Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Preparation Of School Counselors And Response To Intervention: A Profession At The Crossroads, Melissa S. Ockerman, Eva Patrikakou, Amy Feiker Hollenbeck

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As a result of the Response to Intervention (RTI) mandate in schools across many states, school counselors are uniquely positioned to a take a leadership role within its implementation. This research study examines how school counselors in one such state perceive their training and knowledge of RTI and thus their confidence in implementing it. Implications for training, supervision, professional development and future research are discussed.

The Impact Of Pictorial Representations In Teaching Math Word Problems To A Child With Autism, Hossein Shirvani

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

The study used a single subject A-B-A research design because it used one subject, an 18-year old boy participant who was diagnosed with having higher spectrum Autism (Asperger). The investigator examined the effect of pictorial representations of math word problems on the participant’s performance in solving one step, two steps, and three steps math word problems. The investigator found that the use pictorial representations improved the participant’s math achievement in solving math word problems. The investigator also found that the participant had difficulty understanding words with mathematical connotations.

An Examination Of Student-Support Team Practices In One Urban Elementary Public-School Academy: A Model Of Intervention, Sherall Elaine Wade

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Under the federal laws, No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001) and Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004), school districts throughout the United States must provide struggling students with intervention strategies prior to diagnosis and placement into special-education programs (National Center on Educational Outcomes 2006). In 2004 Congress made many changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and from it Response to Intervention (RTI) became one of the most notable terms (Hale 2008). RTI is conceptualized as a multi-tiered service delivery model, which includes primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of support. The focus of the first tier is intervention at …

Job Satisfaction And Attrition Among Special Education Teachers, Sophia Mastrantuono

Theses and Dissertations

It is thought that special education teaching, as a professional entity, experiences high rates of turnover. These high levels of turnover, have been attributed to the demands included in a special education job description. While most previous studies have looked at external factors as the above, few have assessed if and how job satisfaction or the employers indication that they find their job to be meaningful or fulfilling, affects their likelihood to remain in the field instead of looking for alternate employment. The current study will investigate to what extent, job satisfaction, alleviates special education teacher's attrition rates. A survey, …

Characteristics Of Parent Or Caregiver Perceptions Of Children With Autism's Educational Placement, Jessie Sue King

Student Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) knows no boundaries. It is not obstructed by geographic location. It is not more or less frequent according to socio-economic status. ASD also is not impeded by parent or caregiver educational levels; it strikes all cultural divisions with the same ferocity. Parents or caregivers of children with ASD are their first and most fervent advocates. How they perceive schools, identification, placement, and programming have a prodigious effect on the educational outcome for students with ASD. This study will investigate the influences of geographic location (GL), socio-economic status (SES), and level of education (LOE) of the parents …

Ambiguity In Speaking Chemistry And Other Stem Content: Educational Implications, Mick D. Isaacson, Michelle Michaels

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Ambiguity in speech is a possible barrier to the acquisition of knowledge for students who have print disabilities (such as blindness, visual impairments, and some specific learning disabilities) and rely on auditory input for learning. Chemistry appears to have considerable potential for being spoken ambiguously and may be a barrier to accessing knowledge and to learning. Educators in chemistry may be unaware of, or have limited awareness of, potential ambiguity in speaking chemistry and may speak chemistry ambiguously to their students. One purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of potential ambiguity in speaking chemistry and other STEM fields …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Independent Phonological Measures Of 2-Year-Old Speech, Katherine Wittler, Shari L. Deveney

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This poster discusses: Background, Research Question, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Clinical Implications, and Limitations & Future Directions.

Reciprocal Relationships And Creative Expression In Literacy Learning: Ameliorating Disability Circumstances And Empowering Individuals, Laurel Ann Lane

Special Education ETDs

Individuals engaged in the production of art, who are untrained, and marginalized by disability, are known as outsider or visionary artists. With them in mind I sought to better understand the relationship between art-making and meaning-making. Students with disability attributes in my classroom were motivated by arts-based activities, prompting me to include art in the content I taught. My own art-making grew out of those efforts, and in order to better understand how to implement my classroom practices, I began an autoethnographic study that evolved into phenomenology, positioning myself in the disability culture first, and then conducting an archival document …

Bibliotherapy As An Intervention For Aggressive Elementary Children, Kari Newman

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of bibliotherapy as an intervention for aggressive elementary children at a residential treatment center in the western United States. Bibliotherapy was provided for six children, three boys and three girls, ages 9 to 11, Caucasian and Hispanic, who took part in one of two groups. The study involved a multi-baseline design, beginning with a baseline phase, followed by two separate intervention phases comprised of eight sessions of bibliotherapy. Data gathered from almost daily observations along with pre- and post-intervention ratings of aggressive behaviors indicated that four of the six students demonstrated notable decreases in observed …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Suspension, Scott Fluke, Natalie Hoff, Ana Cathcart, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion School suspension has been used for many years as a disciplinary consequence. Research has shown that Zero Tolerance Policies are associated with increasing use of suspension, often for minor violations such as tardiness, dress code infractions, and minor classroom misbehavior. Suspension has been shown to be relatively ineffective, failing to change student behavior, leading to future suspension, lower academic achievement, and eventual dropout. Moreover, suspension has been used disproportionately with minorities and students with disabilities. As a result a variety of efforts are underway to develop strategies to identify alternative disciplinary consequences, and to implement other procedures which have …

A Phenomenological Study Of Adult Reading Motivation, Audra Blyseth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the factors that influence young adults’ (aged 18 to 24) reading experiences, reading habits and behavior, and desire to read. Three research questions guided this study: (a) How do young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 describe the factors that influence their reading experiences? (b) How do participants describe the effect of factors on their reading habits and behavior? (c) How do participants describe the effect of factors on their personal desire to read? Participants included young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Data collection methods …

Literacy Co-Teaching With Multi-Level Texts In An Inclusive Middle Grade Humanities Class: A Teacher-Researcher Collaboration, Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Kathleen A. Hinchman

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article reports on a middle school literacy intervention implemented during a yearlong teacher-researcher collaboration. The purpose of this collaboration was to combine and adjust commonly recommended pedagogical approaches to address the literacy needs of a heterogeneous group of seventh graders attending an urban school. University researchers designed and implemented the intervention with an interdisciplinary team of three teachers. The intervention drew on sociocultural theories of language and learning. It had three main features: integration of English and social studies, multi-level texts, and co-teaching of heterogeneous groups. Qualitative data included field notes from classroom observations and planning meetings, transcripts from …

Effects Of Age, Sex, And Body Position On Orofacial Muscle Tone In Healthy Adults, Angela M. Dietsch, Heather M. Clark, Jessica N. Steiner, Nancy Pearl Solomon

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Quantification of tissue stiffness may facilitate identification of abnormalities in orofacial muscle tone and thus contribute to differential diagnosis of dysarthria. Tissue stiffness is affected by muscle tone as well as age-related changes in muscle and connective tissue.

Method: The Myoton-3 measured tissue stiffness in 40 healthy adults, including equal numbers of men and women in each of two age groups: 18–40 years and 60+ years. Data were collected from relaxed muscles at the masseter, cheek, and lateral tongue surfaces in two positions: reclined on the side and seated with head tilted.

Results: Tissue stiffness differed …

Special Education Teachers' Knowledge Of The Discipline Section Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Of 2004 As It Relates To Functional Behavioral Assessment And Behavior Intervention Plans, Tricia Michelle Cox

Dissertations

This study explored the overall special education teachers’ knowledge of the discipline section of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) as it relates to Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans. The variables associated with this research included the special education teachers’ route of certification, level of education, years or experience, and the type, quality, and time of training associated with Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans. The participants were special education teachers in the state of Mississippi. The research revealed no significant differences or relationships between any of the variables identified above. However, even though the study …

Tennessee Per-Pupil Expenditures In Special Education And Academic Achievement, Melanie C. Davidson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Federal legislation known as the No Child Left Behind act has required states to close achievement gaps. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between special education spending by districts in the state of Tennessee and standardized achievement for students with disabilities.

Secondary data were obtained from the Tennessee Department of Education’s website (www.tn.gov/education). Data from each local education association were collected for the years of 2010-2014 in the areas of special education spending, special education population, and TCAP proficiency percentages in reading and math grades 3-8. Data from each local education association were collected …

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Available Public Education Programming And The Influence Of Professional Perceptions, Heather Wilmot

All Theses And Dissertations

A mixed-methods research study was conducted in a small, rural western Maine school department. The intent of this research was to reveal what kind of programming is available to students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and how the availability of programming is influenced by the perceptions of educators and leaders in a public school department. In addition, the research addressed how the background and professional development of the employees impacted the availability of programming for students with ASD. Forced survey questions included quality indicators for programming for students with ASD and pre-selected follow-up focus groups questions were used.

Data analysis …

An Evaluation On The Wilson Reading Program For Students With Learning Disabilities: A Longitudinal Study, Rosemarie Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Wilson Reading Program as a supplemental reading program for students with disabilities. A school district's student decoding and comprehension scores in three years were reviewed and synthesized for the program evaluation. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a repeated measure was used to compare possible differences of student performance in decoding and word recognition, and overall reading skills at each grade level respectively. It was found that the Wilson Reading Program had a significant effect on students' Word Reading Scores in Year 2 of the intervention, but not …

An Examination Of A Homework And Organizational Skills Intervention For Middle School Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Kristy Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Homework and organizational skills can be problematic for any middle school student, but can be especially problematic for middle students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. An intervention called Homework, Organization, and Planning Strategies was implemented to four students in the middle school who are diagnosed with ADHD. Research questions were focused determining if an intervention that aims to improve homework and organizational skills effective and can improve academic performance and if that improvement can be maintained. Two seventh grade and two eighth grade participants were involved in this study, all of which had a diagnosis of one of the three …

Academic Perseverance: Establishing On-Task Behaviors Through Self-Monitoring, Lauren Arno

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the effectiveness of using an iPad for self-monitoring of secondary students Classified with an emotional disturbance, (b) evaluate their behavior changes (c) evaluate their academic performance, and (d) evaluate their satisfaction with an iPad used for their self-monitoring. Three high school students, two female and one male with emotional disturbance (ED), participated in the study. A single subject design with ABAB phases was used. During the baseline, their behaviors including asking relevant questions, maintaining eye contact with the teacher or task, keeping conversation on topic, and working on current project were …

The Effects Of Unified Sports On Attitudes Of College Students Towards Students With Intellectual Disabilities, William Moylan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a college Unified Sports program on the attitudes of college-aged students towards students with intellectual disabilities. A pre and posttest research design was used in the study. A total of 40 college students participated in the Unified Sports sport club at an institute located in the southern area of New Jersey. Data was collected after a six-week program that played games once a week for an hour. The independent variable in this study was the interactions and education of college students to people with intellectual disabilities. The dependent variable …

Evaluating Teacher Stress And Its Effect On Student Behaviors In An Alternative School, Kimberly Nizolek

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate teacher stress and its effect on negative student behaviors in an alternative school setting. Teacher stress is defined as a negative state held by a teacher that includes unpleasant emotions, such as anger or sadness, as a result of their work and it appears when events and responsibilities exceed one's coping mechanisms (Kyriacou, 2001; Lazarus, 1993). Teachers working in alternative schools may report a high level of stress based off of their working environment. When teachers feel stressed, they may not be able to provide the necessary support to their students to …

International Relations And Hrd Activities Of The International Nuclear Nonproliferation And Security Academy Of The Rok, Kwan Kyoo Choe

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The objective of this article is to explain the HRD activities on nuclear nonproliferation and security area of the International Nuclear Nonproliferation and Security Academy (INSA) of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC). The HRD activities on nuclear security in international society have moved gradually from military dimension to the aspect of social management of conflict and threat.

The paper would be developed in the following ways; First, the main concept of nuclear security in the Republic of Korea(ROK) will be touched, which could show us why and how the ROK has put its step forward into …

How General And Special Educators’ Conceptualizations Of Critical Thinking Influence Their Pedagogy For Students With Disabilities In Secondary English Inclusive Classrooms, Jeffrey R. Wheeler

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the intersection of critical thinking, teachers’ thought processes and values, and students with disabilities. More specifically, the researcher sought to reach a stronger understanding of how general and special educators’ decisions to explicitly and/or implicitly embed critical thinking into English course content for students with and without disabilities at the secondary level are influenced by teachers’ conceptualizations of critical thinking. The study utilized case study methods with four participants who teach in co-teaching pairs (i.e., a general and special educator who comprise the co-teaching partnership in 9^th Lit, and a general …

Adult Initiated Transition Of Students With Autism And Self-Injurious Behavior, Courtney N. Quinn

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to discover if adult initiated transitions from center to center cause students with Autism self-injurious behavior. An ABC chart was used to gather data based on how many times the student inflicts self-harm upon himself, and what time of the day the self-injurious behavior occurs. With the data that was gathered on the student it was noticed that the most self-injurious behavior occurred when the student had to leave one center provided with adult initiation, and when he did not want to leave the activity of choice. As the behavior came more problematic, interventions …

The Effectiveness Of Content Retention When Using A Chromebook™ With A Student On The Autism Spectrum, Marykay Shropshire

All Capstone Projects

A student identified with Autism participated in a single case design study in which note taking was conducted in traditional and technological (Chromebook™) fashion. Participation is used on the general education curriculum and daily exercises completed in the classroom. This research was completed in two phases with the first phase collecting baseline data to be compared to the second phase of data that was collected during the intervention. Each phase lasted 3 weeks and was carried out in the special education classroom within the student's usual Extended School Year program. This research was conducted for the cumulative project at Governors …

The Effect Of District Provided Training And Paraprofessional Self-Efficacy, Meredith Madden

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effect(s) district provided training, or lack thereof, had on paraprofessional self-efficacy. This study was a descriptive action research study using a survey design. The participants of this study were selected from a south suburban, Cook county high school district. All participants, when surveyed, were currently employed paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities in grades 9-12. This study was conducted as part of a Multicategorical Special Education graduate student culminating project at Governors State University in summer 2015.

Does Teacher Behavior Change In Middle School Math Classes When Teachers Receive Instructional Coaching Using Bug-In-Ear Technology?, Ellen L. Browning

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a relationship between the use of immediate feedback provided through instructional coaching and teacher behaviors shown to improve student achievement. Specifically this study used a time-series nonequivalent control group design to explore the relationship between instructional coaching using Bug-In-Ear (BIE) technology and teacher frequency of the following behaviors: (a) teacher use of technology-enhanced choral response as part of completed three-term contingency trials, (b) the high-access strategy of choral response versus the low-access strategy of call-outs and blurt-outs, (c) re-directs, reprimands, and behavior-specific praise statements. Measures of student engagement and …

Individualized Education Program: Members Attitudes On Collaboration And Communication, Maura Gallagher

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore professional's attitudes towards collaboration and communication in relation to the Individualized Education Program development and implementation. The one question that guided the focus of this study was: "How do IEP team members rate the skills needed for collaboration and communication in order to successfully implement an individualized education program?" The study was conducted as a quantitative study using a cross-sectional survey with a simple random sampling in conjunction with a snowball sampling in order to distribute the survey to possible participants. Certified staff members and parents that participate on an Individualized Education …

Understanding Childhood Maltreatment: Literature Review And Practical Applications For Educators, Sarah E. Wright

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this thesis is to conduct a critical and descriptive review of the research related to children who experience trauma due to maltreatment—whether because of physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse and neglect—their effects on children, and the potential impact in school and how educational personnel can support the needs of these students. An overview of child maltreatment and review of the literature related to children who have experienced maltreatment was provided including: (a) type of maltreatment, (b) prevalence of maltreatment, (c) effects of maltreatment, (d) treatment approaches, and (f) relevance for educators. The methods and results for …

Falsification Of The Look, Rodrigo Andres Veas

Theses and Dissertations

The LOOK is a viewing time measure that seeks to assess sexual interest patterns and is currently in development at Brigham Young University. This instrument is intended to aid current efforts to prevent child sexual abuse by identifying deviant sexual interests. A recently presented study on a similar viewing time measure has raised concerns regarding individuals' ability to falsify sexual interest patterns on average. This study seeks to extend this falsification research to the LOOK in order to assess if falsification of this measure is possible by means of speed or pretense. Participants were exclusively heterosexual non-pedophilic males and females. …