Search

Teachers of students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may face obstacles and feel isolated when implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) programming with students. The teacher study group (TSG) offers an effective way to overcome barriers and improve SEL. These groups provide a gathering space for teachers to investigate problems of practice, celebrate points of pride, and strengthen professional learning in a focused area. In this article, we summarize existing research on SEL and TSGs and describe available SEL programs that incorporate TSGs. We provide an example of SEL-focused TSGs in practice, offering guidance and tips for early elementary school teachers—and the administrators who support them—who work with students with or at risk for EBD.

Federal mandates (e.g., Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], 2015) require special educators to use evidence-based practices (EBP) when working with K-12 students. However, for this expectation to become a reality, teacher educators must make changes in educator preparation program (EPP) curriculum, policy, coursework, and clinical experiences (Kolb et al., 2018). The need for changesin EPP clinical experiences has been underscored by the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC’s) shift from knowledge to practice-based standards for special educators (CEC, 2020). Real-time performance feedback (PF) delivered via online bug-in-ear (BIE) technology is an EBP (Sinclair, 2020) for coaching and supervising during early, mid, and late clinical experiences. In this article,we offer a rationale for making widespread, digital-age changes to coaching and supervising, through online BIE; provide an overview of relevant research; and offer guidance and recommendations for successful online BIE integration during EPP clinical experiences.

Research–practice partnerships (RPPs) have grown rapidly in the last decade in the United States to challenge traditional notions of education research by emphasizing the importance of researchers and practitioners working together in a spirit of mutuality to develop research questions, collect data, implement interventions, and analyze and use findings. RPP scholarship in the United States has historically advocated for the need to pay more focused attention to issues of equity and justice. To address that need, this literature review examined how RPPs in the United States have addressed equity and justice in their work. Based on five dimensions of equity and justice that could be observed within the 149 examples of RPP work we reviewed, we identified 17 exemplar projects that explicitly and effectively forefront equity and justice in RPPs, what we call equity-focused. Implications suggest that researchers and practitioners who have initiated equity-orientated RPPs may reflect on the partnerships’ existing strengths, specifically related to the five interconnected features that characterize equity-focused RPPs, to sustain and advance equity and justice through RPPs.

We examined changes in burnout across three timepoints in one school year, in a sample ( N = 230) of special educators serving students with emotional-behavioral disorders, in 15 school districts selected through stratified random sampling at the national level. Emotional exhaustion decreased at each timepoint in the school year and personal accomplishment increased from fall to spring. Latent growth curve modeling did not produce latent trajectories of burnout among teachers; however, cross-lagged panel structure equation modeling revealed that emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment had both direct and indirect effects on depersonalization. Differences in burnout were significant by race/ethnicity but not by gender. Participants reported higher emotional exhaustion, lower depersonalization, and higher personal accomplishment than a national sample. We provide implications for researchers and practitioners.

Engaging in deliberate practice opportunities during special education teacher preparation may increase the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based practices with fidelity in K-12 classrooms. We used a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the effects of providing immediate feedback through eCoaching with online Bug-In-Ear (BIE) technology on special education teacher candidates’ acquisition and sustained use of behavior specific praise (BSP) during Mursion™ classroom simulations. We also measured equitable praise rates and used the Behavior Specific Praise Observational Tool (BSP-OT) to evaluate teacher candidates’ praise variety. Results showed a functional relation between the intervention and teacher candidates’ use of BSP. Maintenance, equity, and praise variety data indicated promising social validity findings.

Young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid intellectual disability (ID) are vastly underrepresented in the area of postsecondary employment. This study evaluated the effectiveness and perceptions of an intervention package incorporating constant time delay (CTD) and eCoaching to promote employment skill acquisition. CTD was used by a teacher interventionist to instruct four student participants with ASD and ID in a community setting, while concurrently receiving real-time performance feedback through eCoaching. A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on skill acquisition while simultaneously measuring CTD implementation fidelity. Results showed rapid skill acquisition and generalization and follow-up data were positive. CTD was implemented with fidelity and rated favorably among participants.

Homelessness is a complex and multifaceted condition that affects 2.5 million, or one in every 30, children annually. Based on these numbers, it is likely that at least one student has experienced or is experiencing homelessness in most public school classrooms. Sixteen percent of students experiencing homelessness also received services under IDEA in 2014. Authors describe how homelessness impacts the outcomes of students—particularly those with disabilities, what federal policies and protections exist, and how communities lend support. One hallmark of special education, and an essential strategy for serving students experiencing homelessness, is a team approach. Thus, the authors conclude with five practical, team-based tips for school personnel, based on the acronym HOMES, to help ensure they are providing the supports and services these students need.

Contemporary challenges confronting special education teachers include, in part, workload, role ambiguity, evaluation, and shortages. Based on these and other challenges, the piece-meal fragmented approach to pre- and in-service training, which exists currently, needs to be replaced with 21st century models of special education teacher development that are seamless, technology enabled, comprehensive, cohesive, and career spanning. In this article, the authors briefly address persistent and unresolved challenges, identify contemporary change drivers, and discuss ways in which teacher education professionals could leverage the drivers to inform the development of 21st century models for special education teacher development aimed at improving outcomes for students with disabilities. Change drivers include the digital revolution, the diversity gap, the credibility factor, the demand for collective impact, and the culture of we. The authors conclude with a call to action.

We conducted a content analysis to examine trends in articles published between 1996 and 2014 in two journals— Teacher Education and Special Education ( TESE) and the Journal of Teacher Education ( JTE). Across both journals, we coded 1,062 articles categorically based on multiple attributes (e.g., type, topics, methodology, funding, geographic location, and student outcomes). We then analyzed these data using visual inspection, magnitude of trend, and percent of change. Most notably, we confirmed reductions in nonempirical articles, survey research, qualitative inquiries, and program descriptions. By contrast, we observed increases in articles that included P-12 student outcomes and in quantitative research, as well as in topics of in-service, global, and clinical experiences. Taken together, these findings allow us to chart a path forward for teacher development research, policy, and practice.

Through research-practice partnerships (RPPs) researchers and practitioners engage in long-term problem-solving collaborations aimed, in part, at increasing the capacity of personnel in local schools and districts to manage and use educational data for improvement. There has been an increasing number of studies exploring the process and outcomes of RPPs in the United States since 2013. Based on the review of 86 articles published during 2013–2019, we described the data management and use engagement process across various types of RPPs in the field of education and identified key considerations reported by RPPs in the United States. For researchers and practitioners engaged in the initiation and development of RPPs, the findings of this review offer empirically derived data management and use strategies for consideration.

Although co-teaching has become a popular approach to special education service provision in inclusive classrooms, practitioners have struggled to carry it out well. One suggestion for improvement has been to provide co-teachers with training that includes coaching. In this study, we used single-case (ABAB) withdrawal design, to investigate the effects of eCoaching, delivered through online bug-in-ear technology, on co-teachers as they planned and carried out co-teaching. Participants included three co-teaching dyads ( n = 6); each comprised of one general and one special educator. Visual inspection of graphed data along with quantitative analysis (i.e., percentage of non-overlapping data) confirmed that eCoaching increased participants’ use of varied co-teaching models and student-specific accommodations, while co-teachers’ interviews and students’ time samples verified social validity. Taken together, these findings lead to better understanding of the benefits and limitations of eCoaching with co-teachers.

In this study, using mixed methods, we investigated the longer term effects of eCoaching through advanced online bug-in-ear (BIE) technology. Quantitative data on five dependent variables were extracted from 14 participants’ electronically archived video files at three points in time—Spring 1 (i.e., baseline, which was the first semester of enrollment without eCoaching feedback), Spring 2 (i.e., 1 year later with eCoaching feedback), and Spring 3 (i.e., 2 years later after exiting the program without eCoaching feedback). Qualitative data were collected by means of interviews with participants regarding their ongoing participation in eCoaching. Quantitative analysis, using repeated-measures ANOVA, confirmed initial improvements in participants’ teaching practices and P-12 student engagement generally withstood the test of time. Also, qualitative findings indicated, as time went on, participants had more positive than negative attitudes toward eCoaching through advanced online BIE.

As increasing numbers of students with disabilities are taught in general education classrooms, co-teaching has become an established method of special education service provision. No longer viewed by education professionals as a collaborative model-come-lately, this shared approach of working side by side with a colleague in a classroom can be a rewarding and at the same time frustrating experience. This article offers co-teachers practical techniques to enhance their interactions and, in turn, improve educational outcomes for all of their students.

Technology enables university professors to observe and literally whisper in the ear of a teacher during instruction.

There is little question that today’s society is a litigious one, and few professions can escape the realities of such. Although there is no mandate for national data collection on special education due process hearings (Ahearn, 2002), Chambers, Harr, and Dhanani (2003) estimate that more than 9,000 requests for dispute resolution are made per year. The hearings that result from unresolved disputes between parents and school district personnel are often stressful (Lombardi & Ludlow, 2004; O’Shea, Bateman, Algozzine, & O’Shea, 2004), and the outcomes are frequently disappointing to both parties (Mills & Duff-Mallams, 2004; Vitello, 1990). In this article, we attempt to broaden discussion about due process by pointing out potential benefits frequently overlooked in practice and in the professional literature. We begin by offering a redacted or summarized version of a due process case as example. We present reasons why education professionals should view due process hearings as instructive, and then we follow up with suggestions about how educators can best use legal reviews of decision summaries.

Research begun in the 1960s provided the impetus for teacher educators to urge classroom teachers to establish classroom rules, deliver high rates of verbal/nonverbal praise, and, whenever possible, to ignore minor student provocations. In that there have been significant advances in the knowledge of what constitutes effective classroom management, a review of past-to-present literature was conducted to determine whether it is time to alter the thinking about one or more of these basic behavioral strategies. The research conducted over the years supports the basic tenets of these strategies, but with some important caveats. Finally, there are several newer strategies that warrant attention.

Students with learning and behavioral disorders often lack the requisite academic skills and behavioral self-control to remain engaged during passive seatwork activities. Because independent seatwork composes a large portion of the instructional time in general education classrooms and teachers expect students to demonstrate self-control in these environments, it is important to identify effective procedures to manage student behavior and increase academic involvement during such tasks. The purpose of this article is to present 20 approaches special educators can implement with general educators to do this.

(2008). Introduction to the Special Issue: A Blueprint for Implementing Evidence-Based Behavioral Supports. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth: Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 3-6.

Student success in school depends, in part, on adequate social-interpersonal skills. Yet, in a time when all students are expected to reach specified academic goals, school personnel are hard-pressed to find ways to address the social-interpersonal behavior needs of their students. In this article, the authors discuss practical ways for teachers to infuse social skills into academic instruction. The authors begin with a vignette to establish a rationale for merging academic and social skills instruction. Next, the authors briefly review the social skills research, highlight several studies, encapsulate the common overlapping assumptions, and describe the steps required to deliver quality social skills instruction. The authors describe the ENGAGE blueprint as a practical way to incorporate social skills into daily academic instruction. Last, the authors revisit the vignette to illustrate classroom application of the ENGAGE blueprint.

Today, teachers are responsible not only for meeting the diverse needs of all students but also for ensuring improved educational outcomes. Accordingly, school personnel are seeking proven ways to strengthen traditional classroom practices. Beginning with the plight of two teachers—one general and one special education—the authors offer a rationale for differentiating instruction. Then they review the literature on differentiated instruction, highlighting the myths, models, and evidence to support it. The authors draw on the accumulated research to provide a framework for differentiating instruction. Using REACH as a mnemonic, the framework they developed includes a comprehensive inventory and several practical strategies for using it. They revisit the case vignette to illustrate the application of the REACH framework.

In this study, using a single-case multiple-treatment reversal (A-B-A-B-C) research design, we replicated and extended previous strategic self-monitoring research by teaching five students, with and without disabilities, to use ACT-REACT to increase their academic engagement, productivity, and accuracy across new and previously learned math material. Then, we gradually faded the students’ use of the strategic self-monitoring recording sheet until they were no longer using it. When the ACT-REACT self-monitoring recording sheet was in place the students’ engagement and academic productivity increased; however, when it was faded, the results varied. During fading, the students’ performance generally exceeded baseline conditions and compared adequately to intervention effects. Overall, the results of this study support the advantages of strategic self-monitoring and also point to the mixed benefits of fading these procedures in inclusive environments.

This study investigated the effects of a strategic self-monitoring intervention (i.e., The University of Alabama ACT-REACT) on the academic engagement, nontargeted problem behavior, productivity, and accuracy of students with and without disabilities. Seven boys and two girls of elementary age who received their educational services in two different inclusive classrooms participated in this investigation. The students were taught to use the ACT-REACT strategy during independent math/reading seatwork. ACT-REACT is a combined self-monitoring of attention and self-monitoring of performance intervention designed to help chronically disengaged students take control of their learning. A multiple-baseline-across-subjects design with an embedded reversal indicates that ACT-REACT was an effective strategy for fostering self-management and enhancing the academic performance of students with differing needs in inclusive classrooms.

Too frequently, current approaches to discipline de-emphasize the importance of social, emotional, and behavioral instruction and overemphasize the use of punishment. When reactive, punitive consequences are the primary form of discipline, a negative school climate emerges. To prevent an unconstructive learning environment, educators need to teach students the knowledge, skills, and abilities that lead to the development of emotional competency. This article describes creative ways to use graphic organizers to effectively manage educational environments, build behavioral literacy in students, and create a learning community that celebrates diversity and empowerment.

Do you want to help students believe in themselves and their learning potential? This article addresses the challenge of disengaged students and provides teachers with a "transfiguration" model that uses a practical and robust strategy to transform disengaged learners to active participants. Let's examine the inclusive education environment and why we need to transform the way we work with all our students to set learning goals, create a workable plan, use motivating activities, and reflect and evaluate along the way.

Being strategic at facilitating change in the quality of accommodations employed on behalf of students with learning disabilities means focusing on aspects that can be changed (teacher-specific variables) rather than those that cannot or are more difficult to change (social reality variables). This article provides a critical analysis of these variables and focuses on principles, theory, and supporting research for a triadic, synergistic model focusing on strategic approaches for making professional knowledge accessible, development of quality accommodations, benchmarks and related assessment systems, and strategies for implementing incremental change, and how these serve as the basis for the development of Makes Sense Accommodations software, the Quality Accommodations Inventory software, and the Step–Wise Incremental Change Strategy.

In 1990, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania revised its special education standards to require intervention-assistance services (i.e., Instructional Support Teams or ISTs) for elementary-age (K-6) public school students who experience academic or behavioral difficulty. The action was taken largely because of the increasing numbers of students being deemed eligible for special education services and because of funding patterns that penalized school districts for providing support to students prior to formal assessment and special education placement ("Brainstorming Helps," 1996; Conway & Kovaleski, 1998; Kovaleski, Tucker, & Stevens, 1996; Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, 1994). The intervention-assistance reform effort was designed to be proactive and focused on providing more effective instruction to meet students' needs in general education classrooms (Conway & Kovaleski; Kovaleski et al.).

Fifteen years ago, as a beginning special education teacher, I was proud of the preparation I had received in developing individualized education programs (IEPs). I was confident in my knowledge and skills and spent long hours after school and on weekends creating detailed IEPs for my students. I conferenced extensively with parents regarding the wonderful educational programs I had created for their children. The parents nodded and smiled in agreement. In fact, they were quite appreciative. Yet they said little about their child. At the time, I was perplexed and often bewildered about their reluctance to contribute to the dialogue. In retrospect, how could they have responded any differently? I was the one monopolizing the discourse.

Beginning with Public Law 94-142 (see Education for All Handicapped Children Act [IDEA] of 1975, codified and amended as Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2000), a succession of legislative acts has had a powerful influence on public education (in this issue, Hardman & Dawson; see also Swanson & Stevenson, 2002). With the more recent enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and the IDEA of 2004, there is an unwavering commitment to ensuring that students with disabilities have access to general education. These laws have substantially raised the proverbial bar as it relates to the quality of classroom instruction. Today, students with disabilities must not only receive an individualized education but also achieve prescribed academic standards. The question facing school personnel is how to accomplish this. The tremendous challenge associated with improving outcomes for students with disabilities has left many present-day general and special educators struggling to find a solution.

Being strategic implies intentionality. It involves knowing what one wants to happen, and then intentionally seeing that it occurs. It also implies having a toolbox from which one can pull tools or tactics to apply, and it implies selecting the best tool for the occasion. The ?best? tools are those that get the job done while requiring the least amount of time and energy to use them. To select the appropriate tool, one must analyze the situation for which a tool is needed to determine the problem’s critical attributes and then match these up with the attributes of various tools to find the best fit. This requires one to possess not only knowledge about each of the tools in the toolbox, but also knowledge about the problem-solving context for which the tool is needed. Being strategic also means that one monitors the effectiveness of the tool once it is employed to both ensure the tool is working efficiently and to learn more about the tool itself (what it can and cannot accomplish) as well as to learn more about the problem-solving situation.