Through onsite observations and interviews, along with discussions with principal participants (IVs), and secondary participants (three local teachers and the volunteer program director), we present a narrative of the IVs experiences, pedagogical approaches and the factors which affect culturally relevant teaching (CRT) practices. This illustration serves as a platform for a cross-comparative analysis of key themes and issues …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana, Theresa Lemons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition of special education teachers is a national problem resulting in lost monetary resources, school climate discontinuity, and lower student achievement. Within a small, rural district in southern Indiana, special education teacher attrition has risen since 2008 and continues to rise. District administrators want to retain teachers to ensure a continuity of instructional services for students with special needs. To explore this problem, an intrinsic qualitative case study was employed, guided by a research question that investigated the factors that special education teachers and administrators perceived as influencing special educators' career decisions. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Billingsley's schematic representation of …

The Impact Of Inclusion On The Achievement Of Middle School Students With Mild To Moderate Learning Disabilities, Ruth Carol Hawkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to IDEA and NCLB requirements, students with disabilities are held to the same standards established for nondisabled students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact of a special education inclusion program for middle school students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Student outcomes were measured based on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test scores for reading/language and mathematics. The theoretical foundation for this study was Vygotsky's social development theory applied to special education inclusion programs to support learning within the general curriculum for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. An independent samples t …

Induction Of Special Education Teachers In Self-Contained Classrooms For Students With Autism, Nelly A. Dixon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past decade, the number of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in public schools in a northeastern US state has almost tripled in number. Given a lack of preservice training on autism topics, many beginning special education teachers are ill prepared to meet the challenges of working in classrooms for students with ASD and current induction practices do not specifically support special education teachers. The perceived effectiveness of induction programs for beginning teachers in self-contained classrooms for students with ASD were examined in this phenomonological inquiry grounded in theories of adult learning. Through semi structured interviews that were …

A Mixed Methods Study Of How The Transition Process Impacts The Autonomy Of Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Linda Kasal Fusco

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods study sought to identify the impact that transition into the practice of teaching had on the autonomy of pre-service secondary teachers of Mathematics.  It was based on the belief that a Mathematics teacher’s autonomy depended on: beliefs about Mathematics and how it was learned, reflections on the teaching practice, and social constraints of a secondary school culture. Data was collected between January 2009 and March 2010.  In Phase I (Quantitative) the participants (N = 30), selected from ten State University of New York teacher preparation colleges and universities, completed five instruments to quantify the three factors of …

Attitudes Towards Inclusion Of General Education Teachers Who Have And Have Not Taught In An Inclusive Classroom, Nicole P. Maccarthy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Through the lens of Bandura's social-cognitive theory, which proposes that one's sense of self-efficacy can foster positive beliefs, the purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to determine whether the attitudes held by general education teachers have an influence on their perceptions of inclusion. General education teachers' beliefs in their abilities regarding teaching in inclusive classrooms may have an influence on the success of inclusion. This study examined the difference in attitudes toward inclusion between elementary school general education teachers whose previous teaching experience was with solely general education students but who now teach in an inclusive classroom, and those …

High School Teachers' Perspectives On Effective Approaches For Teaching Biology To Students With Special Needs, Agnieszka Kos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The demands of national educational reforms require high school biology teachers to provide high quality instruction to students with and without special needs. The reforms, however, do not provide teachers with adequate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students in the same context. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand high school biology teachers' perspectives, practices, and challenges in relation to teaching students with special needs. This approach was used to develop a substantive model for high school biology teachers who are challenged with teaching students with and without special needs. Data were collected via …

Staff Development And Leadership Roles Related To Response To Intervention Levels Of Implementation In Rural Schools, Karin A. Strohmyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The concepts of professional learning communities and organizational disciplines support staff development and leadership that lead to sustainable systems. Little research has examined the ability of rural schools to achieve sustainable systems. This quantitative design study considered the relationships between predictor variables of administrative roles and staff development and the criterion variable of Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation level. Administrator roles included planning and scheduling training, participating in training, planning implementation, building knowledge and commitment, selecting RtI teams, participating on teams, promoting parental involvement, evaluating RtI, and implementing follow-up and targeted training. Staff development practices addressed commitment and support, team …

The Impact Of Coteaching On Regular Education Eighth Grade Student Achievement On A Basic Skills Algebra Assessment, Misty B. Rigdon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coteaching strategies have been implemented in many of the inclusion math classrooms in an attempt to improve the achievement of students. Math achievement continues to be a concern as reported by the National Mathematics Advisory Council in 2007. Educators and previous research reported that coteaching does not improve student achievement. The purpose of this study and the research question was designed to investigate, determine, and examine if coteaching has an impact on regular education students' achievement on an algebra assessment in the eighth grade. This concurrent mixed methods design used test data from a convenience sample of 70 eighth grade …

The Relationship Between Instructional Delivery And Academic Motivation Of Included Elementary School Students With Special Needs, Daniele L. Kass

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal and local school system reports demonstrate an academic achievement gap in inclusive classrooms between students with and without disabilities, prompting attention to alternative instructional practices that support motivation and performance of included students. The purpose of this concurrent nested mixed method study was to fill a void in the literature and explore the impact of interdisciplinary thematic instruction on the motivation levels and performance outcomes of 6 included 5th-grade elementary students with special needs. A multiple case study design guided observations and interviews of 3 participants receiving interdisciplinary, theme-based instruction and 3 participants who continued to receive the traditional, …

Effectiveness Of Inclusion In An Indiana Middle School, Clinton Todd Bowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Repeated poor performance by students with special needs on the Indiana Statewide Test of Educational Progress (ISTEP) in an Indiana middle school supported the need for instructional changes. Following the implementation of a full inclusion program, a problem arose in that the program had not been evaluated and effectiveness was in question. This study, grounded in the constructivist and social reproduction theoretical frameworks, is important in explaining the effectiveness of a fully inclusive school. Whether placing middle school aged children with special needs in inclusive classrooms in the middle school setting is an effective practice is the research question guiding …

Principals' Knowledge Of Idea And Their Implementation Of Special Education Services, Karen Smith Collins

Dissertations

This correlational study was designed to determine the relationship between the principals' knowledge of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and their implementation of special education services, as well as to determine if there was a relationship between principals' knowledge of IDEA and their beliefs and practices; experience, training, and demographic characteristics. The respondents, principals in New Orleans area schools, were divided into three groups: charter, city/district, and state operated. Their knowledge of IDEA was measured using a survey instrument developed by Wakeman (2005) and Copenhagen (2005). It also included a small section on specific characteristics of the principals assigned …