Sharon A. Raver

Impact of the Provision and Timing of Instructor-Provided Notes on University Students' Learning.

Since the advent of PowerPoint and course delivery programs like Blackboard, more instructors in higher education are providing students with outlines of their lectures and expecting students to supplement these with their own notes. Although some have found that instructor-provided notes appear to enhance student learning, others suggest that students benefit from the act of taking detailed notes since it engages them in the learning process. While controlling for fidelity of lecture delivery, the present study examined the impact of three conditions on the posttest performance of 154 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in an introductory special education course: (1) no instructor-provided notes were available, (2) instructor-provided notes were available immediately following lectures, and (3) instructor-provided notes were available before lectures. Analyses revealed that pretest scores were significantly correlated to posttest scores and that students who did not receive instructor-provided lecture notes received statistically significant lower posttest scores than students who received instructor-provided lecture notes before or after lectures. The implications for university instruction are discussed.

Using Family-Based Practices for Young Children with Special Needs in Preschool Programs

for Balance arly childhood special educators often use a family-based approach to working with children and their families (Cook, Klein, Tessier, & Daley, 2004; Raver, 2004). Although this approach is not new, it is used inconsistently and is misunderstood by many early childhood teachers. Part of the difficulty stems from the disciplinespecific training of individual team members. Teaming, as recommended by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1997) and DEC Recommended Practices in Early InterventionlEarly Childhood Special Education (Sandall, McLean, & Smith, 2000), combines the skills and knowledge of an early childhood special education teacher, a general education early childhood teacher, a school psychologist, a speech-language pathologist, a physical therapist, and at times, a social worker. Usually, children with special needs attending inclusive preschool programs receive consultative or direct services from one of more members of this team. Making a family-based approach better understood, however, will benefit teachers, children, and families. This article will discuss some Making a

Preschool Integration: Experiences from the Classroom.

Everyones doing it. Its easy. You take a few nonhandicapped preschool kids, add a dab or two of handicapped preschool kids (usually of the mixed disabilities variety), you stir in a basic cognitive oriented curriculum, you spice up the adult flavoring by one or two paraprofessionals, let simmer for an academic year. What do you have? Well, an integrated preschool program, of course. How do you like it? Is it like you thought it would be? SHARON A. RAVER e~-eg xpe fro Cia

Using Dyad-Specific Social Stories to Increase Communicative and Social Skills of Preschoolers with Hearing Loss in Self-Contained and Inclusive Settings.

Children with profound hearing loss often do not have the same prelinguistic opportunities for social and communication interaction as peers with typical hearing and benefit from structured opportunities to learn these skills. This study examined the effect of two interventions to improve the communicative and social skills of four preschoolers with hearing loss in two learning environments: a preschool for children who are deaf (oral approach) and an inclusive regular preschool. A social story with a verbal prompt was provided before play (Intervention 1), and a social story with a teacher prompt and verbal prompting and reinforcement during play were provided (Intervention 2). A single-subject design revealed that in the inclusive settings, three of the four participants increased verbal comments and play turns in Interventions 1 and 2, although some changes were slight. In the oral preschool classroom, two showed improvements in target behaviours with both interventions. Generalisation of skills occurred in two participants. Additionally, all participants generalised some vocabulary from their social story to play. Implications for teaching young children with hearing loss who are oral in inclusive classrooms are discussed.

Stressors and Life Goals of Caregivers of Individuals With Disabilities

Caregivers of individuals with disabilities can experience stress as they manage caregiving responsibilities while they attempt to balance family, work, and the satisfaction of their personal goals. In this pilot study, 31 caregivers of individuals with a variety of disabilities completed a quantitative–qualitative survey. A statistically significant relationship was found between the age and severity of disability of the family member receiving care, the length of time care had been provided, the educational level and the relationship of the caregiver to the family member and reported feelings of optimism, humbleness, quality of family relationships, financial concerns, loss of control, and hope. When life goals were probed, the most common reported were achieving financial stability, having a strong, healthy family, and experiencing happiness. The implications for supporting caregivers and their families are discussed.

Teaching Emotion Words Using Social Stories and Created Experiences in Group Instruction with Preschoolers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: An Exploratory Study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate whether specific emotion vocabulary could be taught to children with hearing impairments using child-specific social stories and demonstration tasks. The participants were three preschool-aged children who were being served in an auditory-verbal preschool classroom. An A-B single-subject design was used during a small group activity for 10 weeks that took place on average three times a week. During the study, participants were provided small group instruction using social stories and demonstration tasks to teach three target emotion words (afraid, surprised, and frustrated). Results indicated that all children successfully used the target vocabulary without adult prompting to describe target emotions in themselves and in others. The implications for classroom instruction are discussed.

Using Repeated Reading and Explicit Instruction to Teach Vocabulary to Preschoolers with Hearing Loss.

Children with hearing loss often experience communication and language delays that result in difficulties acquiring novel vocabulary and literacy skills. This research examined the effectiveness of using repeated storybook reading paired with explicit teacher instruction to teach novel vocabulary to young children with hearing loss who were receiving instruction with an oral approach. Data from a multiple baseline design across 4 children demonstrated that all children acquired the instructional vocabulary words, demonstrated generalization of the words in a novel situation, and maintained vocabulary for 2–4 weeks following intervention. Vocabulary that had not been explicitly taught was learned at a low rate across the 5 books. Implications for teaching young children with hearing loss and communication delays are discussed.

Using a Substitute Activity to Eliminate Eye Poking in a 3-Year-Old Visually Impaired Child in the Classroom.

Abstract This paper documents the effectiveness of a substitute activity in decreasing the frequency of eye poking in a 3‐year‐old nonretarded visually impaired child who was involved in a highly participatory, full‐day reading program with four sighted classmates. Following 49 days of training, eye poking had been eliminated, and the subject was able to read 25 word cards. Elements to consider when selecting a substitute activity to interrupt an established self‐stimulating behaviour such as eye poking are discussed.

The Use of a Bar Model Drawing to Teach Word Problem Solving to Students With Mathematics Difficulties

For students with mathematics difficulties (MD), math word problem solving is especially challenging. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a problem-solving strategy, bar model drawing, on the mathematical problem-solving skills of students with MD. The study extended previous research that suggested that schematic-based instruction (SBI) and cognitive strategy instruction (CSI) delivered within an explicit instruction framework can be effective in teaching various math skills related to word problem solving. A multiple-baseline design replicated across groups was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention of bar model drawing on math problem-solving performance of students with MD. Student achievement was measured in terms of increased correct use of cognitive strategies and overall accuracy of math word problem solving. Results showed that bar modeling drawing is an effective strategy for increasing elementary students’ accuracy in solving math word problems and their ability to use cognitive strategies to solve the problems.

Structured Instruction With Modified Storybooks to Teach Morphosyntax and Vocabulary to Preschoolers Who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Children who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) are at risk for diminished morphosyntactical and vocabulary development. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of repeated reading combined with structured instruction. Targets were a morphosyntactical form and novel vocabulary words. Participants were 3 preschoolers who are D/HH who were receiving instruction with an oral approach. Data from a multiple baseline design indicated that all children acquired the targeted skills and demonstrated high levels of generalization of these skills to untrained context. Implications for teaching young children who are D/HH using repeated storybook reading are discussed.