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According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2020), school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected over 1.5 billion students and families. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented multiple challenges for teaching students with disabilities in an online instructional environment, but there are also opportunities for collaboration, training, and communication for special educators to meet the needs of their students.

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recently released updated standards regarding how to determine whether any particular intervention may be deemed an evidence-based practice (EBP). As new criteria regarding the acceptance of any specific intervention as evidence-based become available, the question arises: Would the application of new standards to studies completed under the older guidelines result in changes to past conclusions? The current study examined if changes in EBP standards might change the classification of an exemplar practice that was previously designated as an EBP. In this case, we examined video modeling (VM), an accepted practice regarding skill acquisition in special education as an exemplar practice. In order to determine if the new CEC 2014 standards would impact a previously determined EBP finding, a re-examination of Bellini and Akullian's (2007) frequently cited meta-analysis that focused on VM as an intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was conducted. The results revealed that if Bellini and Akullian had conducted their review using updated CEC 2014 standards, VM applied to individuals with ASD would not have been classified as an EBP.

Researchers have found that English teachers in the United States of America (USA) perceive providing writing instruction to students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) as a difficult task. This could be associated with the fact that students with EBD often work below skill level in the content area of writing compared to same age peers. Researchers continue to investigate interventions to increase academic outcomes for students with EBD. Utilizing a single case design, three middle school students with EBD were observed in a self-contained classroom to determine the effects of a traditional and technology based self-monitoring intervention focused on decreasing student off-task behaviors while increasing scores on writing assignments. The study took place in an urban school district within the Southeastern region of the USA. Results indicated that the first two intervention phases were equally as effective at reducing off-task behaviors. Additionally, the third intervention phase led to decreased off-task behaviors and increased writing scores for all students compared to the previous two phases. Social validity assessments indicated that the self-monitoring interventions were useful and relevant for teachers and students with EBD in the self-contained setting. Implications for teachers and educational researchers are discussed within this article.

Virtual reality software has evolved to create ever more realistic virtual environments. Sophisticated virtual education laboratory experiments are now possible. Some educators and researchers question the value of hands-on laboratories relative to virtual laboratories. Researchers have investigated students' acceptance of virtual laboratories and the relative effectiveness of virtual laboratories compared to traditional hands-on laboratories. Research results indicated that students' attitudes toward virtual laboratory experiments are positive, and researchers found virtual laboratory experiments to be as effective as or more effective than traditional hands-on laboratories. However, researchers have not measured simulated laboratory effectiveness for all standard education laboratory goals. Simulated laboratory technology will be part of science education, but how to introduce laboratory simulations and the appropriate role for simulated laboratories remains a subject of debate. Are virtual laboratory experiments acceptable substitutes for hands-on laboratories in secondary education? To explore this question, laboratory goals and effectiveness criteria must be defined and measured for secondary education. This paper explores the goals and effectiveness of virtual and hands-on education laboratories. This paper also outlines the arguments for and against the replacement of traditional hands-on labs with simulated laboratories in secondary science education and makes a case for using laboratory simulations to supplement rather than replace traditional hands-on laboratories.

This study was an empirical investigation of active student responding (ASR) utilizing a student response system (SRS) vs. single student questioning (SSQ) and no student responding in a graduate level special education class of 23 participants. During the SRS condition, every participant responded to questions using remotes/clickers. During the SSQ condition, the instructor randomly called upon individual participants to vocally answer a question. During the control condition, no questions were asked of participants. An alternating treatments design was used to test the effects of the three conditions on the response accuracy to a short-answer quiz at the beginning of next session and accuracy with which participants completed a task during which they must apply the information presented during the lecture. There was statistically significant difference in student performance on application tasks, but not statistically significant difference on quiz scores. The findings diverge from the results other SRS studies and K-12 ASR studies, but support some college level studies.

Teacher praise is one of the most important elements of teaching and learning. Behavioral consultation with and without performance has been shown to be an effective method for increasing instructional praise. The authors used an ABCBC design to investigate the effects of an interdependent group oriented contingency (GC) and the GC plus performance feedback (GC+) on the rate of praise per student of six pre-service teacher group leaders during an eight week summer camp for children with disabilities. The results showed that the GC was partially or totally effective in increasing praise for three of the participants over baseline levels and the GC+ was effective in increasing praise of all six participants. The results are discussed within the context of literature on behavioral consultation.

Every day school administrators and classroom teachers deal with behavior issues that sometimes result in office discipline referrals (ODRs) and other times in-school suspension. Interestingly, the top 5 percent of elementary students with the most disciplinary referrals account for 59 percent of all ODRs; similarly, the top 5 percent of middle school students with the most disciplinary referrals account for 49 percent of all ODRs (Sprague et al. 1999). In short, about half of all elementary and middle school referrals are for repeat offenders. Even when the disciplinary action is escalated to an in-school suspension (ISS), that punitive approach generally has been unsuccessful in curbing maladaptive behaviors. One method that could both determine why a student misbehaves and reduce time spent in ISS is functional behavioral assessment (FBA) followed by a function-based intervention. An FBA employs a variety of techniques and strategies (e.g., indirect and direct observations conducted in the classroom) designed to reveal the function of the behavior by identifying the antecedent and consequences that surround it. The authors of this article investigated the effects of implementing function-based interventions derived from an FBA. The primary purpose of the study was to assess the effects of function-based classroom interventions on the number of ODRs and the duration of ISS placements. The study was conducted in a suburban middle school that uses an ISS program as a primary form of discipline for students who receive multiple office disciplinary referrals for infractions of school policy. Using function-based interventions decreased the number of ODRs and reduced the duration of ISS as the students' needs were being addressed in the classroom through preventive measures. The results of this study suggest the value of implementing a proactive process to identify students who are displaying problematic behavior in the classroom and create individualized intervention plans for developing positive social behavior.

Gastric mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is a rare disease. Radiotherapy remains an important definitive modality. We assessed the long term outcomes of patients with early stage gastric MALT marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) treated with definitive radiotherapy at three institutions in New South Wales, Australia. A retrospective, multi‐center study of patients with gastric MALT MZ lymphoma treated with radiotherapy between 1st of March 1999 and 31st of May 2020 was conducted. Eligible patients were: age ≥18 years, treated with curative‐intent radiotherapy, pathological diagnosis of MALT MZ lymphoma. There were 33 eligible patients. Complete response (CR) was reported in 30/31 (96.7%) of endoscopically assessed cases. During median follow up of 66.2 months (IQR 22–119 months), estimated 5 and 10 years local relapse free survival were 92.6% (95% CI: 83–100) and 92.6% (95% CI: 83–100); distant relapse free survival 95.8% (95% CI 88.2–100) and 64.7% (95% CI 43.4–96.4); freedom from treatment failure 92.6% (95% CI; 83.1–100) and 62.5% (95% CI; 41.7–93.7), respectively. There were six documented recurrences; one local, four distant, and both in one patient; two cases were high grade recurrences. 5 and 10 years OS were 92.4% and 73.5% respectively. There were no grade 3–5 late toxicities or treatment related deaths. Patients with gastric MALT MZL treated with definitive radiotherapy have excellent outcomes. In long term follow up a significant proportion developed distant low grade disease. Extended follow up should be considered in these patients. Treatment is well tolerated with minimal toxicity. Radiotherapy remains an important modality in the treatment of gastric MALT MZ lymphoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]