Yasmine Swindle
Revised Problem Statement– Quantitative Study
Jung (2007) found that general education teacher’s attitudes toward the integration of students with disabilities reflect a lack of confidence both in their own instructional skills and in the quality of support personnel currently provides. General and special education teachers are placed in inclusive classroom settings for the betterment of the student; however, planning is not as effective when general education teachers are not properly trained on or comfortable with the technology. Thousand and Villa (2000) in McLaren, Bausch, & Ault (2007), found that providing training for all teachers will result in improved academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities, plus their teachers will become empowered .
The problem is the need for more collaborative training for inclusion teachers in an effort to effectively plan curriculum and increase their levels of confidence with the use of AT devices. The specific problem is the need to develop a program to train inclusion teachers on the use of AT devices needed to effectively plan for students with disabilities.
This study will use a quantitative method and a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The PAR will be conducted by dividing the study into two sequence phases. The first phase will include developing the training program, introducing basic AT devices that can be used for all students, and reflection of the first training. Phase two will include training for advanced AT devices that are developed for specific student needs, developing a lesson with the use of one general and one advanced AT device, and the opportunity to teach the lesson.
The results should interest school districts that service students with disabilities in an effort to improve effective collaboration for inclusion teachers, thus promoting a sense of teamwork to improve student
References: Al-Shammari, Z., & Yawkey, T. (2008). Extent of parental involvement in improving the students ' levels in special education programs in Kuwait. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35(2), 140-150. Bird, K. (2006). How do you spell parental involvement? S-I-S. The Journal, 33(7), 38. Hartas, D. (2008). Practices of parental participation: A case study. Educational Psychology in Practice, 24(2), 139-153. Jung, W. (2007). Preservice teacher training for successful inclusion. Education, 128(1), 106-113. McLaren, E. M., Bausch, M. E., & Ault, M. (2007). Collaboration strategies reported by teachers providing assistive technology services. Journal of Special Education Technology, 22(4), 16-29. Week 5 Review Components2 points | Expected elements are included. | Articulation5 points | As noted, there are shortcomings regarding population and sample. * 1 point | Presentation2 points | Writing and formatting are well done. | Total9 points | A good start toward purpose statements aligned with problem. |