<p> There is a gap in the research regarding structured collaborative processes and experiences that draws a parallel to the disconnections discovered between what is needed to be a successful teacher candidate in the field and what is taught through coursework and the lack of authentic experiences in teacher preparation programs such as collaboration. This qualitative case study seeks to expand the extant research by understanding and identifying perceptions and comfort with collaboration, as well as its impact. The study outlined one universities approach to strive to meet the competencies for accreditation and prepare highly effective professional educators with a focus on collaboration. This qualitative case study investigated the perceptions of novice teachers regarding ways in which collaboration impacted them and their teaching experiences and examined the perceptions of these novice teachers and their comfort with collaboration during their induction period.</p><p>

<p> Elementary music teachers often have students who are hard-of-hearing participating in their classes. Teachers need to be aware of what hearing impairments are and how these hard-of-hearing students have entered the music classroom. The present text explores assistive hearing technology, general music education for students with hearing loss, adaptations for the general music classroom, instrumental music for students with hearing loss and a brief explanation of song signing. The author attempts to better understand which strategies can be used to improve the music education of hard-of-hearing students. </p><p>

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

The use of puppetry to motivate and teach children in early education settings has a long tradition, yet there is very little research evidence linking puppetry training for teachers to the use of puppets in early elementary school classrooms. In this study, 120 early childhood educators completed a survey about the use of puppetry in schools and their perceived value as an educational tool. Teachers were also asked to indicate the type of training they had had in puppetry skills (college course, workshop, both college and workshop, neither), and their perceived abilities as puppeteers. The survey data were tabulated to determine overall frequency response rates. Chi Square analyses were used to examine relationships between the type of training and the following factors: the overall use of puppetry in the classroom; teachers' perceived ability as a puppeteer; the number of professional programs presented in the classrooms; and teachers' attitudes towards the effectiveness of puppetry in the classroom. Although results indicated that training by itself was not related to the use of puppets in classroom settings nor to teachers' reports on the overall effectiveness of puppetry as a teaching tool, training in puppetry was significantly related to the teachers' perceptions of their own abilities as puppeteers. And, the average frequency of use of puppets in the classroom increased with each increase in skill level. Data are also presented concerning the attitudes of the teachers toward the use of puppets in their classrooms, the various curriculum areas in which puppets have been used successfully, limitations on puppetry use and student classification (emotionally disturbed, developmentally delayed, physically challenged, "typical"). The implications of these findings as they relate to teacher inservice training are discussed. A training module to teach puppetry skills to early childhood educators is outlined as are topics for possible future research.

Students with learning disabilities are enrolling in post-secondary education programs around the country with increasing numbers. The literature suggests that students with learning disabilities are often unprepared and overly challenged by the academic demands of college. This study introduces three domains of self-management (academic self-understanding, procedural self-management, and content mastery self-management) identified through a focused literature review, and presents an short-term, ten-week long (one session per week), skills based training as an intervention to better prepare students with learning disabilities for post-secondary educational success. Students with learning disabilities from a local college were identified as eligible for this study according to criteria outlined in the methods section of this study, and all eligible and interested students were included in the study. Students were pre and post tested on a set of dependent measures. This study presents a program evaluation using as a before and after design including seven case studies. Confidentiality of all human subjects was in adherence to the ethical research guidelines of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Over the past six years, efforts at integrating students with disabilities in general education classrooms, otherwise known as “inclusion,” have occurred in varying degrees in response to legislative requirements; national, state, and local school district initiatives; and advocacy groups vocalizing their inclusionary philosophies and beliefs. Subsequently, the number of students with mild to severe disabilities who are placed and educated in general education classrooms has increased, yet the inclusion movement has been tremendously challenging for educators. Massachusetts Education Reform, the Title I Reauthorization, and a district-wide Inclusion Plan are compatible in several ways and have influenced inclusive efforts in the district studied. They all promote collaborative efforts in delivering services to students, as well as require that high expectations in content and performance standards be set for all students. Given special education's least restrictive environment mandate, Title I regulations encouraging inclusion as a primary service delivery model, and a mandated inclusion plan, the stage was set for this district to implement inclusion. This study examines inclusion service delivery models in second and fourth grade with particular emphasis on general education students' academic and social outcomes in inclusion versus non-inclusion classrooms. Several questions guided the study: (1) What are the effects of inclusion classrooms on the academic progress of general education students compared to the academic progress of general education students in non-inclusion classrooms? (2) What are the social benefits of inclusion to general education students? (3) Regarding general education students' success in inclusion classrooms, what are the perceptions and experiences of the teachers, the principal, the parents, and the students? A two-part literature review, an analysis of in-depth interviews, a Student Assessment Inventory, curriculum-based and norm-referenced test scores in reading and mathematics, report card grades, and attendance records are presented. Implications for this school, district, and other districts are addressed. This study documents five general findings regarding the implementation of inclusion, variables for successful inclusion, a continuum of placements for all students, the use of multiple teaching strategies, curriculum modifcations, and alternative assessment measures to address all students' needs, and the outcomes of inclusion academically and socially for general education students.

No description available.

This research study uses a descriptive approach and systematic observations to examine the nature of nonverbal teacher-student interaction in a second grade inclusion classroom. Its purpose is to compare the nonverbal behaviors of children who are considered average in ability with those who are perceived as cognitively challenged, while they are engaged in regular classroom instruction in both large and small group settings. This study also examines the nonverbal behaviors of one teacher as she interacts with a select group of students within the context of a naturalistic classroom environment. The data collection involved classroom observations noting context, formal and informal discussions with the classroom teacher regarding lesson instruction, student profiles, and overall study validity and the videotaping of small and large group math lessons. For purposes of analysis, each videotape was viewed numerous times in an effort to capture the nonverbal interaction in the categories of Verbal Eye Contact, and Nonverbal Eye Focus (i.e., attending to teacher/student, attending to procedure, non-attending) in three situations: Student-teacher, Teacher-student, Student-student. Intra-observer agreement was established. The role of teacher/student proximity and teacher voice tone were addressed separately. The results indicate that the most common nonverbal behavior exhibited by both the special education students (SES) and regular education students (RES) was attending to procedure under the category of Eye Focus. The SES varied more among themselves in the verbal eye contact category, teacher eye focus and non-attending subcategories than did the (RES). Verbal eye contact and attending to student and attending to procedure in the Eye Focus category were the predominant nonverbal behaviors used by the classroom teacher. In most cases the majority of nonverbal interaction occurred between students who sat in close proximity regardless of their cognitive ability. The small group setting lent itself to greater frequencies in each of the nonverbal categories for both RES and SES. The data from this study also indicate a relationship between teacher voice tone and effective classroom management. Taking into consideration the possible nonverbal behaviors which engage all students may assist teachers as they attempt to meet the diversity in today's inclusion classroom.

The current study examined the effect of Strong Start Grades K–2 (Merrell, Parisi, & Whitcomb, 2007), a social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, among a sample of 24 kindergarten and first grade students identified by their teachers as needing additional support with behavioral and social skills in school. The current study used a quasi-experimental design with within-subjects and between-groups comparisons (Heppner, Kivlighan, & Wampold, 1992) to evaluate the effects of the Strong Start social and emotional learning curriculum. The intervention consisted of staggered curriculum implementation across four classrooms, whereby students were assigned by classroom to either the treatment or waitlist conditions. The classroom teachers implemented the 10 lessons of Strong Start as part of their classroom instruction. Results indicated that Strong Start was implemented with moderate integrity and there were significant within-subject effects for increases in students' emotion knowledge and decreases in students' problem behaviors associated with exposure to the curriculum. However, no significant effects were found between intervention and waitlist groups for increase in emotion knowledge and decreases in problem behaviors. Teachers and students indicated strong user satisfaction and social validity of the Strong Start curriculum. Limitations of this study as well as directions for future research are discussed.