It is known that families of children with disabilities need to be included in partnerships with schools to promote maximum benefit for the child. Schools need to find a way to promote these partnerships without severely impacting resources. Although television is sometimes perceived as the "enemy," perhaps it can serve as the medium through which the beneficial partnerships can be promoted. Perhaps it can simultaneously be utilized as the means for extending learning time for children. Television could become a beneficial teaching tool, for both parents and children. A series of three videotapes was prepared, including a "host family" and teachers on each. The "host family" read a story, depicted how a particular term or concept could be utilized while performing routine tasks, and presented how they had resolved an issue. The teachers introduced the families, targeted concepts and presentations, and provided music and additional books. A theme song, written and sung by a parent, was also included. Each tape was viewed by families from four Special Needs Preschool classes. The families represented both peer model and program children. The teachers were known to families from two of the classes. After viewing each of the tapes, parents responded to a questionnaire. Upon completion of the viewing, questionnaires were analyzed to determine if parents, children and siblings had viewed the tapes and how often, if follow-up activities had been attempted by them, and if the tapes were perceived as beneficial. Additionally, questionnaires were analyzed in order to determine if familiarity with performers or status as peer or program family affected responses. It was found that families did view the videotapes, many families attempted activities, and the tapes were perceived as very beneficial. Familiarity with performers made a positive difference, and both peer and program families responded favorably. Findings strongly indicate that videotapes can serve as a very beneficial tool, and they are especially effective when the child's teacher is one of the performers. Teachers and families should work cooperatively to prepare this highly effective Video Bridge.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-8760 |
| Date | 01 January 1993 |
| Creators | Nevins, Arniel F |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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