Aleksandra Hollingshead

Using Technology to Support Balanced Literacy for Students with Significant Disabilities.

has spent the past 5 years working with students with significant disabilities who are now fourth graders. Four of her students use augmentative communication systems, such as dynamic screen devices and picture-based systems. Though her students are generally making adequate progress toward mastering skills related to their individualized education program (IEP) goals, Mrs. Miller is concerned about her language arts (LA) instructional delivery. Her LA instruction typically involves reading a new book to her students every day in a small group setting. At the end of the small group, all of the students practice reading sight words aloud or tracing the sight words on a worksheet. One of her students, Mike, has difficulty completing these tracing tasks because of his poor fine motor skills. Another student, Tracy, can read the sight words, but has difficulty answering simple questions about the stories. Mrs. Miller believes that she should alter her LA instruction to meet the needs of all her students while supporting meaningful literacy skills, but she does not know where to begin. She wonders how to integrate available technology, including the interactive whiteboard, a projector, iPod Touches, and two classroom computers, to enhance her LA instruction.

Overcoming challenges: Going mobile with your own video models.

Ms. Heller is a middle school intervehtion specialist who is planning weekly trtps to the local library for her seventhgrade students with disabilities. She knows that successful community activities require comprehensive planning and organization. While contemplating the instructional targets and accommodations necessary for these weekly tiips, Ms. Heller considers the individual needs of each of her students. She is particularly focused on Connie, a student who consistently struggles with transitions and changes in her schedule. As part of,her planning, Ms. Heller considers possible interventions to support Connies participation during their library visits.

A Case Study of Positive Behavior Supports-Based Interventions in a Seventh-Grade Urban Classroom.

Struggling with frequent off-task behavior, a teacher in a midwestern inner-city high school requested assistance in her social studies classroom. A study was designed to investigate if a combination of positive behavior supports-based interventions such as behavior-specific praise and reduced teacher reprimands might improve on-task behavior. A classroom-wide, explanatory embedded case study was carried out over three months in a high-poverty urban 7–12 high school. The intervention resulted in increased on-task behavior classwide. Implications for culturally responsive practices for students in an urban classroom setting are discussed.

Collaboration between Special and Physical Education: The Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle for All Students.

T EA C H IN G E xc ep ti on al C hi ld re n , V ol . 47 , N o. 3 , pp . 16 3 – 17 1. C op yr ig ht 2 01 5 T he A ut ho r( s) . D O I: 1 0. 11 77 /0 04 00 59 91 45 58 94 5 Mr. Smith is a high school physical education (PE) teacher who has an average of 40 students in each class period. His classes are diverse, each including at least one student with a disability. His students are diagnosed with a variety of disabilities, which results in a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges in a PE classroom. One of the students has a one-on-one paraprofessional who assists him throughout the school environment. Others attend with their classroom peers but seem to need more support than students without disabilities. Ms. Garcia is an elementary PE teacher who sees her students only one to two days a week for 30 minutes. Her classes are smaller, but she must compete with the lunch and assembly schedules on top of her already limited schedule for PE class. She has a variety of students with multiple abilities who may need physical accommodations as well as emotional ones. Often, Mr. Smith and Ms. Garcia are unsure how to support their students and provide them with meaningful experiences. They realize some students with disabilities do not fully participate in their classes, but they are not sure how to make appropriate changes. Moreover, during recent professional development, Mr. Smith and Ms. Garcia have learned about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). They recognize that in order to align their instruction to CCSS and to meet the needs of all of their students, they will have to collaborate with other professionals at their school.

Reaching Out to Paraprofessionals: Engaging Professional Development Aligned With Universal Design for Learning Framework in Rural Communities:

The literature reveals that paraprofessionals are responsible for supporting students at risk of/with disabilities in a variety of academic and nonacademic tasks, yet they often lack appropriate training. Recent studies demonstrated the effectiveness of training for paraprofessionals to support students with disabilities in a meaningful way. In rural communities, such professional development and training opportunities are often unavailable despite the need. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL)–based ongoing professional development model for paraprofessionals in rural general and special education classrooms. Specifically, this study sought to first examine the professional development needs among paraprofessionals in rural communities in the inland Northwest United States and second to provide effective and ongoing professional development opportunities. Findings from this study suggest that ongoing professional development models for paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities, based on needs assessments and consistent with UDL framework, have positive effects. Discussions of implications for future research and practice are included.

Implementing Video Modeling to Improve Transitions Within Activities in Inclusive Classrooms

With an increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the importance of providing inclusive educational settings, it is important for all teachers to utilize strategies that support learners’ needs. Due to the complexity of their needs, some students with ASD struggle with transitions within and across activities in schools. Transitions are defined as a change in activities or settings such as moving from one activity to another or moving from one step of an activity to the next. There are many strategies to support transitions in an inclusive classroom, however many of these strategies are traditionally associated with special education, and general education teachers may not feel prepared to implement them. This article focuses on possible applications of video modeling to support daily transitions in inclusive classrooms.

A Closer Look: Examining Teachers' Language Around UDL, Inclusive Classrooms, and Intellectual Disability

The purpose of this study was to examine the language teachers used to discuss inclusion, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and learners with intellectual disability (ID) in an effort to better understand how teachers describe the relationship between those three. Utilizing a secondary analysis procedure, interview transcripts from seven general education teachers were reanalyzed to identify language used by teachers to refer to inclusive educational settings, the implementation of UDL, and learners with intellectual disability. The identified themes were then juxtaposed against the UDL framework (principles, guidelines, and checkpoints) and the current literature related to UDL and inclusive education. We end with recommendations for future practice and research involving inclusive classrooms, UDL, and learners with ID.

Engagement for Students With Severe Intellectual Disability: The Need for a Common Definition in Inclusive Education

Abstract Classroom engagement is an area of frequent discussion and study in the field of education, though engagement is defined differently for various student populations. The purpose of this article is to examine how engagement is defined for students without disability, at risk, or with mild disability as compared to those with severe intellectual disability. We discuss engagement for both populations of students and the resulting implications for inclusive practice. Finally, we emphasize the importance of utilizing a universal definition within the framework of the Universal Design for Learning to enhance learning outcomes for all students, including those with severe intellectual disability.

Voices From the Field: Implementing and Scaling-Up Universal Design for Learning in Teacher Preparation Programs

There is increasing pressure on universities in the United States to meet the needs of diverse learners. This fact increases the urgency for implementation and scaling up of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education. This qualitative study draws two major insights from interviews with six faculty members from universities and colleges around the United States who have experienced a degree of success (personal to institutional) in implementing UDL. First, successful implementation and scaling up of UDL initiatives often occur when UDL is presented in response to a clear problem, issue, or inquiry rather than more direct approaches. Second, I articulate an emerging conceptualization of “levels” of implementation and apparent aspects that enable an institution or group to move from lower to higher tiers.

Peer Support Arrangements to Promote Positive Postschool Outcomes

The use of peer support arrangements can be an effective strategy to improve educational services for students with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). When developing peer support arrangements, secondary teachers should consider aligning these services with evidence-based predictors of positive postschool outcomes to help students with ASD achieve transition-related goals. This article presents research-based strategies as well as evidence from peer support arrangements program implemented at a rural high school.