Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

A Survey Of Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers On Training And Knowledge Of State Anti-Bullying Laws And Policies Related To Students With Disabilities, Molly Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a serious problem on its own but emerging research suggests that bullying may present differently in students with disabilities and affect them more severely than previously thought. The purpose of this study was to explore the multi-layered issue of bullying involving students with disabilities, examine the programs and legislation developed around this issue, and determine the training and knowledge teachers and teacher candidates have regarding the problem. An exploratory survey was completed by 105 teachers and teacher candidates in northeast Tennessee. Descriptive statistics and T-tests revealed that in-service teachers were more knowledgeable in identification of bullying and the …

Examining The Relationship Among Middle School Students’ Performance On The Tnready Assessment, District Checkpoints, And Teacher-Assigned Grades, Kristina Dempsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to determine if there is a significant correlation among teacher-assigned grades (TAG), district checkpoint scores (CP), and student scale-scores on TNReady tests. The focus was on 1,445 seventh and eighth grade students who were enrolled at a middle school in northeast Tennessee during the academic years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, specifically for the content areas of English Language Arts and mathematics. The second purpose of this study was to examine any moderating effects of the categorical variable, students with disabilities (SWD) status, on the correlations among the district and state assessments and …

An Exploratory Survey Of Teacher Candidate Knowledge Of Special Education, Emilee Spann

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has played a critical role in providing educational opportunity to students with disabilities. As the principles of the IDEA are foundational to teaching students with disabilities, it is necessary that both general education and special education teachers have an understanding of special education policy. This study examines teacher candidates’ knowledge of special education policy and their attitudes and perceptions of special education. The survey was distributed to teacher candidates in their final year of their teacher preparation program at a public university in the Southeast. Results indicated that teacher candidates in all teaching …

Teaching Decoding Through Constant Time Delay To Students With Severe Disabilities And Verbal Difficulties, Julia Dean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of constant time delay on decoding letter sounds within consonant-vowel-consonant words and to read constant-vowel-constant words skills for students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties. This study used a multiple probe across participants design with four students with severe intellectual and/or development disabilities. Results indicated a functional relation between the use of constant time delay and decoding of CVC words. Additionally, students were able to maintain and generalize learning. Results were similar to other studies which implemented constant time delay to promote emergent literacy skills. Practitioners can use constant time …

Using Self-Monitoring And Positive Reinforcement To Increase On-Task Behavior And Independence., Jon Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Off-task behavior is a major challenge. Various interventions have addressed this problem. Self-monitoring interventions are very effective, including the MotivAider, a self-timer that silently signals the student to observe his/her own Academic Engagement Time (AET). Studies of the MotivAider have reported increased AET., (Legge, DeBar, & Alber-Morgan, 2010; Morrison, McDougal, Black, & King-Sears, 2014) systematically faded the MotivAider to sustain increased AET. The present study replicated and extended this research using a response-dependent fading (Fox, Shores, Lindeman, & Strain, 1984) of the MotivAider to sustain the observe AET of a 6^th grade student with Learning Disabilities. A single …

Using Standing Desks On Students With Adhd To Determine Its Effects On Task Engagement In The Classroom, Caitlin Paolucci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of a standing desk on academically engaged time during instruction. The study was conducted with two male students with a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The first participant was in first grade and the second was in eighth grade. The target behaviors for these participants were on-task engagement with academic content during instructional periods in the classroom. The intervention took place in the students’ general education classrooms by introducing a standing desk into the classroom. A traditional ABAB reversal intervention design was used for the first grader, while the eighth grade participant had an …

Utilizing The Three Step Decoding Strategy And Constant Time Delay To Teach Word Reading To Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities And Verbal Difficulties, Julie Catherine Dean

3 Minute Thesis Competition

No abstract provided.

Using Standing Desks With Students With Adhd To Improve Task Engagement In The Classroom, Caitlin Paolucci

3 Minute Thesis Competition

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of A Metacognitive Strategy On The Reading Comprehension Of High School History Students, Carollynn Anders

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of the current study is to add to existing research on the effectiveness of the SRSD RAP strategy on reading comprehension. This study describes a single-subject research design involving professional development in the RAP metacognitive strategy and a teacher’s implementation in her high-school history courses. The study aims to assess the strategy’s effectiveness in the high school general education setting with inclusive instruction and without pull out sessions to learn that strategy. The current study explores RAP strategy research and uses a week-long unit of instruction for teaching the RAP strategy. The results of the RAP strategy on …

Effects Of An Electronic Visual Activity Schedule On Independence For A Student With Severe Disability, Ashwag Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of an electronic visual activity schedule (eVAS; i.e., FIRST THEN Visual Schedule application) paired with the system of least prompts on the latency period and level of independence that a fifth-grade student with Intellectual Disability needed to transition throughout the day. Also investigated were the value that the teacher and student placed on the use of an eVAS to teach daily life and school routines instead of typical instruction (e.g., traditional visual schedule) and the student’s ability to generalize the use of the eVAS across instructors and materials (display). An ABAB single case design was …

Use Of A Daily Behavior Report Card And Response Dependent Fading To Increase And Maintain Academic Engagement In An Elementary Student With Developmental Delay, Ziyad Alrumayh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The initial and maintenance effects of a Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) intervention and fading procedure on Academic Engaged Time (AET) of a 6-year-old boy with Developmental Delay and Attention Deficits were evaluated with a reversal design. Following an initial baseline, the DBRC was implemented and then completely removed followed by reapplication of the DBRC. Subsequently, the report card was gradually reduced in the frequency of its use from very daily to every other day. Increased AET reliably varied with the application and then removal of the DBRC. Whereas complete removal of the DBRC resulted in substantial decreases in AET, …

Teacher Perceptions Of Inclusion And Students With Autism, Nancy Keener

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inclusion is considered the least restrictive environment for most students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of inclusion in general education classrooms for students with autism. This included an examination of how schools determined placement for students with autism, the academic and social influences of placement in the general classroom, perceptions of teachers and administrators about inclusion for students with autism, teaching strategies that worked for students with autism in the general classroom, and the influence other students in the classroom have on students with autism. Participants in the study were from …

Self-Monitoring To Increase On-Task Behavior Using The Motivaider®, Connie Summey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers often need simple ways to implement effective classroom interventions that reduce off-task behaviors for students with or without ADHD (Gaastra, Groen, Tucha, & Tucha, 2016). One intervention that is easy to use and can be implemented with minimal demand on teachers is self-monitoring (Amato-Zech, Hoff, & Doepke, 2006). One prompt that can be used in the classroom for self-monitoring is the MotivAider. The MotivAider is an electronic timer that vibrates to provide a tactile prompt to self-monitor (Amato-Zech et al., 2006). The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the MotivAider, a tactile self-monitoring device, …

The Inclusive Classroom: Perceptions Of General And Special Educators’ Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Students With Disabilities, Allecia Frizzell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to determine whether kindergarten through eighth grade general education teachers and special education teachers were prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Conducted in Northeast Tennessee, an online survey was used to collect responses from participants in six school districts. The survey focused on four dimensions including perceptions of preparedness, attitudes towards inclusion, perceptions of administrator support and perceptions of self-efficacy. Data collected from 180 respondents were analyzed and informed the results of this study.

Findings indicated that special education teachers reported significantly higher levels of preparedness to meet the needs …

Preschool Teachers' Perceptions Of Children Prenatally Exposed To Drugs, Brandie D. Maness

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the incidence of prenatal drug exposure increasing, it is important that preschool teachers are prepared and confident in serving the needs of children affected by this exposure. Teachers need more training and education to prepare them for working with children with prenatal drug exposure.

The purpose of this sequential mixed-methods study was to explore the perceptions, training, and shared experiences of preschool teachers when working with 4- and 5-year-old preschool children who have experienced prenatal drug exposure. The researcher invited 77 preschool teachers in northeast Tennessee working in either Head Start or Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K Initiative programs to complete …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Coteaching Relationships, Matthew Case

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is defined as a general education teacher and special education teacher, who may or may not have the same area of expertise, jointly delivering instruction to a group of students with special needs in a special education classroom. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of general and special education teachers in regard to forming coteaching relationships in a school setting organized to serve special education students through coteaching models. Participants were purposefully sampled following the typical case sampling strategy and included two public schools. Of the two schools, there were five special education …

Effects Of The Motivaider And Self-Monitoring To Increase On-Task Behavior For Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Naif Almutairi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study compared the use of the MotivAider as a self-monitoring tactile device between an elementary age student with ADHD and his teacher to increase ontask behavior. The design of this study was an alternating treatments design, which helped to determine the more effective condition. The results of this study indicated that the use of the MotivAider by the student was more effective than the use of the device by the teacher.

Administrator And Teacher Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Heather N. Lemay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the attitudes of teachers and administrators toward inclusion in the classroom. Specifically this study analyzed grade level, years of teaching experience, and levels of education to examine the manner in which these factors relate to attitudes of teachers and administrators toward inclusion.

Participants in this study were located in 3 school districts in East Tennessee. All data were collected through an online survey distributed to prek-12 teachers by way of email from school principals. The analysis of data was based on the responses of 183 teachers and administrators from these 3 school districts. Findings …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of The Response To Intervention Framework With English Learners, Donna Stapleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework with students who are acquiring English as a second language.

Students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have been disproportionately represented in special education programs for decades (Artiles & Trent, 1994; Donovan & Cross, 2002; Heller, Holtzman, & Messick, 1982). Legislators responsible for the authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act in 2004 (IDEIA 2004) allowed state education leaders the option to use RtI as an alternative identification method. RtI was believed to be a framework through …

Prevalence Of Communication Disorders In Children With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome On School Speech-Language Pathology Caseloads: A National Survey, Brittany V. Ratliff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is concern about the recently increasing number of infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), yet little is known about its long-term neurodevelopmental effects. School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are in a unique position to comment on potential long-term consequences of NAS because their caseloads include children with a variety of communication disorders and comorbidities. School-based SLPs across the United States (N = 258) responded to a survey about the presence of children with NAS on their caseloads and their perceptions of the children’s communication disorders and comorbidities. Results revealed that children with NAS currently are being treated by …

A Systematic Replication Of A Survey Of School Administrators’ And Teachers’ Views Of Discipline Referrals For Students With And Without Disabilities, Amanda Burton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated time lost to office discipline referrals (ODRs), systematically replicating a prior study (Church, 2015) in rural school districts. An on-line survey asked administrators, general education, and special education teachers in four county districts for: a) demographic information; 2) estimated minutes lost to ODRs generally, specific ODR types, and for students with (SWD) or without disabilities (not SWD); and, 3) whether the respondent’s school implemented School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS). ODRs generally took 16.9 minutes. Special Education teachers’ time (mean 23.6 min.), was Lost time was affected by ODR type (aggression, noncompliance, disruption mean 23 min.; not finishing …

Proloquo2go Or Swiftkey Symbols: Which Leads To Better Acquisition Of Targeted Phrases For A Student With Intellectual Disability And Articulation Concerns?, Dana M. Guinn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Having a meaningful system for expressing common needs and thoughts is important for overall quality of life for students with intellectual disability and limited expressive language. The current study was conducted to evaluate whether one communication system, Proloquo2Go ($249.99) or SwiftKey Symbols (FREE), is more effective in the acquisition of targeted expressive phrases in one student with intellectual disability who exhibited expressive communication difficulties. The student was provided with instruction in both systems using task analytic instruction and system of least prompting and encouraged to use each system at different times in a single case, alternating treatment design. Results indicated …

Opinion Paragraph Writing Intervention For Students With Significant Disability, Pamela J. Mims, Carol Stranger, R. Pennington, W. White, J. Sears, N. Strickler

ETSU Faculty Works

Increasingly, technology has been used to provide access to academic curricula for students with moderate to severe intellectual disability. In the current pilot study, we used a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of a technology-based instructional package on the opinion writing skills of three middle school students with moderate and severe intellectual disability. Findings suggest that the intervention resulted in improved performance across all three participants and that all participants maintained performance at levels greater than baseline. Limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Exploring Gesturing As A Natural Approach To Impact Stages Of Second Language Development: A Multiple Baseline, Single Case Study Of A Head Start Child, Guillermo I. Mendoza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an increase in Hispanic English Language Learners (ELL). Poverty levels and lack of teacher training can also be stacked against the ELL population. Gesturing is a teaching technique that is used in successful methods such as The Natural Approach (NA) and Total Physical Response (TPR) in helping ELL students in English comprehension and output. This study examined the effects that increased teacher gestures have on the number of words spoken by the child in multiple settings. Data were collected in the context of a multiple baseline design across three settings. The results indicate that there was an effect …

The Reading Intervention Program Making Connections Intervention And Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Scores In One East Tennessee School District, Jami H. Corwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the reading intervention program Making Connections Intervention (MCI) and pre-intervention and post- intervention Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) reading scaled scores in one East Tennessee school district. Participants included 99 Tennessee students in grade levels six through nine who received reading intervention instruction through MCI and were frequently monitored following the requirements stipulated in the Tennessee Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI2) Framework. This study assessed pre- and post-intervention data specific to gender, special education classification, Title I classification, and instructor classification through a series of t-tests. Findings …

A Philosophical And Evidence-Based Basis For Including Students With Disabilities In The General Education Curriculum, Pamela J. Mims

ETSU Faculty Works

Those of us involved in education – administrators, teachers, parents, students, specialists, policy makers and researchers – must decide on the level of rigour that will take place in our classrooms. Decisions based on the least dangerous assumption (LDA) are providing outstanding results. Donnellan (1984) famously wrote that “we should assume that poor performance is due to instructional inadequacy rather than to student deficits” (p 142). This philosophy has been the foundation of recent research into the access available to the general curriculum and practice in the classroom by individuals who have a wide range of ability levels. As a …

Student Achievement In Response To Intervention Groups, Allison L. Gardenhour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify components of Response to Intervention (RTI) groups associated with increased student growth on progress monitoring tests. The relationship between student growth scores and fidelity of implementation scores, types of groups, types of interventionists, group setting, group time, and various demographic groups were examined. Seven hundred fifteen students enrolled in reading and math groups in an RTI program at 8 schools in an Upper East Tennessee school system participated in this study. Ten research questions and null hypotheses were analyzed using Pearson correlations, independent t tests, and one-way Analyses of Variance. Results indicated …

The Effect Of An Ipad Application With Systematic Instruction On Ela Related Skills For High School Students With Significant Disabilities, Andrew C. Baxter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study looks to examine the effect of an iPad application on the English Language Arts (ELA) skills of listening comprehension for students with significant disabilities. The procedure was evaluated using a multiple probe across participants single case design. Outcomes were measured for improved ELA skills after intervention and were also measured for student engagement. Building upon the research of recent studies that have sought to develop and adapt grade-level literature for students with moderate and severe disabilities, this study seeks to find the effectiveness of an adapted text version of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee for …

A Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Framework For Improving Academic And Postsecondary Outcomes Of Students With Moderate Or Severe Intellectual Disability, Christopher J. Rivera, Bree A. Jimenez, Joshua N. Baker, Tracy Spies, Pamela J. Mims, Ginevra Courtade

ETSU Faculty Works

The needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with moderate or severe intellectual disability (ID) are quite unique and complex. CLD students with moderate or severe ID face many of the same issues as their non-disabled CLD peers; however, due to the nature of their disability this may lead to even less access to the general curriculum, appropriate services, materials, and meaningful collaboration between families and educators. The purpose of this article is to provide a culturally responsive framework for facilitating academic instruction for CLD students with moderate or severe ID that also includes appropriate supports in an effort …

How To Implement Visual Activity Schedules For Students With Disabilities, Amy D. Spriggs, Wilhelmina Van Dijk, Pamela J. Mims

ETSU Faculty Works

Based on recent literature reviews on the use of Visual Activity Schedules (VAS) for students with intellectual disability and autism, the strategy has been deemed an evidence based practice. Using the literature highlighted in the recent reviews, this article provides an overview of VAS and common skills VAS has been used to teach. Additionally, the authors provide guidelines on schedules variations, creating schedules, and implementing the schedules. Finally, several examples of VAS are included.