Paula Lancaster

The Development and Validation of an Interactive Hypermedia Program for Teaching a Self-Advocacy Strategy to Students with Disabilities

Educators agree that students with disabilities need to acquire self-advocacy skills. Despite the existence of validated methods to teach these skills, evidence suggests that they are seldom explicitly taught. Time and opportunities to teach these skills in both the general and special education setting are minimal. One possible solution is to use instructional technology. The purpose of this project was to develop and validate an Interactive Hypermedia Program (IHP) to teach a self-advocacy strategy to secondary-level students with disabilities. The strategy for which the IHP was developed and tested is the Self-Advocacy Strategy (Van Reusen, Bos, Schumaker, & Deshler, 1994). The instruction for the strategy was originally validated by Van Reusen, Deshler, and Schumaker (1989). With input from student, teacher, design, and technical consultants, the IHP was created. Students who had learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and other health impairments learned the strategy via the IHP or through live instruction. A multiple-baseline design was used to show the effects of the instruction. In addition, a no-treatment comparison group was included for comparative purposes. At the conclusion of instruction, each student ran his or her own IEP conference. Results showed that the IHP was as effective in teaching students with learning disabilities to use the strategy as live instruction. Further research is warranted to determine if this medium is effective in teaching students other types of strategies.

The Efficacy of an Interactive Hypermedia Program for Teaching a Test-Taking Strategy to Students with High-Incidence Disabilities

Increased demand for accountability in the public schools has led to an increase in the number of testing situations for all students, including students with disabilities. The purpose of this project was to develop and validate an interactive hypermedia (IH) program to teach a test-taking strategy to secondary-level students with disabilities. The program was designed to deliver a substantial portion of instruction needed for students to master the strategy. The strategy for which the IH was developed and tested in this study is The Test-Taking Strategy (Hughes, Schumaker, Deshler, & Mercer, 1988). With input from student, teacher, design, and technical consultants, the IH program was created. Students who have learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and other health impairments learned the strategy via the IH program. A multiple-baseline design was used to show the effects of the instruction. The effectiveness of the IH program in teaching students with learning disabilities to use the strategy was found to be comparable to live instruction. Further research is warranted to determine if this medium is feasible in inclusive classrooms and effective in teaching students other types of strategies.

Effects of a Computerized Program on Use of the Test-Taking Strategy by Secondary Students with Disabilities.

Students with disabilities must meet many testing demands, given the current emphasis on accountability and state competency testing. The purpose of this project was to develop and field test a computerized program to teach the Test-Taking Strategy (Hughes, Schumaker, Deshler, & Mercer, 1988) to secondary-level students with disabilities. The original instruction for the Test-Taking Strategy, validated by Hughes and Schumaker (1991), was transformed into a computerized format based on input from students, teachers, design experts, and technical consultants. A quasi-experimental design utilizing intact classes of students with learning disabilities at both the junior-high and high-school levels was employed to determine the effects of the program. Results showed the computerized program was effective in teaching students to use the Test-Taking Strategy. Statistical differences were found between the posttests of the two groups related to their knowledge of the Test-Taking Strategy, use of the strategy steps on tests, and ability to think aloud about their use of the strategy in a test-taking situation. No differences were found between gains made by junior- and senior-high students in the experimental groups. Further research is warranted to determine if this medium is effective for teaching students other types of strategies.

Including Multiple Voices in Collaboratively Designing a Teacher Education Program

This narrative case study describes the collaborative processes employed by a midwestern university as it designed and implemented a clinically based, postbaccalaureate teacher preparation program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates committed to teaching in high need secondary schools. The program development team included 13 public school educators drawn from three partner districts, seven educators from the college of education, six representatives from STEM disciplines within the college of liberal arts and sciences, the engineering dean, along with foundation and state department of education observers. Throughout the intense program development process, the diverse team members challenged assumptions and traditions as they considered options and gained consensus on the design of the program. Participants reported that they valued the collaborative nature of the processes and the respect given to all team members. The program itself is still in the implementation phase, thus, its efficacy remains unclear although initial indicators suggest that it has promise.