Several empirical studies have suggested that self-monitoring is an effective strategy to increase appropriate behavior in children and adults with developmental disabilities. Results of a comprehensive review of self-monitoring research with people who have developmental disabilities revealed that 71% of the participants were trained by researchers. However, researchers are not typical intervention agents. To ensure that people who are typically in the participant’s environment (e.g., teachers, parents, caregivers) can effectively teach people with developmental disabilities to self-monitor and that this in turn will change the participant’s behavior, it is important that research examine the effectiveness of self-monitoring when the training is provided by typical intervention agents. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate the effects of a self-monitoring intervention package on both teacher and student behavior in the classroom. The self-monitoring intervention package consisted of training teachers to use self-monitoring, providing feedback on the self-monitoring intervention developed by the teacher, providing feedback to teachers while training the student to self-monitor, and providing feedback to teachers while they implemented the self-monitoring intervention in the classroom. During intervention, the researchers provided feedback to teachers to ensure that teachers were correctly instructing the students to self-monitor. Teachers then implemented the self-monitoring intervention without researcher feedback (maintenance). Teachers required very little to no feedback after the self-monitoring training, feedback on the self-monitoring intervention they developed, and student self-monitoring training. The researcher provided immediate feedback during the first session when the self-monitoring intervention was implemented in the classroom to ensure the teachers implemented the self-monitoring intervention with fidelity. Rate of inappropriate sitting decreased for all students after the self-monitoring intervention was introduced, and the percentage of non-overlapping data metric values indicated that the self-monitoring interventions were highly effective for three participants and effective for one participant. Some teachers and some students generalized the use of self-monitoring interventions to other activities, students, and target behaviors. Social validity measures indicate that self-monitoring interventions for young children with developmental disabilities are socially important. / text

Collaboration between general and special education teachers is essential for students with disabilities to have access to general education curriculum and instruction, and improved outcomes in school. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and No Child Left Behind Legislation, include mandates that increase demands for collaboration. However, many general and special education teachers report not feeling prepared to step outside traditional roles to collaborate to meet the needs of this population. Collaboration is also a strong element of teaching and special education standards for teacher preparation. Yet, research shows many teacher education programs lack coursework and field experiences that focus on collaboration. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences special education teacher candidates had in collaboration with general education teachers during student teacher field placements. The research questions include: (a) To what extent are special education student teachers expected to collaborate with general education teachers during field placements; and (b) How are perspectives on collaboration with general education teachers different between special education student teachers and their mentor teachers? The study used qualitative multiple-case study design and content analysis. Data were collected across three different school contexts (elementary, middle school, and high school) in which special education candidates were placed for student teaching. Participants included special education student teachers and their mentor teachers from each setting. Data sources included interviews, a survey of collaborative practices, text analysis of teacher work samples, and field-placement evaluations. Results of the study show many collaborative practices occur across different special education settings to various extents, and special education candidates have opportunities to learn about perspectives on collaboration and collaborative practices with general education teachers from mentor teachers. However, the standards-based student teaching performance measures did not guide or document the learning and experiences of special education student teachers in relation to collaboration with general education teachers. Recommendations are made for adding guidelines and performance measures in teacher education programs that prepare special education teacher candidates for collaborative roles in schools.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-28T12:24:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Souza de Oliveira.pdf: 1081647 bytes, checksum: 332200063308e70b72772f26c78e765c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-28T12:24:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Souza de Oliveira.pdf: 1081647 bytes, checksum: 332200063308e70b72772f26c78e765c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-29 / When dealing with topics such as the inclusion of students with special educational needs or special education, we usually attribute such concepts to students with physical, intellectual, or syndrome-related disabilities, most of whom are not people with High Abilities / Giftedness (HA/GN). This work is based on the observation at the HA/GN provided by Joseph Renzulli, theorist present in Brazilian documentation and guidelines. People with HA/GN are those who, in interaction with the environment, present superior abilities compared to the general population. HA/GN can be of the academic type, in which the skills are concentrated in the linguistic or logical-mathematical areas, and, therefore, are more observable in the school environment; or the productive-creative type in which artistic expressions and divergent thinking stand out. Theorists differentiated the categories only for didactic purposes, as it is often possible to find people with characteristics of the two types. The Brazilian legislation referenced in different national documents, as well as in the specific legislation of the State and Municipality of São Paulo on the subject, understands people with HA/GN as a target audience of special education and provides specialized educational assistance (SEA) to all students who need it. However, among teachers, the topic seems to be unknown and it can be observed that there are almost no proposals in which curriculum and/or service issues are discussed in multifunctional resource rooms. In theory, I realize that SEA occurs for students with disabilities, but there are few proposals for serving students with HA/GN. Considering the problem of the lack of teacher training that makes students with HA/GN invisible, the present research was developed to understand how teacher training has contributed to the identification and care of these students in the municipal teaching network. The relevance of this research problem is perceptible both from the theoretical and from the social point of view. As for the first, I understand that the studies about continuing education of teachers in special education and with a specific focus on students with HA/GN have appear more recently and more frequently after 2013, thus showing that it is a silenced topic. Regarding the second point, identifying and analyzing teachers' conceptions about continuing education in special education and directed to students with HA/GN can be of great help both for the improvement of such courses and for teachers who work in this area. The research will be carried out with teachers from the city of São Paulo involved with the presented theme. As a methodological choice for this qualitative research, we propose the reflexive interview mode. The guiding hypothesis of the work is: students with HA/GN do not reach SEA care because they are not easily identified in the regular school classrooms and, therefore, end up with a disadvantage in school / Quando tratamos de temas como inclusão de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais ou educação especial, normalmente atrelamos tais conceitos a alunos com deficiências físicas, intelectuais ou com alguma síndrome, não sendo consideradas, na maioria das vezes, as pessoas com Altas Habilidades/Superdotação (AH/SD). Este trabalho tem como base o olhar para as AH/SD fornecido por Joseph Renzulli, teórico presente nas documentações brasileiras. São denominadas pessoas com AH/SD aquelas que, em interação com o ambiente, apresentam habilidades superiores se comparadas com a população geral. As AH/SD podem ser do tipo acadêmico, no qual as habilidades se concentram nas áreas linguística ou lógico-matemática e, portanto, são mais observáveis no ambiente escolar; ou do tipo produtivo-criativo no qual as expressões artísticas e pensamento divergente se destacam. As categorias foram diferenciadas pelos teóricos apenas para fins didáticos, é possível, com frequência, encontrarmos pessoas com características dos dois tipos. A legislação brasileira referenciada em diferentes documentos nacionais, bem como na legislação específica do Estado e Município de São Paulo sobre o assunto, entende pessoas com AH/SD como público alvo da educação especial e prevê o atendimento educacional especializado (AEE) a todos os alunos que dele necessitarem. Porém, entre os professores, o tema parece ser desconhecido e se pode observar que quase não há propostas nas quais se discute questões curriculares e/ou de atendimento nas salas de recursos multifuncionais. Por empiria, percebo que o AEE ocorre para os alunos com deficiência, mas são poucas as propostas para atendimento dos alunos com AH/SD. Considerando a problemática da falta de formação de professores que leva à invisibilidade os alunos com AH/SD, desenvolveu-se a presente pesquisa que tem como objetivo compreender como a formação de professores tem contribuído para a identificação e atendimento destes alunos na rede municipal de ensino. A relevância deste problema de pesquisa é perceptível tanto do ponto de vista teórico como do social. Quanto ao primeiro, entendo que os estudos sobre formação continuada de professores em educação especial e com foco específico nos alunos com AH/SD aparecem mais recentemente e com maior frequência a partir de 2013, mostrando assim, que se trata de um tema silenciado. Já no que tange ao segundo ponto, conhecer e analisar as concepções dos docentes a respeito da formação continuada em educação especial e dirigida a alunos com AH/SD pode ser de grande ajuda tanto para o aprimoramento de tais cursos como para professores que atuam nessa área. A pesquisa será realizada com professores da Prefeitura de São Paulo envolvidos com a temática apresentada. Como escolha metodológica, para esta pesquisa de cunho qualitativo, propomos a realização de entrevista na modalidade reflexiva. A hipótese norteadora do trabalho é: os estudantes com AH/SD não chegam ao atendimento nas SRM, pois não são facilmente identificados nas salas de aulas da escola regular e, por isso, acabam prejudicados em seu percurso escolar

The primary question for this dissertation was: Does online professional development increase novice itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual impairments' (TVI) efficacy for assessing learning and literacy media for students with multiple disabilities including visual impairments? The literature suggested novice TVIs might experience low efficacy when implementing strategies unique to their job after leaving teacher-training programs. Working in an itinerant position can intensify perceptions of low efficacy. One area of low efficacy was conducting and reporting on the assessment of learning and literacy media (ALLM). Using a quasi-experimental pre/post-design, data were collected from pre/postintervention knowledge questionnaires about the assessment process and pre/postintervention written ALLM reports. Eleven participants with 1-5 years of experience as TVIs were divided into control and intervention groups. Four online modules were delivered to the intervention group. The data were analyzed using two dependent and two independent sample t tests. The results indicated the change scores between the control groups pre- and post-submissions did not improve. The change scores between the intervention groups pre- and post-submissions did significantly improve after participation in the online modules. The change scores overall between the intervention and control groups' pre/post submissions were statistically significant. The intervention group completed an acceptability rating scale regarding the feasibility of the modules and the results had an average score of 3.5 (4 = strongly agree). The primary limitation of this study was the small sample size and, therefore, did not allow for generalization.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie is die opvoedingspraktyke van verskillende samelewings met betrekking tot verstandelik erg gestremde kinders histories-analities ondersoek. Die tendense wat telkens onderliggend aan veranderinge was, is geidentifiseer en aan die hand van pedagogiese kriteria geevalueer. In die antieke Griekse en Romeinse beskawings is 'n praktyk van uitwissing gevplg. Die Christelike godsdiens bet 'n meer verdraagsame houding meegebring, maar in die Middeleeue bet onkunde en bygeloof nog steeds hoogty gevier. Eers vanaf die agtiende en negentiende eeu bet groter kennis en 'n nuwe kindbeeld tot 'n meer rasionele benadering tot die verskynsel van verstandelike gestremdheid gelei. Pioniers, veral medici, bet na vore getree en die weg gebaan vir 'n beter bedeling vir hierdie kinders. Dit was egter eers in die tweede helfte van die twintigste eeu dat onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremdes 'n werklikheid geword bet. Die beginsel van normalisasie is toenemend op dienste wat aan hierdie kinders verskaf is, toegepas en het tot gevolg gehad dat wetgewing met betrekking tot die onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremde kinders tans in die toonaangewende lande en in SuidAfrika op 'n handves vir menseregte geskoei is. Hierdie bevindings bet segwaarde vir die huidige situasie ten opsigte van die beplanning van onderwysvoorsieninge vir verstandelik erg gestremde kinders in die Republiek van Suid- Afrika. / In this study the education practices with regard to severely mentally handicapped children of various societies have been investigated from a historic-analytical perspective. The trends related to a certain anthropologic view and a specific child image, which have been the cause of certain changes have also been identified and were evaluated according to pedagogic criteria. In the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations a trend of infanticide influenced the education of severely mentally handicapped children. The Christian religion brought a more tolerant attitude, but during the Middle Ages superstition and ignorance were still at the order of the day. It was only from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that more knowledge and a new child image brought about a more rational approach to this problem. Pioneers, mostly medical surgeons, came to the fore and paved the way for a better dispensation for these children. In the latter part of the twentieth century education for the severely mentally handicapped had for the first time become a reality. The normalization principle was increasingly applied to all services rendered to these children and this resulted in legislation regarding the education of severely mentally handicapped children in all leading countries and in South Africa being based on a declaration of human rights. These findings have an important meaning for the present situation with reference to the planning of education services for severely mentally handicapped children in South-Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)

This study examined the effectiveness of employing videoconferencing and Web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel. Due to the acute shortage of special education personnel, it was anticipated that the use of videoconferencing and online instruction would provide a convenient way for students to attend class without having to travel to the actual location of the educational site. Further, it was believed that this initiative would result in higher student enrollment in special education teacher certification programs, consequently leading to an increase of personnel in the field. Moreover, the increase in personnel would enhance the ability of educational institutions to address the dismal academic, social, and behavioral outcomes of students with disabilities. Information for the study was collected from surveys that investigated how students perceived the use of videoconferencing and web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel. Ninety-four graduate students responded to the videoconferencing surveys while 88 responded to the Web-based instruction surveys. Six respondents were randomly selected to participate in face-to-face interviews designed to investigate the effectiveness of both approaches. Findings indicated that videoconferencing and Web-based instruction are convenient ways for students to attend class although videoconferencing sites may not be conveniently located to all learners. Furthermore, the effectiveness of these media depends on several factors: the instructor, the course structure, the learners' learning styles, the quality and quantity of interaction between learners and the instructor, and whether technological problems interfere with the learning process. The study determined that the more structured and organized the course, the more significant the learning outcomes. Also, the maturity level of the students lends itself to accountability toward achieving the desired learning goals. Technological problems and the lack of user-friendly technology lower the effectiveness of videoconferencing and Web-based instruction. Further research will be valuable in improving theories and approaches currently used in the application of videoconferencing and Web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel.

This study was designed to investigate whether special education teachers are adequately trained to meet the literacy needs of students with mild to moderate retardation.

The rising rate of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has resulted in challenges for teachers in public schools, concerning the delivery of evidence-based practices for superior outcomes. Thus, school districts are in need of professional learning options that can be efficiently and effectively delivered to improve the procedural fidelity of interventions. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of using telepractice to teach autism teachers how to contrive motivating operations to teach manding to students with ASD. By utilizing multiple baselines across participants design, four autism teachers in public schools received intervention support through an online module along with video models as well as direct performance feedback from autism specialists via video-conferencing. The primary dependent variable was the percentage of correct responses from the instructional procedures of task analysis, and the secondary measure was the subsequent rate of student mands. Data were analyzed both visually (i.e., through the study of behavioral patterns) and statistically (i.e., analysis of effect size). Results indicate that telepractice increased accuracy of both teacher and student target responses.

This study examines the sense of preparedness of preservice special education teachers (PSETs) to instruct English language learners. Pre- and post-survey measures were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for a group of PSETs as they engaged in their second semester of student teaching experience. To explore emerging themes, a post-qualitative analysis was performed using focus groups. Quantitative results revealed no statistical difference except for the Self-Efficacy subscale. Focus group data showed increased confidence levels resulting from the student teaching experience. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare pre-survey results between PSETs who had and PSETs who had not taken advanced coursework or participated in student teaching. With the exception of the subscale, Attitude Towards ELs in the Classroom, results revealed no statistical difference between the two groups. At the same time, qualitative, open-response questions revealed PSETs who had participated in advanced coursework and student teaching seemed to have a deeper understanding of ELs' instructional and linguistic needs. Contributions to the literature are presented which may help in designing teacher preparation programs to increase PSETs' sense of preparedness to better serve ELs with disabilities.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education