Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

How Many Students Does It Take To Write A Joke? Humor Writing In Composition Courses, Paul Lewis

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

While calling attention to rhetorical principles and practices, humor writing can energize composition courses.

Teaching Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence Rules To Children With Learning Difficulties : An Implementation Of The Fernald Method, Paula Kinsman

Theses : Honours

A single subject design was used to investigate the effectiveness of the Fernald method as an instructional technique for teaching phoneme-grapheme correspondence rules. Participants were tour primary grade children with learning difficulties in reading. Intervention training focussed on teaching phoneme-grapheme correspondence rules through the implementation of an adapted version of the Fernald method. The two dependent variables were word recognition and fluency rates. The design of the study allowed analysis of maintenance and generalisation of the relevant variables. Results demonstrated an increase in word recognition skills and fluency rates by all four children with learning difficulties. Maintenance of these gains …

Teaching Children With Mild To Moderate Intellectual Disabilities To Select And Produce Facial Expressions Of Emotion Using Modelling And Feedback, Tracey Rayworth

Theses : Honours

The ability to produce facial expressions accurately is essential for effective communication of thoughts and feelings. Children need to select the facial expression to produce in a given situation, while considering the social context, and produce it accurately. This is especially important for children with intellectual disabilities who often experience difficulties in verbal communication. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways of teaching children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities to select and produce facial expressions appropriate to various situations. The theoretical framework of this study suggests that providing facial modelling and mirror feedback to children will increase …

Theory Of Mind Deficits In Children With Intellectual Disabilities : A Test Of Specificity And Uniqueness Hypotheses, Dianne Campbell

Theses : Honours

This study was designed to determine (a) whether children with intellectual disabilities have a theory of mind deficit relative to younger children of the same verbal mental age and (b) whether theory of mind in children with intellectual disabilities is domain-specific or related to other general cognitive functions. A group of 15 children with intellectual disabilities (mean age= 10;0), 15 children of average intelligence (mean age= 10;0) and 15 children of average intelligence (mean age= 6:0) matched on verbal mental age with the children with intellectual disabilities. The children were given a series of theory of mind tasks. The children …

A Secondary Student Instructional Support Team (Assist): Teachers Face The Challenge Of Student Diversity, Robert A. Gable, M. Lee Manning, Jo M. Hendrickson, Joseph P. Rogan

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The writers discuss the challenges related to instructing a diverse secondary-level student population. Many elementary and middle school teachers are benefiting from working collaboratively toward common instructional goals. Through collaboration, general and special education teachers can better address the content area needs of the individual students, foster a greater sense of shared responsibility for educating a heterogeneous population of students, increase communication across professional disciplines, enlarge the knowledge base and teaching repertoire of participants, and establish rewarding and long-lasting professional relationships. The concept of A Secondary Student Instructional Support Team (ASSIST) provides a realistic means for implementing the “class within …

Outcomes For Students Declassified From Special Education, Elaine Carlson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Influencing The On-Task And Off-Task Behaviours Of Children Who Have Attention Problems Or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Through The Use Of A Token Economy And Self-Management, Renee Ball

Theses : Honours

Attention problems have been identified as a major contributor to below average academic competence in Western Australian students. The present study used an A B C D A' single-subject experimental design to investigate the effects of a token economy, managed first by the researcher, and then by participants, on off-task behaviour. Phase A was a baseline, phase B was a token economy managed by the researcher, phase C was a token economy managed by the participant, phase D was the thinning of the reinforcers (still managed by the participant), and phase A' was a return to baseline. Two participants were …

An Evaluation Of A Socio-Sexuality Education Program For Individuals With A Developmental Handicap, David Nelson Morrow

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis is an evaluation of eight week socio-sexuality education group for seven individuals with a developmental handicap who live in a twenty-four hour supervised group home. Pre and post-test data collection measured the socio-sexual knowledge of the participants. Attitudes of their primary counsellors toward the sexuality of individuals with developmental handicaps were also measured pre and post-test. A qualitative analysis of the facilitators’ process notes and a post participation focus group with the counsellors provided an understanding of why changes in knowledge and attitude had, or had not, occurred There was a significant increase in the client groups overall …

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Perspectives Of Participants Involved In The Identification And Treatment Process, Judy Davison

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the viewpoints, the perspectives, and the understandings about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) which are held by parents, teachers, other school personnel, and physicians who are regularly involved in the process of identifying and/or treating students for ADD. A qualitative inquiry approach was initiated in a middle class community in a Midwestern metropolitan area and included individual interviews and classroom observations.

The researcher offered her understanding of the meaning and intentions behind the expressions/behaviors/decisions of individuals who work or interact with children labeled as ADD. An examination of the data revealed incongruencies in …

A Case Study Approach To Examining The Social Functioning Of Learning Disabled Children With A Nonverbal Impairment, Laura Kate Donelan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study is concerned with exploring the hypothesis that the deficits associated with the nonverbal learning disability syndrome (NLD) have a direct impact on the interpretation of nonverbal social cues and that this contributes to lower social functioning and as a result, higher rates of internalized pathology in those so diagnosed. Children with NLD have significant visual, organizational and perceptual deficits. In the literature it is suggested that these impairments lead to difficulty in interpreting the nonverbal social cues of others, which in turn leads to impairments in social functioning. To examine this hypothesis a case study of two individuals …

Increasing Eye Contact And Appropriate Verbalizations Of Young Children With Autistic Characteristics, Ping P. Seah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Social skills have been widely regarded by researchers and educators to be crucial to successful school performances as well as an individual's overall social functioning. The need to be competent in social skills increases for children with autism or autistic characteristics. A teaching strategy was modelled and taught to increase appropriate verbal and nonverbal responses of the participants through sociodramatic play with the researcher and trained peers. Hats and toys belonging to various occupations were used as training material. The two dependent variables measured were the number of appropriate verbalizations and total length of eye contact time given by each …

An Analysis Of Parental Involvement At Iep Conferences For Students With Hearing Impairments, Kristina S. Kroeker Parker

Masters Theses

Legislation of the 1970's and 80's mandated parental involvement in the development of special education plans for children with disabilities. The literature has indicated that parents are often passive recipients of information (Goldstein, Strickland, Turnbull, & Curry, 1980) even though parent involvement in a child's education has been associated with academic success (Epstein, 1990). An observational analysis of eighteen IEP conferences for children with hearing impairments receiving services through the Eastern Illinois Area Special Education Cooperative was completed. Observers recorded the frequency of verbal participation by the parents, and parents and teachers completed questionnaires addressing satisfaction and perceptions of involvement …

Early Childhood Special Needs 0-5 Programming, Donna Elizabeth Faubion

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Problem Solving: Where's Waldo?, Darla Olk Stack

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Until recently, intervening for a child experiencing difficulty in school meant referring the student for special education evaluation. Problem solving is a new administrative arrangement recommended in many states, where a team of people who know the child, meet to define and recommend interventions to address the concern prior to referral for possible special education placement.

The purpose of this study was to observe the problem solving process and describe the process as it is implemented in the schools. Results indicated that while documentation of problem solving suggested problem solving was taking place, the traditional test-and-place model continues to be …