Craig A. Michaels

General and Special Education Students' Perceptions of Co-Teaching: Implications for Secondary-Level Literacy Instruction

Three hundred and forty-six secondary students (127 special education and 219 general education) were surveyed about their perceptions of co-teaching. While significant differences were discovered between groups, all students responded favorably to co-teaching: they indicated they were getting better grades and developing better literacy skills, and they said they would choose to participate in co-taught classes again. The special education students thought that co-taught English classes gave them a unique opportunity to gain access to the general education curriculum and develop literacy skills. The general education students thought that co-teaching afforded them exposure to higher levels of abstraction, concept development, and literacy skill development. The positive perceptions toward co-teaching provide initial information about the potential of co-teachings to support inclusive school environments in which all students can succeed.

Assistive Technology Integration in Special Education Teacher Preparation: Program Coordinators' Perceptions of Current Attainment and Importance

This article reports findings from a national survey of special education teacher preparation programs regarding the integration of assistive technology (AT) into curriculum and instruction. Two questions framed this research. The first focused on how AT knowledge, skills, and dispositions are currently integrated (the Current Attainment Level), and the second focused on how AT should ideally be integrated (the Importance). All paired t tests between Current Attainment Level and Importance were statistically significant (p < .01 for factors and p < .001 for individual items) and substantively meaningful (large effect sizes, mostly > .8). Qualitative analysis focused on understanding (a) potential strategies for promoting the integration of AT knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and (b) the barriers to AT integration. The findings have important implications for future practices in special education teacher preparation.

Assistive and Instructional Technology for College Students with Disabilities: A National Snapshot of Postsecondary Service Providers

This study systematically addresses the perceptions of postsecondary service providers to students with disabilities—referred to as Disabled Student Service (DSS) providers—about assistive and instructional technology accessibility and delivery throughout postsecondary institutions in the United States. Results from this study indicate that DSS providers feel that both faculty and DSS providers have achieved a degree of awareness and knowledge of assistive technology (AT). However, the achievements in developing AT expertise are significantly lower than the importance assigned to possessing this knowledge. Costs of technology and upgrades were perceived as the greatest barriers while the expertise of DSS staff, student awareness/knowledge of AT, and administrations support and funding of AT were perceived as potential factors that might facilitate AT access. Recommendations and strategies are proposed for addressing these issues.

Chinese Families of Children with Severe Disabilities: Family Needs and Available Support

This descriptive study gathered quantitative and qualitative data about 368 families in the Peoples Republic of China who had children with severe disabilities to better understand (a) the perceived needs that families have, (b) the supports available to them, (c) any differences in perceived needs and support between mothers and fathers, and (d) any differences in needs and supports associated with the disability of the child. Data suggest that Chinese families of children with severe disabilities perceived the need for more community services, information, and family/social support. With respect to support systems, parents indicated that they primarily rely on their childs school, their spouse, and their extended families. Minor differences were found between mothers and fathers (with mothers perceiving greater level of needs than fathers), and families of children with autism tended to report greater needs for information and supports than parents of children with intellectual disabilities or physical disabilities. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Form versus Function: Using Technology to Develop Individualized Education Programs for Students with Disabilities.

This article discusses the use of IEP software applications from the perspectives of form (i.e., legally correct documents) and function (i.e., educationally appropriate individualized programs). The article provides an overview of the basic components of two fairly comprehensive IEP software programs and discusses the general strengths and weaknesses of IEP software. Suggestions and strategies are offered to help educators become involved in software evaluation and purchasing decisions. Lastly, we offer some optimistic yet cautionary notes about the form versus function aspects of using software to develop IEPs.

Personal Paradigm Shifts in PBS Experts: Perceptions of Treatment Acceptability of Decelerative Consequence-Based Behavioral Procedures.

Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) experts were surveyed to examine their perceptions of the treatment acceptability of commonly used decelerative consequence-based behavioral procedures. Findings illuminate the paradigm shifts that have occurred over the course of the careers of PBS experts and the factors that have contributed to these personal paradigm shifts. Many of the decelerative consequence-based procedures once used by respondents are no longer perceived by them to be acceptable. A small percentage of experts indicated that they still might use the full range of decelerative techniques under certain circumstances. The need for more training and ideological change were perceived to be the greatest challenges currently facing the field. Experts also indicated that involvement in PBS has broadened their understanding of applied behavior analysis, the function of behavior, antecedents, quality of life, and self-determination issues facing people with disabilities. The implications of the findings for current and future PBS researchers and practitioners are discussed.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Initiatives and Students with Severe Disabilities: A Time for Reflection

As we reflect on the national growth of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) initiatives, we are heartened by the idea that the same behavioral technology and philosophical orientation that have made such an impact on the lives of individuals with severe disabilities, from all appearances, may benefit a broader population of students, including those who have not been identified as having disabilities, those who, for a variety of reasons, are at risk for school failure, and those across the full spectrum of disabilities. We would expect that there will be positive outcomes for SWPBSVafter all, individual-level positive behavior support (PBS) is a technology based on good science and is grounded on a set of personal values focused on the respect and value of all people (Knoster, Anderson, Carr, Dunlap, &Horner, 2003; Scotti &Kennedy, 2000). Freeman et al. (2006) and Sailor, Zuna, Choi, McCart, and Thomas (2006) provide examples of successful school-wide efforts, and the literature base is increasing. Yet, we remain somewhat cautiousVnot about the positive impact on the broader population that we expect to see, but about the yet-to-be-determined ramifications and impact of SWPBS on students with severe disabilities. SWPBS is a relatively new application of PBS, and we are seeing rapid growth and adoption; but as some of the contributors to this issue have suggested, Bthe data are not in.[ As such, it is critical that we take the time to reflect and consider the path of this fast-moving trajectory or, as Vaughn (2006) describes it, tsunami. But any new approach or application will create not only action but also reaction. As SWPBS continues its evolution, it appears that those of us involved in the lives of individuals with severe disabilities have a lot to sayVand this special issue provides a venue. The articles that are contained in this special issue all point to the promise of the application of PBS to school systems, and it is hard to imagine an initiative that has seen such sweeping implementation in so short a time. However, along with praise for the application of our strong technology and philosophical orientation to the broader school population, most of these articles express some concerns on the place (i.e., the inclusion) of students with severe disabilities in the movement. Many of us are cautious, as we have already learned from inclusion efforts across the country that the acceptance of the Bshaping of inclusion[ (i.e., reinforcement of successive approximations to include all children) has allowed the terminal goal of including all students within their neighborhood schools to remain allusive. In other words, although educators praise, reinforce, and celebrate the primitive steps toward the approximation of full inclusion, students with severe disabilities remain excluded and waiting on the sidelines (Brown & Michaels, 2003). We want to assure that SWPBS, in its quest for broad-based legitimacy, does not inadvertently overlook or minimize the support needs of the very population of students who originally challenged us to examine and reconceptualize communication and the functions of behavior in new life-affirming, person-centered ways. We would like to reflect on two issues: (a) the sequence with which schools implement SWPBS (or the Bassumption of verticality[) and (b) the potential for SWPBS to legitimize a new continuum and new labels for students.

Factors Associated With Where Secondary Students With Disabilities Are Educated and How They Are Doing

The focus of this study was on increasing the knowledge base on students with disabilities at the secondary level. Data were gathered on 559 classified secondary students with disabilities served in four educational options: cotaught classes, resource rooms, alternate day support programs, and no direct supports. Results indicate that there are associations between classification and placement options, differences in full-scale IQ by placement option, differences in the numbers of related services and the number of testing accommodations students receive based on placement option, associations among placement option and both related services and testing accommodations, and no differences in grades by placement option. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Personal Paradigm Shifts among ABA and PBS Experts: Comparisons in Treatment Acceptability.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) experts were surveyed to examine their perceptions of treatment acceptability of commonly used decelerative consequence-based behavioral procedures and the factors that have influenced shifts in these perceptions over time. These results were then compared with the perceptions of positive behavior supports (PBS) experts from an earlier study. Both similarities and disparities in perceptions across groups of experts are reported. Differences were noted in the overall acceptability and frequency of use of various consequence-based decelerative procedures, with ABA experts expressing greater willingness to consider their use than PBS experts. However, there were many similarities across both groups, including the decade in which shifts occurred in perceptions of treatment acceptability, the reasons these changes occurred, and the rationales used to justify the use or nonuse of certain consequence-based strategies. These data support earlier work that found that perceptions of treatment acceptability were not static but, rather, changed across time.

Using Explicit C-R-A Instruction to Teach Fraction Word Problem Solving to Low-Performing Asian English Learners

This article investigates the effects of fraction word problem-solving instruction involving explicit teaching of the concrete–representational–abstract sequence with culturally relevant teaching examples for 3 low-performing Asian immigrant English learners who spoke a language other than English at home. We used a multiple probe design across participants. We established a functional relation in the teaching of 1 type of fraction word problem between the intervention and participants’ ability to successfully solve word problems. We then replicated the functional relation in the teaching of a 2nd type of fraction word problem. All participants reached grade-level mastery on both types of word problems, maintained skills after the intervention ended, and were able to solve near transfer problems. We discuss the findings and their implications for research and classroom practice.