A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses in Special Education: Exploring the Evidence Base for High-Leverage Practices

2021 ◽  
pp. 074193252110634
Author(s):  
Gena Nelson ◽  
Sara Cothren Cook ◽  
Kary Zarate ◽  
Sarah R. Powell ◽  
Daniel M. Maggin ◽  
...  

It is crucial that special education teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Despite federal legislation and efforts of the field to identify and disseminate evidence-based practices for students with disabilities, it is uncertain whether all special education teachers provide instruction based on the best available research. To better prepare special education teachers, McLeskey et al. proposed 22 high-leverage practices (HLPs). We conducted this systematic review of meta-analyses to provide an initial investigation of the experimental evidence reporting on the effectiveness of the HLPs for students with, or at risk for, a disability. Results indicated the largest amount of evidence from meta-analyses related to intensive instruction, explicit instruction, and social skills, with few meta-analyses reporting on collaboration and assessment. The results highlighted disproportional evidence according to disability categories. Implications for future research, practice, and teacher education are discussed.

2013 ◽  
pp. 539-562
Author(s):  
Therese Cumming ◽  
Cathi Draper Rodríguez ◽  
Iva Strnadová

Special educators globally are adopting mobile technologies such as the iPad for use in classrooms for everything from textbook replacement to assistive technology. Despite the devices’ large potential for individualizing teaching, learning, and communication, these are relatively new technologies, and the evidence base to support their use as teaching and learning tools in special education is scarce. This chapter discusses a theoretical framework and several methods that can be used to support the use of iPads to assist students with disabilities. It also details the potential uses of iPads and their corresponding applications for students in special education.


Author(s):  
Therese Cumming ◽  
Cathi Draper Rodríguez ◽  
Iva Strnadová

Special educators globally are adopting mobile technologies such as the iPad for use in classrooms for everything from textbook replacement to assistive technology. Despite the devices’ large potential for individualizing teaching, learning, and communication, these are relatively new technologies, and the evidence base to support their use as teaching and learning tools in special education is scarce. This chapter discusses a theoretical framework and several methods that can be used to support the use of iPads to assist students with disabilities. It also details the potential uses of iPads and their corresponding applications for students in special education.


2013 ◽  
pp. 397-420
Author(s):  
Therese Cumming ◽  
Cathi Draper Rodríguez ◽  
Iva Strnadová

Special educators globally are adopting mobile technologies such as the iPad for use in classrooms for everything from textbook replacement to assistive technology. Despite the devices’ large potential for individualizing teaching, learning, and communication, these are relatively new technologies, and the evidence base to support their use as teaching and learning tools in special education is scarce. This chapter discusses a theoretical framework and several methods that can be used to support the use of iPads to assist students with disabilities. It also details the potential uses of iPads and their corresponding applications for students in special education.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janelle E. Rodl ◽  
Wes Bonifay ◽  
Rebecca A. Cruz ◽  
Sarah Manchanda

School administrators are often responsible for observing and evaluating special education teachers. The current study examined the training school administrators received, their needed knowledge and supports, and their confidence in performing job functions related to special education teacher evaluation. A total of 929 school administrators in California completed a 26-item survey in which they reported the training they had received, the usefulness of the training for informing practice, and the confidence they felt in evaluating special educators. Results indicated that most school administrators did not have a background in special education, did not receive training related to evaluating special educators, and felt less confident evaluating special educators than general educators. School administrators, especially those without a background in special education, may need more training and support related to evaluating special education teachers during preparation and in the early years of administration. Training and support should focus on evidence-based practices for teaching- ing students with disabilities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Alan Common ◽  
Leslie Ann Bross ◽  
Wendy Peia Oakes ◽  
Emily Dawn Cantwell ◽  
Kathleen Lynne Lane ◽  
...  

We conducted this systematic review to classify the evidence-base status for high-probability request sequence (HPRS) as a strategy to improve students’ behavioral outcomes in general and special education settings across the K-12 continuum. Specifically, the purpose of this review was to determine whether HPRS could be classified as an evidence-based practice according to Council for Exceptional Children’s Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education employing a modified, weighted coding scheme specifying methodologically sound studies as meeting 80% or more of components across quality indicators (QIs). Two of the 22 included studies met all QIs, and 16 studies met or exceeded our 80% weighted criterion. Based on this body of evidence, we classified HPRS in K-12 school settings as potentially evidence based. We offer a discussion of educational implications, limitations, and future directions.


Author(s):  
Rachel Anne Schles ◽  
Rachel E. Robertson

Given the importance of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for improving outcomes for students with disabilities, it is key that preservice special education teachers have the opportunity to implement EBPs with high levels of fidelity during their teacher preparation program. For this reason, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature to answer the question: Does providing performance feedback improve preservice special education teachers’ fidelity of implementation of EBPs and outcomes for students with disabilities? Five studies were found which met inclusion criteria. These studies demonstrated a clear functional relationship between performance feedback and preservice teachers’ increased fidelity to the EBP(s). Across studies, there were mixed effects in student outcomes when preservice teachers increased their fidelity to EBPs. Limitations of the current analysis and the included studies are discussed along with future implications for researchers and practitioners.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Peltier ◽  
Tiffany K Peltier ◽  
Taylor Werthen ◽  
Andy Heuer

Access to high-quality resources is integral for educators to provide research-aligned mathematics instruction. Identifying the supplemental resources educators use to plan mathematics instruction can inform the ways researchers and organizations disseminate research-based practices. The goal of this study was to identify the frequency in which early childhood educators (i.e., pre-Kindergarten through third grade) reported using various resources to plan for mathematics instruction. Furthermore, we investigated whether differences were observed based on teacher factors (i.e., general or special education, route to certification, years of experience) and locale (i.e., rural, urban, suburban). We retained data from 917 teachers for data analysis. The three most frequently reported resources by educators were colleagues, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Google/Yahoo. The three least frequently reported resources were the typical outlets researchers use to reach teachers: What Works Clearinghouse, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Teaching Children Mathematics. General and special education teachers differed on their self-reported usage of five resources: colleagues, Google/Yahoo, teaching blogs, Teaching Exceptional Children, and the What Works Clearinghouse. Rural educators self-reported that they were less likely than suburban educators to use colleagues or specialists at the district to plan instruction. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


Author(s):  
Robyn Swanson

This chapter addresses the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) by special education practitioners in instruction and assessment while providing music educators guidance toward implementing these practices in instruction and assessment for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within universal design for learning (UDL) inclusive classrooms. Included are behavioral characteristics of students with ASD that music educators need be cognizant of in inclusive settings; federal education laws and policies that have provided students with disabilities rights to a quality education; and selected special education EBP and accommodations deemed as viable interventions for teaching and assessing PreK-12 standards-based music curriculum for students with ASD. Music educators may determine the PreK-12 music assessments aligned to appropriate EBP and accommodations for students with ASD are beneficial resources when designing and implementing curriculum, instruction, and assessment linked to the 2014 National Core Arts (Music) Standards (NCAS) with supporting Model Cornerstone Assessments (MCAs).


Author(s):  
Emily C. Bouck ◽  
Phil Sands ◽  
Holly Long ◽  
Aman Yadav

Increasingly in K–12 schools, students are gaining access to computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS). This access, however, is not always extended to students with disabilities. One way to increase CT and CS (CT/CS) exposure for students with disabilities is through preparing special education teachers to do so. In this study, researchers explore exposing special education preservice teachers to the ideas of CT/CS in the context of a mathematics methods course for students with disabilities or those at risk of disability. Through analyzing lesson plans and reflections from 31 preservice special education teachers, the researchers learned that overall emerging promise exists with regard to the limited exposure of preservice special education teachers to CT/CS in mathematics. Specifically, preservice teachers demonstrated the ability to include CT/CS in math lesson plans and showed understanding of how CT/CS might enhance instruction with students with disabilities via reflections on these lessons. The researchers, however, also found a need for increased experiences and opportunities for preservice special education teachers with CT/CS to more positively impact access for students with disabilities.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110131
Author(s):  
Ilana Seff

In light of the many robust quantitative data sets that include information on attitudes and behaviors related to intimate partner violence (IPV), and in an effort to expand the evidence base around social norms and IPV, many researchers construct proxy measures of norms within and across groups embedded in the data. While this strategy has become increasingly popular, there is no standardized approach for assessing and constructing these norm proxies, and no review of these approaches has been undertaken to date. This study presents the results of a systematic review of methods used to construct quantitative proxy measures for social norms related to IPV. PubMed, Embase, Popline, and Scopus, and PsycINFO were searched using Boolean search techniques. Inclusion criteria comprised studies published since 2000 in English that either (i) examined a norm proxy related to gender or IPV or (ii) analyzed the relationship between a norm proxy and perpetration of, experiences of, or attitudes toward IPV. Studies that employed qualitative methods or that elicited direct measures of descriptive or injunctive norms were not included. Twenty-six studies were eligible for review. Evidence from this review highlights inconsistencies in how proxies are constructed, how they are assessed to ensure valid representation of norms, and how researchers acknowledge their respective method’s limitations. Key processes and reflections employed by some of the studies are identified and recommended for future research inquiries.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document