Behavioral Data Analysis of Robot-Assisted Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Interventions Based on Lattice Computing Techniques

Recent years have witnessed the proliferation of social robots in various domains including special education. However, specialized tools to assess their effect on human behavior, as well as to holistically design social robot applications, are often missing. In response, this work presents novel tools for analysis of human behavior data regarding robot-assisted special education. The objectives include, first, an understanding of human behavior in response to an array of robot actions and, second, an improved intervention design based on suitable mathematical instruments. To achieve these objectives, Lattice Computing (LC) models in conjunction with machine learning techniques have been employed to construct a representation of a child’s behavioral state. Using data collected during real-world robot-assisted interventions with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the aforementioned behavioral state representation, time series of behavioral states were constructed. The paper then investigates the causal relationship between specific robot actions and the observed child behavioral states in order to determine how the different interaction modalities of the social robot affected the child’s behavior.

«Revolutionary» Trends in the Labor Market

The labor market in our time is experiencing revolutionary changes. The era of a relatively stable labor market is over. There is no balance of vacancies between the needs of the modern economy and specialists trained by the education system. New technologies lead to the emergence of new professions, new vacancies. And hence the main and paradoxical trend of the modern labor market of new technologies - a lot of “non-specialists” (that is, people who have not received a special education) who create new types of labor activity, and then new professions appear, and as a result, new vacancies, and, again, new "non-specialists" creating new specialties. From the point of view of the structure of modern education, it is ready to solve these problems. But, unfortunately, these education functions are not yet activated. And the labor market needs them more and more. Those. education should teach students to self-seek.

ICTs and Speed Learning in Special Education: High-Consciousness Training Strategies for High-Capacity Learners through Metacognition Lens

Education in the 21st century is called upon to prepare students with disabilities to enter a high-consciousness society where people can learn, think and react fast. The current review paper aims at investigating the role of fast learning in special education. We trace the essential indicators of speed learning with a special focus on those factors that are most relevant to learning disabilities. Afterward, we present evidence-based training techniques and strategies that speed up learning. In addition, we examine the role of ICTs as essential training tools in speed learning. Finally, we discuss the role of metacognition in training fast and conscious learners. The results of this review showed that speed learning training techniques improve all those factors that accelerate learning such as spatial attention, visual span, processing speed, speed reaction, executive functions, metacognition and consciousness. Most important, fast learning strategies meliorate control processes and spatial intelligence which is extremely fast and powerful. This study also points to the option of including high-speed training techniques in schools to help children with or without disabilities to become conscious and high-capacity learners.

Building Professional Capacity among Paraeducators through Onboarding

Many studies have investigated the inadequacy of training and support for special education paraeducators, but few have examined prehire activities or recommended a comprehensive plan to train and hire paraeducators. This quantitative action research study of 267 special education paraeducators and special education teachers was conducted in a large urban school district to address the concern over paraeducators’ lack of knowledge and training and the need to consider these factors when hiring staff in public school districts. Based on themes from the literature and the expertise of an insider, the purpose of the study was to increase the understanding of the relationship between and the perception of the importance of organizational factors, employee knowledge, and training. Results showed that paraeducators are not adequately trained, prefer specific training topics, and recognize that factors and knowledge affect job performance. The researchers then created a formal institutionalized onboarding program for new hire paraeducators based on a change management model. Immediate implementation recommendations, along with an onboarding plan and checklist, are included for school districts and their human resource departments.

Schaffer v. Weast’s Effects on California Special Education Hearing Decisions

This research examined the associations between Schaffer v. Weast (2005) and special education due process hearing decisions in California. Using a database we coded from the state’s due process hearings for cases which reached a decision (years 1995–2019), this study analyzed (1) how legal representation and the filing party affected the probability of the student fully or partially prevailing in these cases, and (2) how Schaffer affected student representation and the prevailing party before and after this ruling. The results indicate that while students were statistically as likely to be plaintiffs and/or represented by an attorney before and after the 2005 time break in the study, the decision raised the bar for students as the likelihood of favorable outcomes for students fell significantly in the wake of the ruling.