<p> The purpose of this study is to identify the complex features of writing intervention of Graduate Student Clinicians (GSCs) for children with Language and Learning Difficulties (LLD) upon the qualitative research paradigm. To do this, verbal and non-verbal interactions, a total of two hours 18 minutes and 44 four seconds and a total of 2,170 turns of the four writing sessions of the two dyads, were video-taped, transcribed, and encoded depending on the contexts, purposes, and strategies. </p><p> The complexity in the process of writing by the two dyads was revealed and compared in terms of the activities of turns exchanged and time allocated in the two GSCs&rsquo; strategies for writing intervention and the two children&rsquo;s responses throughout the writing sessions. The findings of this study indicate the two dyads demonstrated two distinct interactional features in verbal and non-verbal behaviors in terms of whether GSCs were concentrated on process or products, and they used different strategies for verbal and non-verbal intervention. The responses of children with LLD revealed in the overall dynamic features of writing sessions were greatly influenced by the GSCs&rsquo; verbal and non-verbal strategies. </p><p> The child in Dyad One in which GSC-One focused more on implicit and symmetric process-oriented mediations successfully engaged in various writing activities while the child in Dyad Two in which GSC-Two focused on explicit asymmetric product-oriented mediations tended to be confused while less effectively engaged in the verbal and non-verbal interactions. The conclusion was made to emphasize that the transferability of GSCs&rsquo; writing interventions strategies into the writing process of children with LLD, and the importance of training future Speech Language Pathologists by allowing them understand their roles in the process rather than the results of writing.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 268-279). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99157

Exploring Interagency Collaboration in a Secondary Transition Community of Practice

Thesis (EdD)--Open University.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Lehigh University, 2009. / Adviser: Edward S. Shapiro.

<p> Response to intervention (RtI) has created a need to shift from the excluded special education model to a more inclusive model creating a need for increased communication and collaboration when students are exposed to instruction in multiple settings. The basic qualitative research design was used to explore the types and level of communication and collaboration that exists among educators who work with at-risk students through the RtI model in a single South Carolina school district. The study included six teachers and six interventionists, who participated in focus group discussions, classroom observations, and individual personal interviews, and four administrators who participated in individual interviews. The findings of this study indicated, for the most part, that educators held positive attitudes in their role within the organization and his or her ability to communicate and collaborate to effectively provide sound instruction for struggling learners. All participants were aware that the need for collaboration and the need to share information were everyone&rsquo;s responsibility and a necessary part of supporting each student. The findings suggest that administrators felt structures were in place for communication and collaboration to exist among educators, however no suggestion of a common planning time within the daily schedule nor examples from teachers or interventionists in true collaborative roles were evident. Moreover, interventionists were best able to describe examples of true collaborative efforts they had initiated with teachers to coordinate skills or concepts they were teaching in their classrooms. The findings show, the interventionists hope for a change in the current policy in most schools, which excludes the interventionists from data team meetings and RtI meetings where next steps in the child&rsquo;s education plan are formulated and decided.</p>

<p> Assistive technology is used in education to support and increase students&rsquo; learning. Many of these are math and science virtual manipulative applications, studies of which are well documented. Studies documenting the effects of social studies software on special education students, however, are scarce due to the small number of applications and the difficulty of gathering consistent data. This is because students often suffer from mental, emotional, behavioral and physical instability. This study was intended to determine whether assistive technology is beneficial in this regard. The study used Study Island software, which provides students and teachers self-adjusting, customizable social studies coursework. The study examined the suitability of the software in increasing the academic performance of middle school special education students at Pandale School, a public separate school. This quantitative, experimental study compared two sets of randomly assigned students who used identical learning materials, presented in either print or software form. The demographics of the school dictated the participant pool, which consisted of 11-20-year-old African American males. Using two mixed model ANOVAs, the pretest and posttest scores and test completion times of each group were compared to determine the software's efficacy. Every experimental group participant saw an increase in test scores from pretest to posttest. After controlling for preexisting conditions, it was observed that the type of instruction variable explained 18% of the test score variance between groups, as represented by partial <i>&eta;²</i>, <i>p</i> &lt; .0001, indicating a rejection of the null hypothesis and a finding that the software had a positive effect on the participants' test scores. An analysis of test completion times for the pretest (<i>M</i> = 43.64) and posttest (<i>M</i> = 33.23) showed that the mean test scores differed significantly, <i> F</i>(1.000, 38.0000 = 90.184, <i>p</i> = 0.001) from pretest to posttest and amongst both groups, and suggested that the null hypothesis should not be rejected and that the Study Island virtual manipulative had neither positive nor negative effect on test completion times. Study results indicated the usefulness of Study Island as one tool of many in the classroom. Future studies targeting specific demographics and student needs are indicated. </p>

<p> This research utilized an interpretive, multiple-case design to explore how fourth- and fifth-grade charter school students with high-incidence disabilities experienced instruction to participate in their annual IEP meetings and how they described their experiences of their meetings. Using student interviews, observations of the instruction and IEP meetings, review of instructional materials, and researcher-developed tools for students to self-record data, the study focused on <i>students'</i> perceptions of their experiences. Specifically, this research examined factors that motivated students to participate in their IEP meetings and factors that supported and impeded their participation. </p><p> A review of the literature revealed a wide gap around research on preparation of elementary students to participate in their IEP meetings. Much of the research on how best to involve students with disabilities in their educational programming has focused on student development and training in the context of transition planning, specifically with regards to self-determination skills (e.g., problem-solving, goal-setting, self-regulation). However, researchers have suggested that students in elementary grades may require adult support and monitoring, as well as contextual practice opportunities, in order to build self-efficacy in using these skills. </p><p> Results from the research are presented separately for each student and finally compared and contrasted across students. Findings were (a) students were primarily motivated to participate in their meetings out of a need to develop competence and mastery in their academic pursuits and (b) they perceived their teachers and mothers as critical supports in their efforts. Factors found to support and impede students' participation related to: accessibility of language and content, teachers' expectations for the students' participation, level of autonomy support students received, the extent to which students perceived their voices were validated, and the extent to which students' participation focused on strengths versus deficits. </p><p> The discussion provides an analysis of motivational, support, and impediment factors through a theoretical lens that integrates self-determination theory and self-efficacy theory. The discourse highlights the importance of autonomy support to enhanced student competence and ultimately to students' more active participation in their IEP meetings. Recommendations for future research, policy, and practice are provided.</p>

<p> This Critical Race Theory study used a qualitative methodology to analyze guided, online response interviews from African-American parents who have sons with eligibilities of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study focused on the roles these parents played in navigating their son&rsquo;s K-8 education. The findings indicated some of the parents were isolated and ridiculed, whereas all the parents experienced roles as the Parent Advocate, the Parent Warrior, and the Triumphant Parent all while navigating the intersectionality of race, gender, and disability.</p>

<p> The purpose of the qualitative descriptive case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of middle school general educators using Individual Education Plans (IEPs) of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study participants consisted of 13 teachers selected from two public middle schools in a suburban county in the State of Georgia. The descriptive case study examined six links associated with the phenomena. The links were inclusion, a description of ASD complexities, and the global significance. Other links to the phenomena were the middle school structure, the legal ramifications, and stakeholder involvement. The six themes and three subthemes developed from the analytic generalizations related to the research question. The data collection procedure included semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data analysis included using NVivo 10 software to code, organize, and categorize data. The results of the study recommended training and support for general educators using the IEPs of ASD students in middle schools. The conclusion of the study acknowledged the necessity for allowing general educators to make suggestions and accommodations to update middle school IEPs. The study recommended five suggestions to improve the education of middle school ASD students. Three of the recommendations were a project study, developing middle school mini IEPs, and detailed structuring to manage on-going training sessions. Also, parent and student meetings and meet and greet sessions can stabilize parent, student, and every middle school general educator&rsquo;s involvement. </p>