Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Educators' Perceptions Of The Importance And Intensity Of Supports In The General Education Classroom For Students With Individualized Education Plans, Stephanie N. Despain

Theses and Dissertations

Federal law provides that all students are entitled to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment (LRE). In order to educate students with disabilities in the LRE, educators need to provide supports to enhance meaningful engagement and success in the general education curriculum. Utilizing supports to increase engagement and human functioning is not a new concept, but it is one that has received increased attention due to scholarly efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2001) and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD; Luckasson et al., 1992; Schalock et al., 2002; 2010). A major …

Powerful Partnerships: A Community Program For Low Income, High School Dropouts And A University, Katherine R. Robbins-Hunt Ph.D., Beth Hatt, George Flowers

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This session provides community and university staff results of a study examining the partnership between a community development program targeting low income, high school dropouts and a teacher preparation program. Presenters will describe methods for maintaining partnerships and discuss outcomes of the program in the areas of GED preparation, job skills training, health and wellness programming, and community service opportunities.

Bridging The Gap Between School And The Street, Jim C. Taylor Mr.

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Existing within every society are various cultures and sub-cultures. This presentation examines the results when the classroom culture comes in to contact with the street culture. We will review existing practices designed to address these educational issues both in and out of the classroom and what are possible solutions that can maximize successful student education.

Using Ipads And Video-Based Instruction To Teach Algebra To High School Students With Disabilities, Elias Clinton, Tom J. Clees

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation targets a study in which four high school students with disabilities were taught to solve algebraic equations using iPads and video-based instruction. All students showed immediate increases in accurate responding following the introduction of the video-based intervention. This presentation provides practitioners with a flexible technology-based intervention for students with disabilities in need of grade-level academic instruction. The intervention could be used across a variety of subjects and academic tasks.

Systems Of Care For Addressing The Traumatic Impact Of Violence Exposure On Student Well-Being, Laurie A. Garo, Nakeshia Williams, Tiffany Hollis

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Our presentation addresses mental health needs of youth from concentrated poverty and exposure to violence. We describe the Systems of Care model and recommend a framework for implementation within school, family and community based settings. Topics include mental health, environmental trauma, poverty, and youth cultural violence. Target Audience: educators, school- and community-based counselors & support staff, social workers, and educational researchers.

An Investigation Of School-Based Specific Learning Disability Identification, Bonnie Heather Bartos

Dissertations and Theses

Researchers have described the special education identification process for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) as "muddled and confused" (Bocian, Beebe, MacMillan, & Gresham, 1999) and "haphazard" and "capricious" (Shinn, 2007, p. 603). Bocian, Beebe, MacMillan, and Gresham (1999) proposed the theory of competing paradigms as a way to explain why researchers and school-based eligibility teams identify different groups of students as SLD. This qualitative study had two research questions: a) To what extent did interviews of secondary resource teachers reveal the concepts of relativity, acceptability, and profitability as they reflect on the SLD process? and b) What other themes …

Pre-Service Interdisciplinary Training In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Terisa P. Gabrielsen, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project was designed to give mentoring experience to students across disciplines who were seeking additional knowledge and training in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participation in the project was intended to benefit students by giving them more knowledge within their field and across disciplines, helping future patients and clients with ASD and to enhance applications to specialty and graduate programs in related fields. Students produced a large (attendance=150) interdisciplinary training workshop for the community and developed a website collection of autism resources for clinicians and families.

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Threat Assessment, Ana M. Cathcart, Elisabeth J. Kane, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Understanding why students behave aggressively and violently can be a challenge. Even more challenging is trying to prevent aggressive and violent student behavior. Although serious violent acts by students, such as a shooting, are rare, it is still vital to be able to assess, evaluate, and deter potential threats in schools. Researchers suggest that schools create policies and procedures to evaluate and assess threats and violent student behavior. Also, researchers recommend that schools utilize the threat assessment approach to help facilitate the process of evaluating and assessing threats (Cornell & Sheras, 2006). Even though there has not been extensive …

Parents Of College Graduates With Learning Disabilities: Practices And Factors Attributing To Their Children's Preparation For Postsecondary Education, Alexander Johnston Hale

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate and describe parenting practices that parents believe were effective in helping prepare their children with LD for college enrollment. Participants were chosen from among the parents of students interviewed by Cook (2010). Six parents (three couples) volunteered to be interviewed by phone. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using hermeneutic phenomenological methodology. Under the category of Parent Practices, themes emerged in the areas of early identification, self-advocacy training, and home accommodations, and under the category of Family Factors, themes emerged in the areas reading, expectation, and normalization. Findings are discussed …

Chinese International Students Attending American Universities: How Can We Help You? A Qualitative Study On Chinese International Students' Acculturation Experiences, Zhen Li

Theses and Dissertations

Given the increasing number of Chinese international students attending American universities, an important study would be to consider problems arising during these students' initial transition period, as they acculturate into the American culture and educational system. Taking this information into account, university counseling centers, campus services, and those who interact with and support these students would be better able to assist in easing the initial and ongoing stress of living in a foreign country and adapting to a new way of life. Thirteen Chinese international students participated in qualitative interviews conducted in Mandarin Chinese, each participant's native language. Each participant …

I Can’T Say I Wasn’T Anticipating It, But I Didn’T See It Coming In This Magnitude: A Qualitative Fieldwork Experience In The North West Region Of Cameroon, Beryl Bamu, Elisabeth De Schauwer, Geert Van Hove

The Qualitative Report

This article draws explicitly on the fieldwork challenging experiences of an ongoing PhD study which seeks to explore the role of the community in the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It is apparent that every qualitative researcher undertaking fieldwork anticipate being confronted with challenges and difficulties in the process. Nevertheless, in spite of the anticipation of these challenges and complexity that exist in the field, as well as prior preparation, fieldwork can still be a very intense and challenging experience. This is because many unanticipated encounters arise during fieldwork, which the researchers did not …

Pre-College Deaf Students’ Understanding Of Fractional Concepts: What We Know And What We Do Not Know, Keith Mousley, Christopher Kurz

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Mathematical knowledge and skills are crucial to success in academics and the workplace. The Common Core State Standards emphasizes fraction teaching and learning in elementary school. This mixed-method study explores fraction concept understanding among 14 deaf and hard of hearing participants between the ages of 8 and 16, as quantitatively measured by their ability to describe the properties of fractional numbers, convert between fractional numbers and their visual representations, and determine the order and equivalence of fractional numbers. Furthermore, the qualitative study was supplemented by interviews with the deaf participants and surveys with their parents and teachers to examine use …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students With Learning Disabilities: Using Mixed Methods To Examine Effectiveness Of Special Education Coursework, Renée A. Greenfield, Megan Mackey, Gretchen Nelson

The Qualitative Report

As the number of K-12 students with learning disabilities educated in general education classrooms grow, it is essential to examine the preparation and perceptions of pre-service teachers (N=15) who will educate students with learning disabilities. Within the context of an undergraduate learning disabilities method course, this study examined how pre-service teachers perceived students with learning disabilities as well as the effectiveness of particular course experiences, including fieldwork with students with learning disabilities, video vignettes, lesson planning, assigned reading, and center-based instruction, in shifting perceptions. Using a convergent, mixed method design, teacher educators at a university in the northeast used surveys, …

Cogenerative Dialogue: Developing Biology Learning Accommodations For Students With Disabilities, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

A prominent challenge, at times under-addressed in the science education literature, is considering what types of learning accommodations science teachers should employ for students with disabilities. Outside of science education, researchers have consistently outlined how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is one efficient means by which to engage students with disabilities in the curriculum. This paper presents the results of a research study in which teachers employed cogenerative dialogue as a learning space where UDL was used to differentiate and individualize instruction in an inclusive biology class. The data originated from a larger, ongoing, longitudinal ethnography of science learning in …

Parental Perceptions Of Independence And Efficacy Of Their Children With Visual Impairments, Michael P. Munro, Maricela M. Garza M.Ed., Janiel R. Hayes M.Ed., Elizabeth A. Watt M.Ed.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Raising any child to become successful and self-sufficient presents challenges to all parents; however, the complexity of the decision-making in parenting may become more intricate for parents of children with visual impairments. It can be a challenge determining the balance between intense overprotection for reasons of safety versus the encouragement and attention to the participation in unique or challenging learning experiences. Parents of children with visual impairments may also struggle to find the fine line between viewing the child through he lens of the impairment (as other or less than) versus treating the child in the same manner other …

Promoting Immigrant Parents’ Engagement In Early Intervention Through Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Service Delivery, Wendy B. Wieber, Lucia Quinonez Sumner

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

This article focuses on the use of culture-based play, songs, and games in the early education of newcomers to the United States. Current studies examine culturally inclusive practices in PreK-12 schools in America, Canada, and Australia and suggest that parents participate more enthusiastically when their cultural orientation is honored. Although there is scant research regarding in-home early intervention for infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing for recent immigrants to the United States, the same principle may hold true for this group of immigrants. The type of parent involvement that an early interventionist in the U.S. hopes …

Professional Competence To Promote Resilience For Children Living In Poverty, Jenna M. Voss, Susan Lenihan

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Poverty has a tremendous impact on the educational results of all children, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. With targeted, evidence-based interventions during the first three years of life, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) professionals can protect children from the numerous risk factors which impede development. While EHDI professionals often serve children and families living in poverty, it remains the case that the professional preparation programs offer limited instruction and experience in how to best serve children and families living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore professional preparedness to serve children who …

The Role Of Family-Led Disability Organizations In Supporting Families With Hearing-Related Concerns, Diane D. Behl, Janet Desgeorges, Karl R. White

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

A survey was conducted with state level chapters from Family Voices, Parent Training and Information Centers, and Parent–to-Parent USA to understand their current activities support families of children with hearing-related concerns and to identify gaps in their ability to support families of children who are D/HH. these organizations reported that they are contacted with parent requests for information in regard to family support opportunities, early intervention, referral sources pertaining to hearing concerns, financial help, and providing information about legal rights. Results showed that the greatest challenges for these organizations were related to needing to connect families to financial resources pertaining …

Disentangling Language Differences From Disability: A Case Study Of District-Preservice Collaboration, Julie Esparza Brown, Phyllis Campbell Ault

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

Identifying which K-12 English Learners (ELs) should receive special education services has historically been challenging and fraught with error. Educators are commonly puzzled as to whether an EL student’s academic difficulties are the result of insufficient academic English language, inappropriate instruction, or an intrinsic learning disability. This article examines the influence of a university–district partnership designed to prepare bilingual/bicultural special educators with specific skills and knowledge in disentangling language difference from disability. A unique aspect of the program was that these “BiSped” educators were mostly bilingual, bicultural paraprofessionals in their schools. This feature of the program recognized the unique position …

Trends And Issues In Bilingual Special Education Teacher Preparation: A Literature Review, Peishi Wang, Sara B. Woolf

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

Teachers represent the largest school impact on student learning, yet the national professional teacher workforce has been described as inadequately prepared to meet the academic, linguistic, social, and other educational needs of the majority of the nation’s public school student population. Moreover, youngsters from diverse linguistic, cultural, and ability backgrounds continue to be overrepresented in specialized school settings. These interrelated phenomena are influenced by multiple complex sociocultural and other factors (i.e., historical, economic, political). Among these are reported steady growth in the population and enrollment of students from non-English speaking, diverse cultural backgrounds in the nation’s public schools, perennial low …

Bilingual Special Education: Investigating And Implementing Evidence-Based Practices In Schools, Diane Rodríguez

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

Bilingual special education continues to be an important field to explore and understand in order to improve services for diverse students. The main goal of this special issue is to shed needed light on teaching and research practices currently implemented and explored in this field.

Off The Lip Conference - Transdisciplinary Approaches To Cognitive Innovation. Conference Proceedings, Sue Denham, Michael Punt, Edith Doove, Martha Blassnigg, Raluca Briazu, Kathryn Francis, Agi Haynes, Guy Edmonds, Adam Benjamin, Matthew Emmett, Iris Garrelfs, Christopher B. Germann, Joanna Griffin, Diane Humphrey, Bryanna Lucyk, Christie Purchase, Rachel Sansone, Emily Baxter, Amy Ione, Frank Loesche, Abigail Jackson, Alexis Kirke, Eduardo Miranda, Luke Rendell, Simon Ingram, Yutaka Nakamura, Gi Taek Ryoo, Eugenia Stamboliev, Michael Straeubig, Chun-Wei Hsu, Pinar Oztop, Mihaela Taranu, Sundar Sarukkai, James Sweeting, Minami Hirayama

Off the Lip Conference - Transdisciplinary Approaches to Cognitive Innovation

The promise of cognitive innovation as a collaborative project in the sciences, arts and humanities is that we can approach creativity as a bootstrapping cognitive process in which the energies that shape the poem are necessarily indistinguishable from those that shape the poet. For the purposes of this conference the exploration of the idea of cognitive innovation concerns an understanding of creativity that is not exclusively concerned with conscious human thought and action but also as intrinsic to our cognitive development. As a consequence, we see the possibility for cognitive innovation to provide a theoretical and practical platform from which …

Exploring The Impact Of An Ld Diagnosis On The Self-Determination Of Women In Poverty, Cynthia Jakes Stadel

Dissertations and Theses

This collective case study explored the impact of a later-in-life learning disability (LD) diagnosis on women in poverty. The study focused on the perspectives of four women who were not identified with LD as children but accessed assessment services as adults receiving Oregon's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). All four reported painful awareness of learning differences as youths; as adults they voluntarily engaged in a "labeling event," furthering a process toward personal transformation and enhanced well-being initiated by their own awareness and curiosity. The women described critical social and emotional support systems and relationships that helped them integrate understanding …

Tier 1 Intervention: School Climate And Culture, Elisabeth J. Kane, Natalie Hoff, Allison Heifner, Shir Palmon, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

A vast amount of research supports the idea that positive school climate has many benefits for school systems. The positive benefits affect students, staff, families, and the local community. Benefits range from improved academic achievement, personal and mental health, and relationships; as well as reduced bullying, victimization, suspension, drop out, and teacher turnover. Appropriate assessment and intervention procedures are key to reducing the gap between research and practice. Although school climate enhancement is not a simple or quick task, it is a crucial piece of school improvement and can have profound effects on student wellbeing and academic success.

Tier …

Preparing Teachers To Work With Students With Emotional Regulation Difficulties, Dana E. Gottesman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Difficulty with emotional regulation is a symptom common to many child psychological disorders and classroom-related problems. However, many children with emotional regulation difficulties do not receive adequate support in their classrooms. Although a variety of procedures have been used to help students improve their emotional regulation, there are very few studies that focus on training teachers to deliver classroom-based interventions that are designed to target a broad range of children with difficulties in emotional regulation. This current investigation measured the impact of a professional development program on emotional regulation on teachers’ responses to students with emotional regulation difficulties and their …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Suicide Prevention, Shir Palmon, Amber Olson, Elisabeth J. Kane, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

School-age students (10-19) are most at-risk for suicidal behaviors, and are most accessible for suicide prevention interventions while they are in school. Therefore, suicide prevention interventions are recommended for implementation in school. Universal suicide prevention interventions will be helpful for a majority of the student population, although some students may need more intensive interventions. Providing training to adults in school settings about how to prevent suicide will likely assist educators in recognizing and preventing youth suicide.

Professional Development Data: A Review Of Action Research And Data Analysis And Its Implications For Special Education, Jennifer Lee Suppo

Journal of Research Initiatives

In today’s world of accountability and budgeting constraints, schools are examining how they get the most “bang for their buck” in the area of professional development experiences. Professional development has traditionally been used to keep teachers and administrators abreast of current teaching strategies. In using the traditional model of professional development, typically the school or district would have a speaker, who was knowledgeable on a random topic of education, come in and conduct a one-day seminar. More often than not, there was little accountability to this traditional model; little if any data was taken to see if the knowledge obtained …

Realizing The Dream: African American Males’ Narratives That Encouraged The Pursuit Of Doctoral Education, Ted N. Ingram

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article used personal narratives to discover factors affecting the decision of African American males to consider doctoral education. This study was based on qualitative interviews with 18 African American male doctoral students enrolled at predominantly white institutions as they reflected on their reasons for pursuing an advanced degree. The following were found to influence their decision: (a) need for faculty encouragement, (b) motivation to pursue a doctorate, and (c) their personal motivations. Recommendations are offered for increasing the numbers of African American male doctoral students.

A Phenomenological Study Of Cultural Responsiveness In Special Education, Kimberly M. Jones-Goods, Marquis Carter Grant

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the factors affecting elementary teacher’s ability to understand the academic needs of their racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse special education students and the ways in which their values and beliefs influenced their use of culturally responsive practices in the special education classroom. This study revealed five major reasons for the disproportionate number of Black students in special education as perceived by three White teachers in North Carolina: (a) the inadequate coursework in teacher education programs regarding teaching strategies to effectively teach racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse (RCED) students, (b) the cultural …

Fostering An Inclusive Stem Workforce, Cary A. Supalo Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The following keynote address was delivered by Dr. Cary A. Supalo at the 2015 Training Workforce and Development and diversity conference which is one of the divisions that is part of NIH’s general medical sciences. This conference was attended by over 500 program directors from all of the T32 sponsored projects in 2015. This presentation discussed the importance of a full inclusive STEM workforce that includes persons with disabilities