Chriss Walther-Thomas

Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive and Pullout Programs

This study investigated the relationship between placement in inclusive and pullout special education programs and academic and behavior outcomes for students with learning disabilities (LD). Demographic data such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and IQ established comparabililty of two groups. Qualitative and quantitative methods described two schools and their special education models, one inclusive and the other pullout. Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals and objectives, classroom accommodations, and teacher collaboration were examined to provide functional definitions. Results indicated that the two programs differed significantly. Further, students served in inclusive classrooms earned higher grades, achieved higher or comparable scores on standardized tests, committed no more behavioral infractions, and attended more days of school than students served in the pullout program.

Creating Classroom Communities and Networks for Student Support

This article describes the rationale and strategies for establishing community support and a sense of belonging for diverse students in inclusive settings. Techniques for creating community, friendship activities, peer supports, and disability awareness are discussed in the context of providing a network of supports to meet a variety of needs. This student support network includes schoolwide, academic, social/emotional, student-to-student, and community-school supports and is designed to provide opportunities for all students to contribute as well as to receive support needed for success in inclusive programs.

Steven Shore: Understanding the Autism Spectrum— What Teachers Need to Know

Autism is a neurobiological condition that ranges from severe to mild. Many individuals with autism develop secondary psychological problems because of these biological issues. While education and therapy often greatly help individuals with autism learn to cope more effectively with their disability, these interventions do not cure the disorder. In fact, there is no known cure for autism nor is there consensus as to the etiology. Individuals on the autism spectrum need to develop effective accommodations that enable them to work around some

Raising the Academic Standards Bar What States Are Doing to Measure the Performance of Students with Disabilities

In the past decade, 49 states have adopted rigorous curriculum standards. This has resulted in a significant impact on special education policy and practice. A research team consisting of 12 doctoral students and a faculty advisor at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, reviewed published state standards, primary assessment procedures, and provisions related to participation by students with disabilities, to determine answers to six questions: (a) Have states adopted standards assessment criteria? (b) Are states using performance rewards and sanctions to motivate educators and students? (c) Do states require all students with disabilities to participate in the state assessment process? (d) Have states developed policies regarding testing accommodations for students with disabilities? (e) Do states link assessment performance to high school graduation? (f) How are states approaching alternate assessments? Research across states found differences in the ways in which assessment issues are being addressed and the potential impact that these policies will have on educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

Nancy Waldron and James McLeskey: Helping Schools Include All Learners.

Nancy Waldron began her professional career as a school grouping, curriculum, and assessment. In addition, they psychologist working in a community mental health cenhave conducted an investigation with colleagues at the ter with children who had emotional disabilities and famIndiana Institute on Disability and Community to compare ilies affected by sexual and physical abuse. She received the achievement gains of students with disabilities in traher PhD in educational psychology from Indiana Univerditional and inclusive settings over time. sity (IU). She was research associate and faculty member Drs. Waldron and McLeskey write and present extenat IU in Bloomington for 12 years. Currently, she is an assively on topics related to classroom support and inclusistant professor in the Department of Educational Psysive education. They are coauthoring a new book that will chology at the University of Florida. During the past be published later this year by the Association for Superdecade, Dr. Waldron’s work has focused on the use of vision and Curriculum Development. Their book will exacademic supports and interventions for at-risk students amine school reform, inclusive education, and processes and students with mild disabilities in inclusive learning enschools use to facilitate the development of effective vironments. She has been involved in a number of proprograms for diverse learners. fessional development and research projects designed to provide school psychologists and other school personnel with the skills needed to develop effective support services for students in inclusive environments.. How did you become interested in James McLeskey began his career as a special educaQm inclusive education? tion teacher working with school-age students in South

Dr. Russell Gersten Using the Research to Improve Our Instructional Practices in Special Education

Russell Gersten, who graduated with a PhD from the University of Oregon, is currently a full professor at the University of Oregon and a principal investigator of several federal research grants at the Eugene Research Institute. He began his work in special education in 1967. In the 1960s and 1970s, he provided direct services to teenagers with autism and taught reading and life skills to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. During his tenure at the University of Oregon, Dr. Gersten has focused on effective instruction for students with learning disabilities, teacher development issues, and retention issues for special education teachers. He is widely recognized for the quality of his research and its application to special education.

Dr. Janis Bulgren: Associate Scientist University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning

Q: Please tell us about your background. I received my BA and NLX degrees in English from the University of Iowa, and I taught English in secondarv schools. Panjy as a result of experiences I had in the general classroom, I became interested in special education. I joined the staff at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KI: -CRL), where I worked on a variety of projects designed to help students with learning disabilities (LD) to succeed in secondary content classes. iihle I worked at the center, I completed my PhD in special education in 1987. Upon completion of my degree, I continued to explore the many curriculum and instruction problems students w-ith learning disabilities and other high-risk learners encounter in general education classrooms. To date, my colleagues. Don Deshler, Keith Lenz, and Jean Schumaker, and I, among others, have developed various Content Enhancement devices and routines that are

Candace Bos Informed, Flexible Teaching—A Key to Successful Readers

tors include creating a positive learning community, considering the students’ learning levels and styles and your teaching style, using multiple approaches to teaching and learning, and employing various techniques and strategies. It also means that a teacher uses multiple ways to present information, makes learning visible, and provides the students with multiple ways to demonstrate learning. To be an informed, flexible teacher, teachers watch students carefully so they can understand students’ learning levels, strategies for learning, and learning patterns. In this way, they are making informed decisions that are student centered. In addition, teachers have to have in place general, classroom, and behavior management routines; networks for collaboration; and tools, technology, and materials

Dr. Michael Rosenberg Preventing School Discipline Problems Schoolwide

at Hopkins, he was an assistant professor for four years at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Dr Rosenberg completed his doctoral work at Penn State University in 1982. His research interests are a direct result of his practical experiences teaching secondary students with learning and behavior disorders for a Board of Cooperative Educational Services in upstate New York. Dr Rosenberg has been interested in improving teacher education at both the preservice and inservice levels and improving services for students with learning and emotional disabilities. Dr Rosenberg has co-authored three

Dr. Angelita Felix

Dr Angelita Felix is a member of the Arikara tribe from the Fort Berthold Reservation of North Dakota. As a child, she attended a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) elementary school called the Wahpeton Indian School (now known as Circle of Nations School) and an all-girl Catholic boarding school for 3 years. She graduated from White Shield High School on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. She earned a bachelors degree from Minot State University in North Dakota in English and Business Education, a masters degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Dakota, and a doctorate in educational administration from Penn State University. Dr Felix has more than 25 years of professional experience in Indian education. She taught language arts and worked as a curriculum writer and a curriculum director She also served as a dean of student services at Sitting Bull Tribal College and then as a dean of instruction at Haskell Indian Nations University. She has worked as a BIA education line officer (similar to a public school superintendent) at agencies in Arizona and North Dakota. During the past 2 years she has been the Supervisory Education Specialist over Exceptional Education for the BIA, Office of Indian Education Programs.