Mentoring Dispositions for Pre-Service and Early Career Special Educators Through Service Learning

Early Career ◽

Community Schools ◽

Inclusive Settings ◽

K 12 ◽

Service learning projects were created and implemented by faculty in the special education unit at Molloy College for pre-service and early career special education teachers. The service learning projects provided an opportunity for faculty to mentor participants in the area of dispositions for teaching through a shared experience outside of the higher education classroom. The projects were conducted in/or with community schools serving the K-12 population and students with disabilities in inclusive settings. It was hypothesized that service learning opportunities would serve as a platform for participants to reflect and to evaluate their dispositions as they act and interact in environments which were multidimensional. The results indicated that this was the case and that participants gained insights into their dispositions when the statements of dispositions were related to an experience. Faculty concluded that a variety of service learning projects provided varied opportunities for participants to exercise beliefs and bring clarity to the term “dispositions for teaching.”

Teacher Education and Special Education The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children ◽

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

10.1177/0888406421992376 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088840642199237

Author(s):

Emily C. Bouck ◽

Phil Sands ◽

Holly Long ◽

Aman Yadav

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Preservice Teachers ◽

Computer Science ◽

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.

Teacher Education and Special Education The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children ◽

Visual Representation in Mathematics: Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge and Emphasis for Instruction

10.1177/0888406416665448 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 7-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Delinda van Garderen ◽

Amy Scheuermann ◽

Apryl Poch ◽

Mary M. Murray

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Research Design ◽

Online Survey ◽

Special Educators ◽

Visual Representations ◽

K 12

The use of visual representations (VRs) in mathematics is a strongly recommended practice in special education. Although recommended, little is known about special educators’ knowledge of and instructional emphasis about VRs. Therefore, in this study, the authors examined special educators’ own knowledge of and their instructional emphasis with VRs in mathematics for students with disabilities (SWDs) in Grades K-12. A total of 146 teachers (pre- and in-service) responded to an online survey. A mixed methods triangulation research design was utilized. Findings include the following: (a) teachers hold conceptions about VRs and the roles they serve in problem solving; their ideas, however, lack depth and are narrow in perspective; (b) what teachers emphasize about VRs to SWDs tends to match their own conceptions, but the explanations they provide for SWDs need expanding and refinement; and (c) given their narrow conceptions, VRs may be limited to a peripheral role in special educators’ instruction.

A Contextual Examination of High-Quality K-12 Service-Learning Projects

International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement ◽

10.37333/001c.29587 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Janet E. Fox ◽

Jenna M. LaChenaye

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

High Quality ◽

K 12 ◽

Ethnographic Service Learning: An Approach for Transformational Learning

Journal ◽

10.22582/ta.v6i0.426 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Melanie A. Medeiros ◽

Jennifer Guzmán

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Transformational Learning ◽

Liberal Arts ◽

The United States ◽

Field Methods ◽

The Social ◽

Transformational Experiences ◽

Trends in higher education pedagogy increasingly point to the importance of transformational experiences as the capstone of liberal arts education. Practitioners of ethnography, the quintessential transformational experience of the social sciences, are well-positioned to take the lead in designing courses and term projects that afford undergraduate students opportunities to fundamentally reshape their understanding of the social world and their own involvement within it. Furthermore, in the United States, colleges and universities have become proponents of service learning as a critical component of a holistic educational experience. In this article, we describe how service learning can be incorporated into training students in ethnographic field methods as a means to transformational learning and to give them skills they can use beyond the classroom in a longer trajectory of civic participation. We discuss strategies, opportunities, and challenges associated with incorporating service learning into courses and programs training students in ethnographic field methods and propose five key components for successful ethnographic service learning projects. We share student insights about the transformational value of their experiences as well as introduce some ethical concerns that arise in ethnographic service-learning projects.

INCORPORATING LOCAL ISSUES: EXPLORING SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS WITHIN WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY’S CORE ARBORETUM

10.1130/abs/2017am-301437 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Kenneth L. Brown ◽

◽

William P. Frier

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

West Virginia ◽

Service-Learning Projects: Meeting Community Needs

Home Health Care Management & Practice ◽

10.1177/1084822305280710 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 315-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Beverly A. Peterson ◽

Jean Yockey ◽

Peggy Larsen ◽

Diana Twidwell ◽

Kathy Jorgensen

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Community Needs ◽

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

Remedial and Special Education ◽

10.1177/07419325211063491 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 074193252110634

Author(s):

Gena Nelson ◽

Sara Cothren Cook ◽

Kary Zarate ◽

Sarah R. Powell ◽

Daniel M. Maggin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Special Education ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Future Research ◽

Evidence Based Practices ◽

Intensive Instruction ◽

Disability Categories ◽

Meta Analyses

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.

Reflect, Analyze, Act, Repeat: Creating Critical Consciousness through Critical Service-Learning at a Professional Development School

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci8030148 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 148 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Andrews ◽

Susan Leonard

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Service Learning ◽

Critical Consciousness ◽

Professional Development School ◽

Engaged Scholarship ◽

Traditional Service ◽

Community Engaged Scholarship ◽

Universities engage students in traditional service-learning projects that often yield “good feelings”, even a savior mentality, but typically leave the root causes of social justice issues unexamined and untouched. In contrast to traditional service-learning, critical service-learning bridges this gap with an explicit focus on justice and equity, situating scholars’ work with the community rather than for it. A public university in the southeast offered a doctoral course that focused on critical service-learning in the context of a professional development school partnership. Designed as an ethnographic multi-case study, each graduate student in the on-site course represents a case. Data collection included interviews, observations, written reflections, and artefacts. The analysis revealed that developing critical service-learning projects with educators—rather than for them—supported participants’ critical consciousness. Findings and discussion highlight that facilitating community-engaged scholarship through critical service-learning impacts graduate students and middle-grades educators’ research interests, work, and future directions.

Variables Affecting the Reintegration Rate of Students with Serious Emotional Disturbance

Council review ◽

10.1177/001440299506100305 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 254-268 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Elana Esterson Rock ◽

Michael S. Rosenberg ◽

Deborah T. Carran

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Emotional Disturbance ◽

Teacher Attitudes ◽

Educational Program ◽

Special Educators ◽

Demographic Characteristics ◽

Serious Emotional Disturbance ◽

K 12

This study examined educational program and teacher variables to identify factors that predict the reintegration of students with serious emotional disturbance (SED) into less restrictive placements. Data on program demographics, reintegration orientation, teacher reintegration training, and teacher attitudes toward reintegration were collected from 162 special education teachers and 31 administrators in restrictive placements for K-12 students with SED. This information was compared to the reintegration rates of students in those schools through the use of a hierarchical set regression analysis. Results indicated that reintegration orientation, demographic characteristics of restrictive SED programs, and particular experiences/training of special educators predict the reintegration of students with SED into less restrictive programs.