Exploring the Special Education Classroom Context and Experiences Before and During COVID-19

During the last two and half years, school districts and special education programs have experienced a situation that turned the world of education upside down: the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, teachers, administration, families, and students had to maneuver a new way of education and achieving student success with different learning modalities, such as remote learning. This thesis focuses on a functional life skills classroom and how the context of the classroom changed after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic using autoethnographic methods. This paper was written to display how students in special education and their teachers adapted to a changing educational environment

Effectiveness of Instructional Design and Technology in a Non-Traditional Parental Program: An Embedded Single Case Study

The purpose of this case study is to discover the effectiveness of the instructional design of an organization\u27s current programs. The central research question was to determine how instructional design impacts the effectiveness of a nontraditional court-ordered parental instructional program. The theory guiding this study is Kearsley & Schneiderman’s engagement theory, as it structures interactions to facilitate collaboration in a project-based environment with a meaningful focus using instructional design. The methodology for analyzing this study includes Yin’s and Stake’s models to understand a profoundly complex social phenomenon and actual live program. This study gave intrinsic and extrinsic validity while researching a single program. During this study, ten parents expressed their experiences through interviews, participants\u27 reviews of the interview findings, and letter writing. The study used Yin’s transparent and systematic data collection and analysis approach. In addition, participants reviewed their interview drafts and pattern matching instead of the parent and instructor’s relationships influencing the response. A chain of events protocol documented the process for reliability. This study found that the instructional design for this program affected the perceived effectiveness by deliberately associating intervention methods and models of the engagement theory, transformative learning theory, and peacebuilding practices. As a result, an instructional design emerged supporting specific attributes for mothers with symptoms of prolonged complex post-traumatic stress disorder to transition their mindset while lowering their cognitive load. In addition, it provided a safe space for the parents to create and practice solutions with stakeholders through meaningful projects

Using an Interactive Computer Training to Train Teachers in Function-Based Assessment and Intervention

Since many educators receive little-to-no formal training in evidence-based classroom management strategies, it may be helpful to train general education teachers in strategies that direct them to the underlying causes of problem behavior. One such strategy is functional behavior assessment, which is the process of gathering information to determine the function of problem behavior, or why behavior is occurring. One potentially effective way of training teachers in this process may be to use an interactive computer training, which has previously been used to train a variety of complex behavior analytic skills with other populations. In the current study, we trained four general education teachers (grades K - 8th) in a function-based approach to problem behavior using an interactive computer training. We evaluated the effects of the training using a multiple baseline across participants design, measuring participants\u27 percentage correct composite scores in assessment sessions. Composite scores represented participants\u27 overall accuracy collecting structured antecedent-behavior-consequence data from video examples, analyzing descriptive data presented in charts, and selecting, function-matched interventions. We also assessed whether the skills trained generalized to longer videos by calculating the percentage of Generalization Probes components participants included in their baseline and post-training narrative responses. We found that only one of four teachers (P6) achieved mastery-level performances in post-training assessment session composite scores. However, we also found that three of four participants (P1, P6, and P7) included a greater percentage of response components in post-training Generalization Probes after completing the interactive computer training. Potential explanations for these performances are discussed. We also explored the relationship between measures of within-session responding in the interactive computer training modules and training outcomes. Finally, we collected social validity data to assess participants\u27 perceptions of the interactive computer training and the content covered within. Social validity data revealed that three of four participants (P1, P6, and P7) found the fully-remote training to be acceptable and all participants reported that learning about function-based approach to problem behavior was beneficial. We conclude by discussing ways the interactive computer training and the methods of assessing skill acquisition used in this study might be improved in future research

Teaching Under Crisis: Impact and Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education in Minnesota

A mixed-methods exploratory study was conducted to explore the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on Minnesota teachers. A convenience sample of 976 teachers were surveyed in mid-April 2020 via the Qualtrics version of the Swaggert Instructional Practice Under Crisis (SIPUC) questionnaire containing 43 questions. The SIPUC data were analyzed following the Leadership in Times of Crisis Framework for Assessment (Boin et al., 2013), that is, an emergency instructional triage to determine which teachers had been mostly impacted and the scope and effect the pandemic had on their instruction and lives. Teachers described the pandemic as an event that disrupted their teaching practices as well as their personal lives. Teachers remained focused on providing relevant learning experiences to their students in spite of the instructional challenges and the educational equity issues that became evident very early on. Resilience as well as confidence in their educational leaders was reported by the majority of teachers. A detailed description of the findings is provided as well as recommendations for educational leaders

Families Engineering Together in Communities and At Home: Facilitation Guide

In this publication, we present a program that serves as a bridge between families and learning environments of all kinds, and provides a pathway for engineering design to be incorporated into the everyday lives of families and kids. Supporting families in their home environment, the program offers a fun and approachable introduction to thinking about engineering and bringing these concepts to life. Conversation and engagement between children and caregivers is so important during elementary school years - this program encourages families to think about, discuss, and experience engineering in a fun and accessible way in their home and community environments. This guide is written to support other stakeholders in implementing a similar program for families to engage as engineers together

Distance learning in the Pitman school district: a window on the world

The purpose of this study was to understand how a well-developed procedure to facilitate the use of distance learning technology would impact teaching practice and student achievement at Pitman High School. As part of the action research, the intern conducted a survey using a questionnaire that employed a Likert-type format. The population for the study consisted of a sample of the teaching staff from Pitman Schools representing an elementary school, middle and high school. Each of these schools had distance learning technology available. The intern analyzed the results of the survey, and computed the mean response to each question for each school. In spite of extensive planning and groundwork, the level of utilization of this technology did not meet the intern\u27s expectations. The intern\u27s observations and research revealed causes for the limited use. The survey results indicated that the teachers, while exhibiting limited use, held this technology in high regard and desired support and training to enhance their infusion of the technology into their educational practice. The intern concluded that positive change occurred, and she will continue to develop effective methods to infuse this technology into the curriculum at Pitman High School

Washington University Record, January 25, 2007

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record/2094/thumbnail.jp

Elementary Teachers’ Experiences with Remote Learning and its Impact on Science Instruction: Multiple Cases from the Early Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Teachers across the United States and worldwide found themselves in unprecedented educational situations during the early response period to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020. Efforts to quarantine and provide social distancing to prevent the spread of the disease brought mandated school closures throughout the United States, and teachers were required to pivot from their traditional, in-person instructional methods and deliver instruction remotely. This phenomenological multiple-case study explored the experiences of 10 elementary teachers with remote learning during the early response period and sought to understand the delivery of science instruction in the remote learning experience. Weekly interviews were conducted with each teacher over the nine-week remote learning period during the spring of 2020 to focus on their experiences each week in delivering and modifying instruction, engaging students in learning, communicating with parents and students throughout the process, and their perceptions of the involved conditions, situations, or issues of the week. A follow-up interview was conducted in September 2020 to capture the experiences of their transitions back to the classroom while still facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Case studies describing the experiences of the participants were written to capture the essence of what each teacher experienced and the factors that influenced their experiences, and a cross-case synthesis was conducted to draw conclusions and make comparisons across the experiences. Results indicated that literacy and mathematics were the focus of instruction during this remote learning period, giving students minimal opportunities to engage in science content. Teachers delivered instruction through a variety of methods, using digital tools that were often new and unfamiliar. Guidelines and expectations were lacking and did not adequately support teachers. Academic disparities were brought to the forefront due to inadequate access to internet, limited understanding of delivering instruction via remote methods, and the perception of students and parents was that the remote learning experience was optional and unimportant. This study demonstrates the resiliency and efforts of teachers during times of crisis and provides evidence for district and state level leaders needed to support teachers, parents, and students with similar situations in the future

The Effectiveness of Information Technology-Based Islamic Religious Education Learning (E-Learning)

Kemajuan Teknologi Informasi banyak membawa dampak positif bagi kemajuan dunia pendidikan dewasa ini, baik dalam hal perangkat keras maupun perangkat lunak. Dengan adanya perkembangan dalam pembelajaran, saat ini banyak pihak penyelenggara pendidikan mulai melirik penerapan konsep distance learning sebagai alternatif pembelajaran yang dianggap lebih efektif dan efisien. Di sisi lain pendidikan agama khususnya agama Islam yang mempunyai tujuan membentuk sikap dan kepribadian muslim yang bertqwa kepada Allah dengan pendekatan keimanan, rasional, emosional, pembiasaan, pengamalan dan keteladanan dirasa kurang efektif bagi sistem pendidikan jarak jauh (distance learning). Karena dengan pendekatan-pendekatan pembelajaran diatas dibutuhkan tatap muka secara langsung, efektif dan terus menerus. Namun demikian, pembelajaran dengan e-Learning tetap merupakan keniscayaan bagi pendidikan agama Islam dalam tataran kognitif. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskripsi kualitatif dimana penulis menggambarkan fonomena dan kedaan sedalam- dalamnya tentang Efektivitas Pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam Berbasis teknologi Informasi (E-learning). Data diperoleh dari studi literature yang membahas  tentang pembelajaran dan teknologi. Dari hasil penelitian yang telah dilakukan dapat disimpulkan bahwa pembelajaran berbasis teknologi informasi (e-Learning) merupakan suatu keniscayaan. Dengan asumsi (e-learning) akan memudahkan bagi siswa/mahasiswa untuk bisa mengakses semua materi agama Islam yang sangat luas dari seluruh perpustakaan di dunia