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Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations in the United States. This is especially true for teachers who are responsible for meeting the complex needs of students with disabilities, particularly those with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). In fact, EBD teachers have a higher risk of experiencing burnout than their special education and general education colleagues. This burnout leads EBD teachers to leave the specialization of EBD, leave the field of special education, or leave the teaching profession as a whole. One way to mitigate this exodus of EBD teachers is to provide a broader pedagogical opportunity. Project-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical methodology that is not often used by EBD teachers. The current study examines the use of PBL teaching to support students behaviorally and its impact on EBD teacher stress and job satisfaction. PBL was shown to improve student classroom and personal behaviors as well as increase job satisfaction for EBD teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with disabilities (SWD) have consistently been excluded in science in science classrooms. As inquiry‐based instruction is the preferred method of science instruction, finding the best ways to teach using inquiry as an inclusive methodology is essential. The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) is an argument‐based inquiry approach that has shown to be successful for SWD. The current study examines the efficacy of the SWH in inclusive elementary classrooms for SWD, specifically focusing on engagement. We introduce a theoretical framework for engagement for SWD across instructional needs. Additionally, the study analyzes behavioral observation data on engagement to evaluate the efficacy of the SWH for SWD. Randomly selected classrooms in treatment and control conditions across four rural midwestern schools participated in the current study. Teachers in the treatment group were trained in using the SWH approach for science instruction and compared to teachers in a control group who taught science using the district‐approved curriculum and methods. Mean scores were compared between SWD in SWH classrooms and their peers without disabilities and SWD in control classrooms. Multiple statistical and effect size analyses were conducted. Findings suggest that the SWH is an effective instructional approach that supports SWD in classroom engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Note this manuscript has supplementary files that will only be available online and does not need to be included in the printed version. text for online abstract: The interpretation of behavior of from marginalized backgrounds is susceptible to prejudice, bias, and racist ideology. This is especially true when evaluations include subjective assessment of perceived challenging behaviors which has historically led to overrepresentation of student from marginalized backgrounds at-risk of or with an emotional disturbance. While Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) frameworks are increasingly used in schools to support students behaviorally and decrease the need for special education services, students of color continue to be overrepresented as needing supports within these frameworks. One possible cause for this overrepresentation is implicit bias in evaluation and intervention of behavior for marginalized students. In an effort to increase the cultural responsiveness of PBIS frameworks, we describe the incorporation of anti-racist actions and the concept of critical consciousness in evaluating student behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we synthesize existing literature on Culturally Relevant Science Teaching (CRST), more specifically the third tenet of CRST‐developing students' sociopolitical or critical consciousness. While there is research on this third tenet, our review of the literature reveals that this tenet is understudied and underutilized. We offer our conceptual framework and an illustrative example to demonstrate how teachers can practically implement the third tenet of CRST to engage and empower students in science. We hope that the ideas and examples shared in this piece will help teachers foster students' sense of sociopolitical consciousness and advocacy within the walls of the classroom and beyond. We also urge researchers to continue producing research on this important topic so that practitioners can use this information to develop students' sociopolitical/critical awareness, reflections, and actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectively managing a classroom is crucial in promoting positive student outcomes. Behavior-specific praise is an empirically supported strategy to reinforce desirable student behaviors. Following a review of the literature, we identified tactile prompting and self-monitoring as effective methods to increase teachers' use of behavior-specific praise while sustaining intervention long enough until teachers contacted natural maintaining contingencies. We created electronic tactile awareness prompting with self-monitoring (eTAPS) by combining two applications on an Apple Watch. Using a multiple-baseline-across-participants design, this study primarily investigated the effects of eTAPS on special education teachers' use of behavior-specific praise. Secondarily, this study investigated the impact that behavior-specific praise would have on the on-task behaviors of targeted students with disabilities demonstrating frequent off-task behaviors. Results indicated that eTAPS was effective in increasing and maintaining behavior-specific praise rates. Furthermore, significant increases in student on-task behavior occurred. Implications of results and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs) have shown to be a successful intervention for improving classroom behavior for students considered to display challenging behaviors. DBRCs have been used for students with emotional/ behavioral disorder in an effort to improve academic and social outcomes. Few studies have examined the use of DBRCs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Even fewer studies have examined the intersection of young (i.e., early childhood) students with IDD in extended school year settings (ESY). The authors examined the effectiveness of DBRCs for young students with IDD in ESY settings. Four elementary students (ages 6-7) with IDD and behavior challenges who were receiving ESY services as mandated by their respective Individualized Education Plan participated in the current study. Researchers used a changing criterion single case research design, with visual analyses and Tau-U statistical analyses indicating a positive impact for each student and 1.00 effect sizes with significance (p < .01). Teachers demonstrated fidelity of implementation, and competence in data collection and graphing student progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights research-based instructional strategies that may be used by science teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Topics discussed include barriers to science achievement of students with EBD, the use of mnemonic devices for science instruction, and the use of peer-related strategies to measure their impact on science achievement and on-task behavior.

This review examined classroom science instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A total of 11 group and single-subject studies were analyzed. Across all group studies, a conservatively calculated mean effect size of .471 was obtained indicating the interventions as a whole had at least a small to moderate impact on students’ with EBD achievement. Findings were further analyzed by student characteristics, intervention type, dependent measures utilized, and study variables. A significant result of these subanalyses indicates that while additional research is needed, students with EBD may benefit from inquiry approaches provided the method implemented includes enough structure to ensure student engagement. Results also suggest that mnemonic instruction is highly effective at increasing students’ with EBD knowledge and retention of science facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although science has received much attention as a political and educational initiative, students with learning disabilities (LD) perform significantly lower than their nondisabled peers. This meta-analysis evaluates the effectiveness of instructional strategies in science for students with LD. Twelve studies were examined, summarized, and grouped according to the type of strategy implemented. Effect sizes ( ES) were calculated for each study. Across all studies, a mean ES of .78 was obtained, indicating a moderate positive effect on students with LD science achievement. Findings also align with past reviews of inquiry-based instruction for students with special needs, indicating that students with LD need structure within an inquiry science approach in order to be successful. Additionally, results suggest that mnemonic instruction is highly effective at increasing learning disabled students' acquisition and retention of science facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of a special educator is one of many different hats, including teacher, interventionist, comforter, parent, counselor, therapist, and administrator. These varying roles, particularly when working with students with emotional behavioral disorders, create one of the most emotionally taxing and challenging jobs in public education, which in turn leads to increased educator burnout and attrition. However, this does not need to be the fate of special educators. The purpose of this article is to (a) review one current support system widely implemented in the field for teachers of children with emotional behavioral disorders, (b) discuss the benefits of mentorship in the teaching workforce, (c) identify some of the barriers to mentorship, and (d) identify areas of reform for more effective mentorship practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]