Search

Broad scientific concepts are vital to individual wellbeing as a function of daily living skills. Science connects how individuals interact with the environment and how they interpret those interactions (Browder et al, 2007). According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, students with disabilities score significantly lower than students without IEPs on standardized science achievement assessments (National Center of Education Statistics, 2015). In addition, students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are likely to be left out of opportunities to learn science content regardless of educational setting. The current study examines and analyzes published single-case research (SCR) on science and science-related achievement for students with IDD through Tau-U effect size analysis and rigor evaluation. Implications for research and teaching are discussed.

Daily behavior report cards (DBRCs) have shown to be effective in addressing academic and behavioral challenges for a variety of students in past literature. The purpose of this literature review and analysis is to update and summarize findings on the use of DBRCs on academic and social behavior for students considered to have disruptive behaviors or identified with disabilities. We identified eleven studies in the literature examining DBRCs with 390 participants with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disabilities, emotional behavioral disorders, speech and language, multiple disabilities, other health impairments, or considered to have disruptive behavior in Pre-K through sixth grade academic settings. We also calculated effect sizes overall for each study and student-based characteristics. Findings suggest that using DBRCs have a range from weak to strong impact on the academic and social behaviors of students considered to have disruptive behaviors or students with disabilities in classroom settings. We present implications for research and practice.

The increased emphasis on STEM related careers and the use of science in everyday life makes learning science content and concepts critical for all students especially for those with disabilities. As suggested by the National Resource Council (2012), more emphasis is being placed on being able to critically think about science concepts in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, the Next Generation Science Standards are asking teachers and students to better understand how science is connected to the everyday world through the use of inquiry-based methods. The manuscript focuses on the use of a structured argument-based inquiry approach to science instruction called the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH). The SWH approach has shown some initial success in improving science achievement for students with disabilities. The current study compares treatment and comparison groups of students with disabilities in the area of science achievement. Treatment group students were taught using the SWH approach, while the comparison groups were taught using traditional science teaching. The authors found that students in the SWH groups scored significantly better than the comparison groups on post-test science achievement scores. The authors also found stronger effect size results for SWH groups as well. Implications for teaching science to students with disabilities are discussed.

Classroom management is essential for student related academic and behavioral outcomes. Novice teachers, as well as faculty members, of special education teacher preparation programs report insufficient preparedness in providing meaningful behavioral supports to exceptional learners. With advancements in technology, tactile prompting is a promising modality for teachers to overcome cognitive overload and facilitate more effective practice of classroom management behaviors. We used a multiple-baseline, across behaviors design to assess the effects of prompting with wearable technology (i.e., Apple Watch™) to increase behavior-specific praise, active questioning, and classroom scanning of a preservice special education teacher. Results indicate a functional relation between prompting with wearable technology and targeted increases across multiple behaviors. Behavior-specific praise rates, however, faded synchronously with prompting fades. The participant rated the intervention as a non-intrusive, effective device to increase teaching behaviors. Implications for future research and classroom use are discussed.

The dynamic between leadership and followership is important, yet historically in education, only leadership has seen emphasis and examination. Followership in itself is not a new concept because virtually every individual spends more time in the role of follower than leader and there have been both leaders and followers throughout the course of history. Even within the described structures (i.e., military, business, culture), there is still scant research on followership which unsurprisingly results in virtually no research on followership in K-12 educational settings. As schools are comprised of teachers and administrators in the roles of followers and leaders, understanding nuances in the leadership-followership dynamic provides opportunities for improving collaboration and thus school climate. In her book "Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders," Barbara Kellerman (2008) defines followership, what it means to be a follower, and identifies types of followers in four different contexts/industries. While Kellerman's work does not specifically focus on K-12 educational settings, the article's authors feel that the theories and ideas she posits can apply to the teacher/administrator dynamic found in schools. Further, they feel that Kellerman's work can support effective collaboration between teachers and administration. As such, the authors will apply Kellerman's ideas regarding followership to K-12 school settings to answer the following questions: (1) What is followership and how does it influence leadership? (2) What are the characteristics, types, and behavior of followers? and (3) How does the followership/leadership dynamic intersect with improved collaboration?

An increased focus on science instruction and science learning for students with special education needs has been growing over the past decade. Research studies, particularly meta-analyses focused on science for students with disabilities, show investigators are interested in what science strategies and approaches (e.g., graphic organizers, inquiry-based instruction,) work for students regardless of identified need (e.g., learning disabilities). However, researchers have noted that science instruction can often rely heavily on text and have burdensome reading demands that may cause students with disabilities to struggle. Research suggests that incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL), multimodal representation, the arts, and communicative technologies can reduce the language load for learning science content and phenomena for students with special education needs. The purpose of this paper is to provide resources and suggestions for reducing the language barriers in science for students with special education needs through the use of multimodal representation and communication technologies.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders exhibit high levels of inappropriate behaviors. As a consequence, engagement in class as well as academic progress suffers. A review of the literature was conducted to examine the effects of teacher praise on attending behaviors and academic achievement of students with emotional disabilities. Results of ten studies meeting inclusion criteria were analyzed. Findings suggest teacher praise positively affected attending behaviors with increases in on-task behaviors and decreases in disruptive behaviors. A relationship between teacher praise and academic achievement could not be established due to confounding variables; however, a relationship between teacher praise and student age emerged. Teacher praise affected attending behaviors of younger participants' more than older participants. Limitations, teaching implications and future research are discussed.

In comparison to the past, more students with disabilities are being included in the general education classroom for science instruction. Though inquiry-based instruction has not shown to be an effective practice for students with disabilities, it is vastly becoming the dominant practice in science education. The purpose of this review is to examine the effects of inquiry based instruction on science achievement for students with disabilities. The twelve studies, meeting selection criteria, report improvement in science achievement using inquiry practices. The participants and settings, variations of inquiry-based instruction, science achievement measures, and teacher training were addressed in this review. Two major contributions have resulted from analyzing the twelve studies. First, students with disabilities require supports to participate in an inquiry-based lesson and demonstrate progress on science achievement measures. Second, science achievement improves when components of explicit instruction are utilized in both the general and special education setting for students with disabilities.

There has been increased attention paid to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics also known as STEM. The focus on STEM has been both educational and occupational. Unfortunately, students with disabilities perform below their peers without disabilities in math and science. The authors discuss issues related to STEM and students with disabilities. These issues include (1) traditional views of STEM education, (2) the importance of STEM education, and (3) students with disabilities performance in STEM. The authors posit a framework for STEM education for students with disabilities and promote the incorporation of the arts to increase students' STEM knowledge and achievement.

Understanding science concepts and phenomena is important for an increasingly complex global society. For students with disabilities, there continue to be huge achievement disparities in science achievement when compared to their peers without disabilities. This includes students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examines and analyzes published research on science and science-related achievement for students with ASD. The authors reviewed characteristics of the research related to science achievement for students with ASD from 2000 through 2018 and analyzed included data to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions included in the studies. Implications for research and teaching are discussed.

Poor science achievement has been an educational issue for a number of years. Students with disabilities have traditionally fared worse. Research suggests that students with disabilities may respond better to instruction using an inquiry-based approach vs. traditional textbook instruction when measuring science achievement on standardized measures. The researchers report achievement data on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills from a target school district for students' Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and non-IEP students, as well as students with IEPs at the state level. Using an argument-based inquiry approach to science instruction called the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH); the researchers report data supporting its impact on student achievement in science. Data suggest that the SWH may contribute to science achievement for students with IEPs.