scholarly journals Developing Preservice Teachers’ Expertise in Evaluating and Adapting Mathematics Lesson Plans

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Stephanie Morano ◽  
Paul J. Riccomini
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Lesson Plans ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Mathematics Lesson ◽  
Instructional Supports ◽  
Support Students

To provide appropriate and effective instructional supports to students with disabilities, special education preservice teachers require development of expertise in the design and delivery of specially designed lessons. It is critical that special education preservice education programs provide students ample opportunities to learn how to evaluate and adapt lesson plans through the application of the elements of explicit instruction. In this article, we explain how to develop preservice teachers’ expertise in the evaluation and adaptation of mathematics lesson plans with the elements of explicitness to better support students with disabilities. The example activity and assignments provided are anchored in the context of a university math methods course and include all necessary materials.

Preparing Special Education Preservice Teachers to Teach Computational Thinking and Computer Science in Mathematics

2021 ◽  
pp. 088840642199237
Author(s):  
Emily C. Bouck ◽  
Phil Sands ◽  
Holly Long ◽  
Aman Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Lesson Plans ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Mathematics Methods ◽  
K 12

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.

Finding Possibility in Pitfalls: The Role of Permeable Methods Pedagogy in Preservice Teacher Learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Heather Hebard
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Candidate ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Pedagogical Tools ◽  
Field Placements

Background/Context Tensions between university-based teacher preparation courses and field placements have long been identified as an obstacle to novices’ uptake of promising instructional practices. This tension is particularly salient for writing instruction, which continues to receive inadequate attention in K–12 classrooms. More scholarship is needed to develop a theory and practice of methods education that accounts for these tensions. Purpose This study investigated how opportunities to learn to teach writing in preservice preparation mediated teacher candidates’ learning. The investigation's aim was to add to our knowledge of how teachers learn and the factors that impact this learning to offer implications for improving teacher education. Participants and Settings Participants included literacy methods course instructors from two post-baccalaureate, university-based, K–8 teacher certification programs and participating candidates enrolled in these courses (N = 20). Settings included methods course meetings and participating candidates’ field placements. Research Design This comparative case study examined opportunities to learn and preservice teachers’ uptake of pedagogical tools across two programs. A cultural–historical theoretical lens helped to identify consequential differences in the nature of activity in preservice teachers’ methods courses and field placement experiences. Data included instructor interviews, methods course observations, teacher candidate focus groups, and field placement observations. Patterns of field and course activity in each program were identified and linked to patterns of appropriation within and across the two cohorts. Findings In one program, methods course activity included opportunities to make sense of the approaches to teaching writing that teacher candidates encountered across past and current experiences. The instructor leveraged points of tension and alignment across settings, prompting teacher candidates to consider affordances and variations of pedagogical tools for particular contexts and goals. This permeable setting supported candidates to develop habits of thinking about pedagogical tools, habits that facilitated uptake of integrated instructional frameworks. In the other program, methods activity focused almost exclusively on the tools and tasks presented in that setting. This circumscribed approach did not support sense-making across settings, which was refected in the fragmented nature of teacher candidates’ pedagogical tool uptake. Conclusions Findings challenge the notion that contradictions in teacher education are necessarily problematic, suggesting instead that they might be leveraged as entry points for sense-making. In addition, permeability is identified as a useful design principle for supporting learning across settings. Finally, a framework of pedagogical tools for subject-matter teaching may provide novices with a strong starting point for teaching and a scaffold for further learning. “I felt at the beginning of the school year that writing was not going to be a strong point for me…. Maybe part of it was the way [my cooperating teacher] modeled it for me; it was just free flowing, kind of … jumping from thing to thing [each day]…. It wasn't like the way [our methods instructor] had modeled for us … [using] four-week units.” –Sheri, teacher candidate, Madrona University

Supporting Service Dogs in the Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 313-318
Author(s):  
Julia J. Davidson ◽  
Therese M. Cumming ◽  
Iva Strnadová
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Service Dogs ◽  
Service Dog ◽  
Support Students ◽  
The U.S

With the rising use of service dogs to support students with disabilities, it is important that teachers are knowledgeable about how they can be incorporated into their classroom. A recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court has highlighted the legal responsibility of schools to allow access to the service dogs of students. However, information focusing on the preparation of teachers for this possibility is lacking. This article provides both general and special education teachers with guidelines for including service dogs in their classroom. Background information regarding service dogs is included in addition to practical considerations concerning students, the classroom, the service dog, and planning process.

Reducing Ambiguity: Tools to Define and Communicate Paraprofessional Roles and Responsibilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Job Responsibilities ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Social Opportunities ◽  
Special Education Paraprofessionals ◽  
Support Students

One-on-one and program-based special education paraprofessionals are often used to support students with disabilities across school settings. While paraprofessionals may have the best of intentions, their proximity and the support they provide may prevent students with disabilities from fully accessing educational and social opportunities. To prevent unintentional yet negative student outcomes, it is necessary to define and communicate job responsibilities to paraprofessionals before they begin working with students with disabilities. This article outlines several flexible tools and strategies that teachers and administrators can use to efficiently and effectively communicate this information. The article includes (a) a description of how teachers and administrators can define and deliver job-related information to paraprofessionals, (b) reproducible templates for developing a written or digital job responsibilities notebook for paraprofessionals, and (c) recommendations for using these tools effectively.

Content Development Patterns Over a 2-Year Period as Indicated from Written Lesson Plans

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate R. Barrett ◽  
Ann Sebren ◽  
Anne M. Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Lesson Plans ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Graduate Research ◽  
Unit Plans ◽  
Project Data

Teaching preservice teachers to plan, specifically the written lesson plan, is one vehicle to help transform their content knowledge into forms that are pedagogically powerful (Shulman, 1987). This article describes what changes occurred in how one teacher, BJ, transformed her knowledge of content for student learning in lesson plans written during her methods course, student teaching, and 1st-year teaching. Data sources beyond the 17 lesson plans selected for analysis were unit plans, dialogue journals, semistructured interviews, and a graduate research project. Data were analyzed using inductive analysis techniques, and emerging results were discussed continuously with BJ for participant validation of the researchers’ interpretation. Four patterns related to content development are discussed: a shift in how content was identified, shorter lesson plans, a shift from consistent use of extending tasks with minimum use of application tasks to the reverse, and the absence of preplanned refinement and simplifying tasks. Findings from both studies, BJ’s and the original inquiry, suggest that teacher educators need to reexamine the amount and type of information they ask students to include, as well as the format. The challenge will be to develop new approaches that will continually support this process but that will be better suited to the realities of teaching (Floden & Klinzing, 1990).

scholarly journals Developing Reading Instruction Observation Protocols for Special Education Teachers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ann Moylan
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Rigorous Testing ◽  
Observation Protocol ◽  
Decoding Instruction ◽  
Observation Protocols

Considerable resources have been invested in identifying effective reading instruction methods for students with disabilities. Unfortunately, students are not routinely receiving instruction aligned with these practices, impacting their ability to reach their potential. To improve reading instruction, teachers need to receive observation feedback and evaluations reflecting instructional practices shown to be effective. One way to ensure teachers are provided with feedback consistent with evidence based reading instruction is to develop observation protocols aligned to these practices. This dissertation addresses this problem with three distinct, yet interconnected, articles detailing the development of reading instruction observation protocols designed to provide accurate teacher evaluations and feedback to improve reading instruction for students with disabilities. Each protocol is part of the larger Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) observation system. The first article explains the framework that was applied to develop both the observation system and an explicit instruction observation protocol. The second and third articles describe the development of a comprehension and a decoding instruction observation protocol. Development included a comprehensive review of literature and rigorous testing. Results indicate the explicit instruction, comprehension, and decoding instruction protocols will provide reliable evaluations of a teacher’s ability to implement instruction consistent with practices most effective for students with disabilities. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Disability Awareness in Teacher Education in Singapore

2022 ◽  
pp. 1077-1090
Author(s):  
Levan Lim ◽  
Thana Thaver
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Special Schools ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Disability Awareness ◽  
Support Students

As the sole teacher education body in Singapore, the National Institute of Education (NIE), plays a pivotal role in equipping Singaporean teachers with the knowledge and skills to work with and support students with disabilities for both mainstream and special schools through its teacher education programs. In addition to the learning of strategies and skills to work with students with disabilities, it is also imperative for teacher education to promote positive attitudinal change among teachers towards persons with disabilities. This chapter describes the disability-awareness approach adopted by the NIE for its preservice teachers and the rationale behind adopting such an approach to foster inclusive attitudes that is grounded within relevant literature and situates disability within Singapore's socio-historical context.

A Service Learning Model for Special Education Teacher Preparation in Secondary Transition Programming

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. May ◽  
Jonathan Chitiyo ◽  
Theresa Goodin ◽  
Angie Mausey ◽  
Crystal Swan-Gravatt
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
School Students

The current article describes the evaluation of a service-based learning model as part of a special education course focused on secondary programming for students with disabilities. A total of 42 preservice teachers and 21 high school juniors and seniors with disabilities actively participated in the service learning project at a local high school. Preservice teachers conducted a transition assessment, developed and implemented lesson plans for postsecondary skill development with a high school student, presented their results to local high school personnel, and completed a self-assessment of their level of confidence in transition education for secondary students. Overall, preservice teachers reported confidence in transition planning and in designing and delivering instructional opportunities based on assessment of high school students’ transition needs. Moreover, the preservice teachers met the course learning standards by working directly with high school students. Barriers and recommendations for personnel preparation and research are discussed.

scholarly journals Pre-service teacher professional noticing for teaching mathematics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Stephanie A. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
General Education Teachers ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Professional Noticing

Students with disabilities and/or those who have difficulty learning mathematical concepts can be found in almost every classroom. Over the last several decades, the responsibilities and roles of general and special education educators have shifted, blurring the conventionally held boundaries between special education and general education teachers and their pedagogical practices. Both special education and general education teachers are expected to provide an optimal mathematical instructional experience to all students. One way to best prepare novice teachers for this task is by increasing their overall Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). The purpose of this study is to contribute to research about specific components of a pre-service teacher's PCK. This research utilized a cross-sectional research design in its study of a representative sample of preservice teachers at specific moments in time during their teacher preparation program. Mathematical content knowledge and teachers' beliefs regarding the teaching of mathematics were found to have a statistically significant impact on professional noticing. Although not statistically significant, the differences the choice of a major had on a teacher's noticing ability requires further investigation. This study addresses an important gap in the research literature on noticing in that it includes special education teachers. Additionally, the study provides concrete recommendations for teacher preparation programing and suggestions for future research.

Engaging Preservice Teachers in Universal Design for Learning Lesson Planning

Inclusion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-23
Author(s):  
Ruby L. Owiny ◽  
Aleksandra Hollingshead ◽  
Brenda Barrio ◽  
Katlyn Stoneman
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Lesson Plans ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Before And After

Abstract General education teachers often feel unprepared to serve the needs of students with disabilities, including those with intellectual disability, because many teacher preparation programs do not adequately prepare teachers for the diverse classrooms they will encounter. With the increase of inclusion for students with disabilities, it is imperative that teachers develop the necessary skills for engaging all students, including those with intellectual disability, in meaningful instruction. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can assist teachers in designing instruction that meets the needs of their diverse learners. The current study consisted of two parts. First, researchers surveyed preservice teachers on their perceptions of including students with disabilities in their future classrooms before and after instruction in UDL. Second, researchers analyzed preservice teachers' ability to design lessons using the principles of UDL. Results indicated perceptions of inclusion were positive prior to intervention and did not significantly change after the intervention. Lesson plans improved significantly in the use of UDL principles from baseline to postintervention, but there was no significant difference between the postintervention lesson plans and the end-of-semester lesson plans.

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