This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, developed and implemented a high qualit... more This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, developed and implemented a high quality in-service professional development program to prepare school teams of three to five teachers, administrators, and specialists in high-need school divisions to improve the assessment, identification, and instruction of multilingual learners with and without disabilities. We created a 12-hour graduate credit Special Education/English as a Second language certificate program. Forty educators completed the program. Using mixed methods and multiple measures, results show that 81% rated the program as effective in preparing them to serve multilingual students; 91% rated the program as effective in increasing their knowledge and skills related to parent, family, and community engagement; 94% indicated they are proficient in using and interpreting multiple methods of assessment and data sources to guide educational decisions; 94% reported they are knowledgeable about the seven sociocultural factors that may influence the students' linguistic and academic development ; 93% reported increase in collaboration to better serve students in their schools; and 81% reported they had provided professional development to other educators in their schools. This evidence indicates that the professional development program prepares highly effective teachers in the use of evidence-based practices with multilingual students.
Purpose-To improve the quality of field experience, support field experience cooperation and stre... more Purpose-To improve the quality of field experience, support field experience cooperation and streamline field experience management, the purpose of this paper is to describe the experience in using Activity Theory to design and develop a web-based field experience tracking system for a special education program. Design/methodology/approach-The authors used Activity Theory to design and develop a web-based field experience tracking system for a special education program. An in-depth evaluation of the developed web-based system including usability testing and actual use of the system was conducted. Findings-The evaluation and data analysis results demonstrate the value of Activity Theory and show that a web-based tracking system is a valuable tool to support the management of pre-service teachers' field experiences. Originality/value-This is the first paper to discuss the design and development of field experience tracking system using Activity Theory. This paper can be used to motivate other developers to use Activity theory to design campus-wide information system. The system and methodology the authors used in this project has wider applicability and generalizability, and can be applied to the management of other competency and field based professional training in areas such as nursing, social work and medicine.
Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 2021
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required many educators to redesign how t... more The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required many educators to redesign how they deliver their courses. In this study, we develop innovative procedures and pedagogy to teach pair programming via Zoom breakout rooms in a cloud environment. We report six fundamental innovative teaching mechanisms and procedures: 1) strategically planning a course, 2) effectively managing teaching resources, 3) enhancing faculty responsiveness, 4) selecting reliable technology, 5) mandating online educator's training, and 6) accommodating students with learning disabilities. From teaching pair programming via Zoom breakout rooms, we have gained valuable experience in promoting collaborative, engaging, active, and problem-based learning activities in a cloud environment. Our results enrich our knowledge of delivering online education and contribute to pair programming literature in general.
Background: Dyslexia is a developmental brain-based type of learning disability that affects a pe... more Background: Dyslexia is a developmental brain-based type of learning disability that affects a person's ability to read and spell words. Best estimates place 5 percent to 10 percent of the population with the condition, but the incidence of dyslexia is challenging to pinpoint, as the definition of dyslexia varies throughout research. Objective: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of dyslexia, its characteristics, assessment and identification, and intervention techniques for the condition. Results: Although the disorder varies from person to person, common characteristics among people with dyslexia include difficulty with phonological skills, low accuracy and fluency of reading, poor spelling, and/or rapid visual-verbal responding. Dyslexia is a neurological condition and can be inherited, and recent studies have identified a number of genes that may predispose an individual to developing dyslexia. Identification of dyslexia early requires recognition of characteristics such as difficulty associating sounds with letters, reading dysfluencies, spelling difficulties, challenges with written expression and poor handwriting. Dyslexia assessments can guide professions in ways to best administer treatment, such as via strategies to enhance word training and improve decoding skills. All of these interventions have shown to benefit the reading and writing abilities of persons with dyslexia. Conclusions: The unique nature and presentation of dyslexia varies among individuals. The importance of understanding as much as possible and keeping abreast of the assessment and intervention strategies available is critical to minimizing the long-term effects of dyslexia.
Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, Oct 31, 2019
Purpose Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate language ... more Purpose Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate language deficits requiring speech-language pathologist (SLP) interventions. With the number of students diagnosed with ADHD on the rise, SLPs are being called upon increasingly to address the needs of these students. Ensuring SLPs are comfortable treating students with ADHD is of growing importance. To date, there is limited evidence examining what factors may predict how comfortable SLPs are working with students with ADHD. This study investigated the relationships between variables to better predict comfort levels of school SLPs in their management of students with ADHD. Method A total of 86 school SLPs from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Special Interest Groups 1 (Language, Learning and Education) and 16 (School-Based Issues) whose clinical caseloads included students diagnosed with ADHD participated in an anonymous, online survey to determine the relationship between various factors and SLPs' comfort level when working with students with ADHD. Results Correlations revealed feeling adequately trained predicted SLPs' comfort level in working with students with ADHD. SLPs who either received coursework that included content regarding ADHD in school or sought out professional development reported feeling adequately trained. Regression analyses revealed feeling adequately trained and having a reasonable caseload as significant predictors of SLPs' comfort level. Conclusions Not all SLPs were comfortable working with students with ADHD. Many sought courses to increase their level of comfort, and many did not feel adequately trained. Results suggest the need for SLPs to have more preparation about managing ADHD prior to beginning their professional clinical careers.
In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students f... more In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students from first to fourth grade. Students completed three number knowledge tasks: 1) translating numbers into words, 2) symbolic magnitude (i.e., number comparison), and 3) decomposing numbers. We evaluated students' answers by means of error analysis using a three-category coding system adopted from specific error types were computed by grade level. Results showed that there were significant differences among grades and that the prerequisite linguistic error type (i.e., pre linguistic rules or principles of the cardinal number system), particularly in the magnitude tasks, significantly contributed to students' performance on number knowledge tasks. This is important for instruction because learning difficulties in mathematics have been associated with weaknesses in intermediate number knowledge competencies (e.g., number comparison). Our qualitative data analyses suggest that instruction, intervention, or remediation need to consider systematic instructing students the prelinguistic rules of the number system, specifically the principles related to larger numbers.
In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students f... more In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students from first to fourth grade. Students completed three number knowledge tasks: 1) translating numbers into words, 2) symbolic magnitude (i.e., number comparison), and 3) decomposing numbers. We evaluated students' answers by means of error analysis using a three-category coding system adopted from specific error types were computed by grade level. Results showed that there were significant differences among grades and that the prerequisite linguistic error type (i.e., pre linguistic rules or principles of the cardinal number system), particularly in the magnitude tasks, significantly contributed to students' performance on number knowledge tasks. This is important for instruction because learning difficulties in mathematics have been associated with weaknesses in intermediate number knowledge competencies (e.g., number comparison). Our qualitative data analyses suggest that instruction, intervention, or remediation need to consider systematic instructing students the prelinguistic rules of the number system, specifically the principles related to larger numbers.
This study examined the interplay among internal (e.g. attention, working memory abilities) and e... more This study examined the interplay among internal (e.g. attention, working memory abilities) and external (e.g. background noise, visual information) factors in individuals with and without ADHD. A 2 × 2 × 6 mixed design with correlational analyses was used to compare participant results on a standardized listening in noise sentence repetition task (QuickSin; Killion et al, 2004 ), presented in an auditory and an audiovisual condition as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) varied from 25-0 dB and to determine individual differences in working memory capacity and short-term recall. Thirty-eight young adults without ADHD and twenty-five young adults with ADHD. Diagnosis, modality, and signal-to-noise ratio all affected the ability to process speech in noise. The interaction between the diagnosis of ADHD, the presence of visual cues, and the level of noise had an effect on a person's ability to process speech in noise. conclusion: Young adults with ADHD benefited less from visual information during noise than young adults without ADHD, an effect influenced by working memory abilities.
Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, Mar 25, 2015
Educational legislation has made reading a priority for students with significant intellectual di... more Educational legislation has made reading a priority for students with significant intellectual disabilities (ID) and associated speech, language, sensory, or physical impairments. Historically, reading instruction for students with significant ID has focused on sight word instruction, with limited exposure to other essential reading skills. This article focuses on the evidence-based instructional methods that effectively and efficiently foster the reading development of students with significant ID. The authors reviewed the literature from the past 20 years on reading interventions for students with significant ID. In spite of access and opportunity barriers that have inhibited the reading development of students with significant ID, a synthesis of the empirical research on reading instruction suggests that students with significant ID and associated disabilities can learn phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills with direct instruction. Implications for providing reading instruction that effectively promotes reading development are discussed and areas for future research are identified.
This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, developed and implemented a high qualit... more This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, developed and implemented a high quality in-service professional development program to prepare school teams of three to five teachers, administrators, and specialists in high-need school divisions to improve the assessment, identification, and instruction of multilingual learners with and without disabilities. We created a 12-hour graduate credit Special Education/English as a Second language certificate program. Forty educators completed the program. Using mixed methods and multiple measures, results show that 81% rated the program as effective in preparing them to serve multilingual students; 91% rated the program as effective in increasing their knowledge and skills related to parent, family, and community engagement; 94% indicated they are proficient in using and interpreting multiple methods of assessment and data sources to guide educational decisions; 94% reported they are knowledgeable about the seven sociocultural factors that may influence the students' linguistic and academic development ; 93% reported increase in collaboration to better serve students in their schools; and 81% reported they had provided professional development to other educators in their schools. This evidence indicates that the professional development program prepares highly effective teachers in the use of evidence-based practices with multilingual students.
Purpose-To improve the quality of field experience, support field experience cooperation and stre... more Purpose-To improve the quality of field experience, support field experience cooperation and streamline field experience management, the purpose of this paper is to describe the experience in using Activity Theory to design and develop a web-based field experience tracking system for a special education program. Design/methodology/approach-The authors used Activity Theory to design and develop a web-based field experience tracking system for a special education program. An in-depth evaluation of the developed web-based system including usability testing and actual use of the system was conducted. Findings-The evaluation and data analysis results demonstrate the value of Activity Theory and show that a web-based tracking system is a valuable tool to support the management of pre-service teachers' field experiences. Originality/value-This is the first paper to discuss the design and development of field experience tracking system using Activity Theory. This paper can be used to motivate other developers to use Activity theory to design campus-wide information system. The system and methodology the authors used in this project has wider applicability and generalizability, and can be applied to the management of other competency and field based professional training in areas such as nursing, social work and medicine.
Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 2021
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required many educators to redesign how t... more The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required many educators to redesign how they deliver their courses. In this study, we develop innovative procedures and pedagogy to teach pair programming via Zoom breakout rooms in a cloud environment. We report six fundamental innovative teaching mechanisms and procedures: 1) strategically planning a course, 2) effectively managing teaching resources, 3) enhancing faculty responsiveness, 4) selecting reliable technology, 5) mandating online educator's training, and 6) accommodating students with learning disabilities. From teaching pair programming via Zoom breakout rooms, we have gained valuable experience in promoting collaborative, engaging, active, and problem-based learning activities in a cloud environment. Our results enrich our knowledge of delivering online education and contribute to pair programming literature in general.
Background: Dyslexia is a developmental brain-based type of learning disability that affects a pe... more Background: Dyslexia is a developmental brain-based type of learning disability that affects a person's ability to read and spell words. Best estimates place 5 percent to 10 percent of the population with the condition, but the incidence of dyslexia is challenging to pinpoint, as the definition of dyslexia varies throughout research. Objective: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of dyslexia, its characteristics, assessment and identification, and intervention techniques for the condition. Results: Although the disorder varies from person to person, common characteristics among people with dyslexia include difficulty with phonological skills, low accuracy and fluency of reading, poor spelling, and/or rapid visual-verbal responding. Dyslexia is a neurological condition and can be inherited, and recent studies have identified a number of genes that may predispose an individual to developing dyslexia. Identification of dyslexia early requires recognition of characteristics such as difficulty associating sounds with letters, reading dysfluencies, spelling difficulties, challenges with written expression and poor handwriting. Dyslexia assessments can guide professions in ways to best administer treatment, such as via strategies to enhance word training and improve decoding skills. All of these interventions have shown to benefit the reading and writing abilities of persons with dyslexia. Conclusions: The unique nature and presentation of dyslexia varies among individuals. The importance of understanding as much as possible and keeping abreast of the assessment and intervention strategies available is critical to minimizing the long-term effects of dyslexia.
Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, Oct 31, 2019
Purpose Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate language ... more Purpose Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate language deficits requiring speech-language pathologist (SLP) interventions. With the number of students diagnosed with ADHD on the rise, SLPs are being called upon increasingly to address the needs of these students. Ensuring SLPs are comfortable treating students with ADHD is of growing importance. To date, there is limited evidence examining what factors may predict how comfortable SLPs are working with students with ADHD. This study investigated the relationships between variables to better predict comfort levels of school SLPs in their management of students with ADHD. Method A total of 86 school SLPs from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Special Interest Groups 1 (Language, Learning and Education) and 16 (School-Based Issues) whose clinical caseloads included students diagnosed with ADHD participated in an anonymous, online survey to determine the relationship between various factors and SLPs' comfort level when working with students with ADHD. Results Correlations revealed feeling adequately trained predicted SLPs' comfort level in working with students with ADHD. SLPs who either received coursework that included content regarding ADHD in school or sought out professional development reported feeling adequately trained. Regression analyses revealed feeling adequately trained and having a reasonable caseload as significant predictors of SLPs' comfort level. Conclusions Not all SLPs were comfortable working with students with ADHD. Many sought courses to increase their level of comfort, and many did not feel adequately trained. Results suggest the need for SLPs to have more preparation about managing ADHD prior to beginning their professional clinical careers.
In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students f... more In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students from first to fourth grade. Students completed three number knowledge tasks: 1) translating numbers into words, 2) symbolic magnitude (i.e., number comparison), and 3) decomposing numbers. We evaluated students' answers by means of error analysis using a three-category coding system adopted from specific error types were computed by grade level. Results showed that there were significant differences among grades and that the prerequisite linguistic error type (i.e., pre linguistic rules or principles of the cardinal number system), particularly in the magnitude tasks, significantly contributed to students' performance on number knowledge tasks. This is important for instruction because learning difficulties in mathematics have been associated with weaknesses in intermediate number knowledge competencies (e.g., number comparison). Our qualitative data analyses suggest that instruction, intervention, or remediation need to consider systematic instructing students the prelinguistic rules of the number system, specifically the principles related to larger numbers.
In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students f... more In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students from first to fourth grade. Students completed three number knowledge tasks: 1) translating numbers into words, 2) symbolic magnitude (i.e., number comparison), and 3) decomposing numbers. We evaluated students' answers by means of error analysis using a three-category coding system adopted from specific error types were computed by grade level. Results showed that there were significant differences among grades and that the prerequisite linguistic error type (i.e., pre linguistic rules or principles of the cardinal number system), particularly in the magnitude tasks, significantly contributed to students' performance on number knowledge tasks. This is important for instruction because learning difficulties in mathematics have been associated with weaknesses in intermediate number knowledge competencies (e.g., number comparison). Our qualitative data analyses suggest that instruction, intervention, or remediation need to consider systematic instructing students the prelinguistic rules of the number system, specifically the principles related to larger numbers.
This study examined the interplay among internal (e.g. attention, working memory abilities) and e... more This study examined the interplay among internal (e.g. attention, working memory abilities) and external (e.g. background noise, visual information) factors in individuals with and without ADHD. A 2 × 2 × 6 mixed design with correlational analyses was used to compare participant results on a standardized listening in noise sentence repetition task (QuickSin; Killion et al, 2004 ), presented in an auditory and an audiovisual condition as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) varied from 25-0 dB and to determine individual differences in working memory capacity and short-term recall. Thirty-eight young adults without ADHD and twenty-five young adults with ADHD. Diagnosis, modality, and signal-to-noise ratio all affected the ability to process speech in noise. The interaction between the diagnosis of ADHD, the presence of visual cues, and the level of noise had an effect on a person's ability to process speech in noise. conclusion: Young adults with ADHD benefited less from visual information during noise than young adults without ADHD, an effect influenced by working memory abilities.
Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, Mar 25, 2015
Educational legislation has made reading a priority for students with significant intellectual di... more Educational legislation has made reading a priority for students with significant intellectual disabilities (ID) and associated speech, language, sensory, or physical impairments. Historically, reading instruction for students with significant ID has focused on sight word instruction, with limited exposure to other essential reading skills. This article focuses on the evidence-based instructional methods that effectively and efficiently foster the reading development of students with significant ID. The authors reviewed the literature from the past 20 years on reading interventions for students with significant ID. In spite of access and opportunity barriers that have inhibited the reading development of students with significant ID, a synthesis of the empirical research on reading instruction suggests that students with significant ID and associated disabilities can learn phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills with direct instruction. Implications for providing reading instruction that effectively promotes reading development are discussed and areas for future research are identified.
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Papers by Silvana Watson