Research demonstrates high effectiveness with teaching skills that align to grade-level standards. This curriculum provides materials at three literacy levels: object/photo, symbols, and text. Skill areas include persuasive writing, elements of story grammar, and research endeavors. The authors adapted 15 popular works (like Holes, Number the Stars, and Dragonwings) into simplified text with repeated story lines and symbol supports. Genres include fiction, nonfiction, plays, and poetry. The 32 progressive lessons are scripted and incorporate evidencebased teaching procedures. They are organized into four units: Change, Values and Decision Making, Social Justice, and Global Awareness. These themes help students grasp the big ideas as well as specific ELA skills. The curriculum seamlessly integrates traditional formats, like books and manipulatives, with the software and iPad app. This blended approach helps you to teach all students effectively and creates an engaging learning process. In the software and app, students explore eight works of literature through a five-step instructional sequence: preview, vocabulary, read the book, comprehension questions, and story sequence. The curriculum now comes with two new components, including the consumable Daily Writing Journal Student Workbook and the Task Analysis Teacher Extension Book. Curriculum Includes: The Implementation Guide, Alignment to Standards booklet, two Teacher’s Guides, one Assessment Response Book, one Student Response Book, Right On Readers 1 and 2, one Daily Writing Journal Student Book, one consumable Daily Writing Journal Student Workbook, graphic organizers, 250 teaching cards, PDFs on disc with a classroom license for printouts, a Task Analysis Teacher Extension Book, and the Access Language Arts Software and iPad App. Curriculum Plus Includes: the Teaching to Standards: ELA Curriculum plus a total of 10 consumable Daily Writing Journal Student Workbooks, the GoWorksheet Maker iPad App, a set of GoWorksheet activities, samples of communications overlays, four sets of the Right On Readers, and one copy of Holes, We Beat the Street, The Outsiders, Number the Stars, and Dragonwings. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1191/thumbnail.jpg

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the effects of educational treatment programs for emotionally disturbed students. In addition, the study explored whether programmatic or demographic variables interacted with the treatment programs to affect the outcome measures.;Two hundred twenty studies were integrated using the meta-analysis technique. The analysis involved more than 2,300 research subjects and yielded 235 measures of effect size, which were calculated on outcome areas of general achievement, mathematics achievement, reading achievement, and social skills. Variables investigated were age, diagnosis, SES, IQ, length of program, program setting, and program facilitator.;It was hypothesized that (1) there are significant differences in the overall effects of educational treatment programs for emotionally disturbed students, (2) there are differences in the effects of these treatment programs upon the specific outcome measures of mathematics achievement, reading achievement, general achievement, and social skills, (3) program elements and student demographics interact with the treatment programs to significantly affect the outcomes.;Data analysis involved: (a) descriptive statistics for the data base, (b) analysis of variance to test the effectiveness of the treatment programs, and (c) regression analysis where the effect sizes were regressed onto the variables.;No statistically significant differences in the total effect sizes of the eleven treatment programs were found. There were statistically significant differences among the treatment programs upon specific outcome measures. Programmatic and demographic variables were found to significantly affect outcome areas when interacting with structured-behavioral treatment.;It was concluded that no one treatment program was superior to another in overall effects. However, a short term structured behavioral treatment program in the lower elementary grades would yield the greatest gains in both academic and social skills achievement. Further study is needed to evaluate the variable relationships.

The affective meanings, defined by a semantic differential, that special educators of the mentally retarded, learning disabled and emotionally disturbed in Virginia public schools assign to their concepts of certain exceptional students, regular students, special educators, and themselves personally were explored. In addition, relationships between these affective meanings and the age, race, sex, endorsements, and experience of teachers were examined.;Mailed survey data were returned by 152 special educators from a 10% stratified random sample of Virginia public school systems. Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis and a series of multiple regressions, and the following conclusions were drawn: (1) Virginia special educators perceived each concept studied as distinctive, with affective meanings in the moderate positive range. The exceptions were the concepts "learning disabled student" and "regular class student" which did not differ in their affective meanings. (2) The concept "emotionally disturbed student" was significantly higher on potency and significantly lower on evaluation than all other concepts. (3) The concept "educable mentally retarded student" was significantly lower on activity and potency than other concepts. (4) The concepts "special educator" and "me (myself)" were significantly higher on evaluation and activity than other concepts, but comparatively low on potency. (5) Special educators perceived exceptional students as significantly lower on activity than the non-handicapped. (6) The predictor variables (1) age, (2) race, (3) type of service delivery, (4) special education endorsement, and (5) size of employing school system were significantly correlated with several of the affective meanings studied, while level of education, length of teaching experience, sex and level of service delivery were not found to be important predictors.

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a cognitive training program administered by teachers within their classrooms would significantly improve the academic achievement, attentional responding styles and auditory and visual attention and memory skills of elementary self-contained learning disabled students.;Subjects were thirty-six elementary age self-contained learning disabled students 8-0 to 11-11 years of age and with total I.Q. scores on the Wechsler intelligence Scale for Children-Revised of 80 or greater from the Virginia Beach City Public Schools in Virginia Beach, Virginia.;Three instruments were used to measure the dependent variables in this study: the reading, mathematics, and written language clusters of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery; the auditory and visual attention and memory subtests of the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude; and the Matching Familiar Figures Test to measure impulsive vs. reflective responding styles.;The research design was the Pretest-Posttest Control Groups Design. The data was analyzed using a 2 x 2 analysis of variance with the hypotheses being tested at the .05 level of confidence.;The findings indicated that participation in a program of cognitive training procedures administered by self-contained learning disabilities teachers in their classrooms did significantly improve the reading and math achievement test scores, the auditory memory and attention test scores and the reflective attending style test scores of the students involved in the training. No significant improvement was noted in the students written language test scores on the Woodcock or in the visual attention and memory test scores on the Detroit.;Future research is suggested with larger samples of both self-contained and resource learning disabled students.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of parental intervention on the self-esteem, degree of coping, and stress levels of parents of developmentally delayed or handicapped infants involved in an infant intervention program.;The research design for this study was a posttest-only control group design. The samples consisted of 48 parents who had infants enrolled in an infant intervention program. Sixteen subjects were assigned to each of the following treatment groups: Support, Counseling, and Control. The Support groups were structured as self-help groups. The Counseling groups were primarily affective, but also included a didactic component based on the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) model. Three self-report instruments: The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, The Parenting Stress Index, and the Coping with Loss Scale were used to assess changes in the dependent variables (self-esteem, stress, and coping.).;The results of the research revealed that there were significant differences noted between the self-esteem scores of the support group parents and the counseling group parents, with self-esteem scores higher in the support group. Similarly, a significant difference was found between the stress indexes of support group parents and counseling group parents with the support group parents experiencing less stress. No significant difference was noted between any of the groups in respect to the degree of coping, nor were any significant differences noted between treatment groups and the control group on any of the variables. The subscales on the Coping with Loss Scale proved to significantly discriminate between each other.;In conclusion, support groups may be more effective than counseling groups for this population due to the lack of cohesiveness in groups as a result of absenteeism. Measures to eliminate absenteeism were offered. Replication of this study with a larger sample was recommended along with some possible design changes. Further research on the Coping with Loss Scale was suggested.

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelatedness of cognitive, role-taking, and moral judgment abilities. The problem of this study was to determine whether there was a significant difference between the cognitive, role-taking and moral judgment skills of emotionally disturbed adolescents when compared with their normal peers.;While studies investigating this relationship have been few in number, there is an apparent positive relationship among the three variables with cognitive development providing the foundation for the role-taking and moral judgment development. Role-taking abilities also seem to be necessary for the development of one's moral judgment skills.;A sample of nine emotionally disturbed adolescents and their matched normal peers were drawn from the pupil population of two school systems in the Tidewater area of Virginia. Each subject was assessed on four measures: The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test to obtain a near IQ; the Binet-Simon Absurd Sentences Test to obtain a cognitive level of functioning; Flavell's Picture Story Role-taking Task to determine each subject's level of role-taking abilities; and Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview Form A to assess the level of moral judgment development.;The general hypothesis is emotionally disturbed adolescents, when matched to normal adolescents for age, sex, race and intelligence, will score significantly lower on tests of cognitive, role-taking and moral judgment development.;Results of this study indicated no difference between the two samples for mental and chronological ages or for intellectual abilities. A notable difference was present between the groups for level of cognitive functioning. A significant difference was found between the role-taking abilities of each sample and only a slight difference noted between the moral judgment skills of both groups with the emotionally disturbed adolescents being the weaker in each category.;In pointing out the strong relationship among the cognitive, role-taking and moral judgment skills of adolescents in general and of emotionally disturbed adolescents in particular, this study points out the need for education and treatment programs for emotionally disturbed adolescents to provide some intervention strategy that would include training in the cognitive and role-taking areas.

Federal legislation mandates the inclusion of students with disabilities into the regular classroom. This integration is often met with resistance from the educators. The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in the general education classroom. The research problem addressed the attitudes of educators who are implementing inclusion practices for students with severe disabilities. These attitudes are an integral part of successful inclusion practices. The theoretical basis for inclusion can be found in Wolfensberger's normalization principle and his examination of social role valorization which support placing a person with a disability into "normal" social roles which can develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging. This quantitative research survey questioned if teacher attitudes toward students with disabilities varied by severity of student disability, type of teacher, and length of teaching experience with students with severe disabilities. Teachers (n=113) completed an adapted version of the Physical Educators' Attitudes Toward Individuals with Disabilities-III (PEATID-III). The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, a Wilcoxon test, and the Mann-Whitney test. Results indicated that teachers displayed a significant difference in attitude based on the severity of disability showing a need for varied training. As indicated by the results, no significant difference in attitude existed between special education and regular education teachers. Experience with students with severe disabilities was not considered a determinant of attitude. This research contributes to the societal integrity by stressing the national impact of inclusion on teachers. The results of this study can be used by school districts to develop adequate preparation of all teachers in order to instill a proper attitude for teaching individuals with disabilities.

Spelling is a challenging task for many individuals, especially for those classified as Mild Mentally Disabled. Although considerable literature exists in the areas of special education and spelling, little research is evident involving these two areas in combination. In an attempt to address this gap, the researcher conducted a single subject research study to investigate the hypothesis that direct instruction of spelling enhances the spelling skills of students with special needs. Perceptions of parents, students, and teachers on how this program impacted student spelling skills was also investigated. Quantitative data from this study was collected from the SRA Spelling Mastery Placement pretest and posttest spelling scores of six Mild Mentally Disabled students and were analyzed using an independent measures t test. Qualitative data were collected from parents, students, and teachers through field observations, questionnaires, and journals using specific protocols. Qualitative data was analyzed using an adapted open coding approach. Emergent themes included the link between spelling and sentence creation, the link between spelling and reading competency, successful lessons, non-successful lessons, and changes that promoted successful lessons. Quantitative results from the study indicated that direct instruction had a positive impact on the spelling abilities of students with Mild Mental Disabilities. The qualitative data revealed that parents, teachers, and students perceive direct instruction as a viable teaching methodology in the instruction of spelling. This study informs social change by providing an effective approach for spelling instruction for special needs students and by highlighting the positive role spelling has in increasing student's reading and writing abilities.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to utilize response to intervention (RtI) as early intervention to prevent at-risk students from becoming labeled as learning disabled. Using action research methodology and school change theory, the purpose of this project study was to determine the RtI implementation needs of a rural elementary school (LE). The guiding research question was to identify the components of an RtI framework currently being utilized during the pre-referral process at LE. This study employed a qualitative method triangulation design to analyze data from key stakeholders including questionnaires; individual interviews from six reading teachers, one reading interventionist, and one special education teacher; and campus documents analysis. Analysis included data transformation of frequency statistics from surveys and coded data from open-ended questionnaire responses, individual interviews, and document analysis. These data were triangulated revealing the current level of practice in collaboration, data-based decision making, parent involvement, professional development, and implementation monitoring. Findings indicated utilization of several RtI components inconsistently across grade levels and subjects. As a result, an RtI action plan was developed including a description of RtI background, identification of current levels of practice, implementation steps including timetable, and an RtI glossary. This resource has the potential to aid other districts by providing an implementation plan that could be adapted to their campus needs. This study promotes positive social change by identifying an effective implementation process for a unified service delivery model at LE resulting in improving the education of all students.

Social Validity is a concept used in behavioral intervention research. It focuses on whether the goals of treatment, the intervention techniques used, and the outcomes achieved are acceptable, relevant, and useful to the individual in treatment. The Social Validity Manual, 2e, provides background on the development of social validity, an overview of current research in social validity, and guidelines for expanding the practice of social validation. The book offers detailed information on scales and methods for measuring social validity across the goals, procedures, and effects of treatments utilized in various fields. The second edition incorporates advances in research findings and offers two new chapters on the use of social validity in the health sciences and how social validity plays an important role in increasing cultural awareness. Defines and conceptualizes social validity Summarizes research advances in social validity Compares and contrasts social validity measures Includes use of social validity in multiple disciplines Reviews how to organize social validity data Provides new coverage of use in health professions / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1217/thumbnail.jpg