Morphology Matters, but What Do Teacher Candidates Know About It?

Author(s):  
Erin K. Washburn ◽  
Candace A. Mulcahy

Skilled reading is a complex process in which many subskills are involved, including an awareness of the morphological structure of language. Morphological awareness is the ability to understand how words are broken into meaningful units (e.g., affixes, root words). Explicit and systematic teaching of morphological concepts are reported to help striving readers, particularly those in upper elementary, middle, and secondary grades, with reading. To teach morphological concepts and their relation to reading, teachers need to have both awareness and knowledge of morphology. In the present study, general and special education teachers’ knowledge of morphological concepts are examined. Results indicate that teachers, regardless of type of certification (general vs. special education) or grade level (elementary vs. secondary), have difficulty identifying morphemes in both simple and complex words. Suggestions for what and how teacher educators can integrate the teaching of morphological concepts into teacher preparation contexts are provided.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-35
Author(s):  
Bryan E. Cichy-Parker

Within their work, special education teachers are tasked with being knowledgeable on a wide array of human diversity. Although attitudes have been changing rapidly toward sexual and gender minorities in recent years, data from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) most recent National School Climate Survey indicated that 52.4% of students reported hearing homophobic remarks and 66.7% of students reported hearing negative remarks about gender expression from their teachers or other school staff (Kosciw et al., 2020). This article identifies three areas in which special education teacher educators can interact with their teacher candidates to support learning about the LGBTQ+ community and equip them to work with their future students who identify as a sexual or gender minority. Techniques included address the use of qualitative assessment through discussion and journaling; building cultural empathy via affective learning, perspective taking, acceptance of cultural differences, awareness, and appropriate responding via an understanding of intersectionality and intention versus impact.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1021-1036
Author(s):  
Charmion Rush ◽  
Karena J. Cooper-Duffy

As online teacher preparation programs continue to grow, guiding the process for edTPA candidates can pose varying challenges. As such, teacher preparation programs must be equipped to provide guidance to online candidates as they complete the actionable items required for edTPA. Provided from the field supervisors' perspective, this chapter outlines the current process Western Carolina University has in place to provide effective clinical and teacher candidate experiences for students in their online program. The purpose of this chapter provides guided structure for graduate special education teachers pursing initial licensure through an online masters' program. This chapter will include 1) the challenges of guiding online students through the e-portfolio process, 2) an exploration of the provided structure for the teacher candidates to fulfill the requirements of edTPA, as well as 3) recommendations for teacher preparation programs and teacher candidate readiness in the practice and application of e-performance assessments and edTPA.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alexandra Da Fonte ◽  
Sally M. Barton-Arwood

Schools today focus on inclusive models of education for students with disabilities that include higher expectations and increased teacher accountability. Within this inclusion framework, both general and special education teachers have responsibilities for the education of diverse learners. Collaboration skills take time to develop, with many potential barriers that can limit successful teamwork. Therefore, teacher preparation programs have a responsibility for preparing general and special education teachers for collaboration with a focus on strategies to minimize potential barriers and support outcomes for students with disabilities. In order to be more responsive to teacher candidates’ development, a first step is to understand their perspectives about collaboration. This article outlines the hopes and fears of both general and special education preservice candidates regarding collaboration and how their perspectives align with documented views of practicing teachers. Strategies to minimize fears and potential barriers for successful collaboration in school settings are presented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Fezile Ozdamli

Parallel to the rapid development of information and communication technology, the demand for its use in schools and classroom is increasing. So, the purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes and views of students who will be special education teachers in the future regarding digital technology on the use in education. A mixed method, qualitative and quantitative, was used to collect data. Attitude Scale for Digital Technology was used as a quantitative data collection tool and a semi-structured interview form was used to collect qualitative data. A total of 275 students studying at Special Education teaching department of Near East University participated in this study. The findings indicated that the candidate teachers had a positive attitude towards the use of technologies. The findings obtained from the qualitative dimensions of the study showed that the candidate teachers had positive views about the use of technology by the special education students in their learning process. Keywords: Special education, teacher candidates, digital technology, attitudes.


Author(s):  
Charmion Rush ◽  
Karena J. Cooper-Duffy

As online teacher preparation programs continue to grow, guiding the process for edTPA candidates can pose varying challenges. As such, teacher preparation programs must be equipped to provide guidance to online candidates as they complete the actionable items required for edTPA. Provided from the field supervisors' perspective, this chapter outlines the current process Western Carolina University has in place to provide effective clinical and teacher candidate experiences for students in their online program. The purpose of this chapter provides guided structure for graduate special education teachers pursing initial licensure through an online masters' program. This chapter will include 1) the challenges of guiding online students through the e-portfolio process, 2) an exploration of the provided structure for the teacher candidates to fulfill the requirements of edTPA, as well as 3) recommendations for teacher preparation programs and teacher candidate readiness in the practice and application of e-performance assessments and edTPA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin L. Sayeski ◽  
David F. Bateman ◽  
Mitchell L. Yell

The Supreme Court decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2017) established a higher standard of what constitutes an appropriate education for students receiving special education. In contrast to the previous standard provided in the Board of Education v. Rowley (1982) decision, which established that some benefit (even minimal or trivial benefit) was acceptable, the Endrew F. decision reflected a higher standard for the delivery of special education. Specifically, special education should result in measurable progress toward individualized education program goals. This article explores what it means for special education teacher educators to prepare teacher candidates to meet this higher standard. In particular, how a focus on instruction (i.e., the delivery of specially designed instruction) rather than a focus on access to the general curriculum is necessary in order for meaningful, measurable change to occur in the outcomes of students with high-incidence disabilities will be explored.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Carrero ◽  
Mandy E. Lusk

AbstractChanging demographics in American school systems necessitate educators to better prepare themselves to work with students from diverse backgrounds. Moreover, culturally diverse (CD) students are disproportionately represented in special education, indicating a need to investigate assessment for identification purposes. We, the authors, believe that examining current research in higher education will highlight the need for effective special education teachers prepared to teach CD learners with challenging behaviors. This article is a review of existing literature related to educating CD students with challenging behaviors and preparing special education teacher candidates for this population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-47
Author(s):  
Kia R. Williams ◽  
Margaret P. Weiss ◽  
Pamela H. Baker

With increasing cultural diversity in schools and in special education, teachers must be prepared to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds. In addition to evidence-based practices, culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) is critical to helping students make meaning of their learning. Therefore, teacher preparation programs must be intentional and explicit in their instruction related to CSP for teacher candidates. We describe a replicable process of course review and revision for the inclusion of CSP with an example from a core course in a special education preservice teacher licensure program. The course, Intersectionality and Disability, is a course in a newly-implemented undergraduate licensure program.


1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 347-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Watson Moody ◽  
Sharon Vaughn ◽  
Jeanne Shay Schumm

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of general and special education teachers' perceptions of grouping for reading and the types of grouping patterns that are implemented in classrooms in a diverse urban school district. Forty-nine third-grade teachers (29 general education teachers who had students with learning disabilities in their class for part of the day and 20 special education teachers) participated in the study. Individual and focus group interviews were used. The results of the interviews revealed that teachers value control over their decisions on how to group for reading. General education teachers indicated that they feel constrained by the demands of the district and school administration, whereas special education teachers believe they have more autonomy in their grouping decisions. The majority of the general educators reported predominant use of a whole class grouping format, whereas special education teachers used a more varied format. For the most part, general educators endorsed mixed-ability grouping arrangements for both social and academic reasons. Special educators, on the other hand, supported same-ability groups. The discussion provides insights into why teachers do not differentiate instruction when teaching in classrooms that have culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse student populations. The need for professional development in flexible grouping strategies is also addressed.


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