Jane Jane sat down exhausted after another long day. It was just the first week of November, but ... more Jane Jane sat down exhausted after another long day. It was just the first week of November, but it felt as if the school year had been in session for months. She expected her first year to be tough but having nearly 30 children with dis-abilities, including, it seemed, every ...
As computer programming and computational thinking (CT) become more integrated into K-12 instruct... more As computer programming and computational thinking (CT) become more integrated into K-12 instruction, content teachers and special educators need to understand how to provide instructional supports to a wide range of learners, including students with disabilities. This cross-case analysis study examined the supports that two students with disabilities, who were initially disengaged during computing activities, received during computing instruction. Data revealed that students' support needs during computing activities were not CT-specific. Rather, supports specific to these students' needs that were successful in other educational areas were also successful and sufficient in CT. Although additional studies would need to be conducted to ascertain the transferability of these findings to other contexts and students, our results contribute evidence that students with disabilities can and should participate in CT and be provided with the supports they need, just as in all other areas of the curriculum. We present a framework for evaluating student engagement to identify student-specific supports and, when needed, refine the emerging K-12 CT pedagogy to facilitate full participation of all students. We then offer a list of four implications for practice based on the findings.
Extant research reports differential effects related to the efficacy of video games as a means to... more Extant research reports differential effects related to the efficacy of video games as a means to enhance science instruction. However, there are very few studies examining differences in learning outcomes across student-level independent variables. This study used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of three video game-enhanced life science units on the performance of 366 adolescent students from three middle schools in the central and western United States. The study included 18 life science classrooms that were taught by four teachers over a 6-week period. Independent variables included the students' National Assessment of Educational Progress reading level, presence of a learning disability, gender, and student perceptions of science and video games. Struggling readers and students with low perceptions of their skills as scientists underperformed when compared to their peers. Results across all games indicated significant learning gains for students with and without learning disabilities. Learning disability, gender, and perceptions of video games for learning were not significant predictors of student performance. Results from the study indicate that the effects of video games on science learning are mediated by individual learner characteristics and the science content. # 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach
This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities (LD) from four mi... more This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities (LD) from four middle schools. Students were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines during other units. Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means of representation and expression. The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement. There were no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD. Students’ performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular materials. Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units. Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed.
Page 1. Minimizing the Observer Effect on Student Behaviors through Video Conferencing Observatio... more Page 1. Minimizing the Observer Effect on Student Behaviors through Video Conferencing Observations Maya Israel University of Kansas mayaosh@ku.edu Introduction School professionals have numerous reasons for observing student behaviors in the ...
Jane Jane sat down exhausted after another long day. It was just the first week of November, but ... more Jane Jane sat down exhausted after another long day. It was just the first week of November, but it felt as if the school year had been in session for months. She expected her first year to be tough but having nearly 30 children with dis-abilities, including, it seemed, every ...
As computer programming and computational thinking (CT) become more integrated into K-12 instruct... more As computer programming and computational thinking (CT) become more integrated into K-12 instruction, content teachers and special educators need to understand how to provide instructional supports to a wide range of learners, including students with disabilities. This cross-case analysis study examined the supports that two students with disabilities, who were initially disengaged during computing activities, received during computing instruction. Data revealed that students' support needs during computing activities were not CT-specific. Rather, supports specific to these students' needs that were successful in other educational areas were also successful and sufficient in CT. Although additional studies would need to be conducted to ascertain the transferability of these findings to other contexts and students, our results contribute evidence that students with disabilities can and should participate in CT and be provided with the supports they need, just as in all other areas of the curriculum. We present a framework for evaluating student engagement to identify student-specific supports and, when needed, refine the emerging K-12 CT pedagogy to facilitate full participation of all students. We then offer a list of four implications for practice based on the findings.
Extant research reports differential effects related to the efficacy of video games as a means to... more Extant research reports differential effects related to the efficacy of video games as a means to enhance science instruction. However, there are very few studies examining differences in learning outcomes across student-level independent variables. This study used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of three video game-enhanced life science units on the performance of 366 adolescent students from three middle schools in the central and western United States. The study included 18 life science classrooms that were taught by four teachers over a 6-week period. Independent variables included the students' National Assessment of Educational Progress reading level, presence of a learning disability, gender, and student perceptions of science and video games. Struggling readers and students with low perceptions of their skills as scientists underperformed when compared to their peers. Results across all games indicated significant learning gains for students with and without learning disabilities. Learning disability, gender, and perceptions of video games for learning were not significant predictors of student performance. Results from the study indicate that the effects of video games on science learning are mediated by individual learner characteristics and the science content. # 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach
This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities (LD) from four mi... more This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities (LD) from four middle schools. Students were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines during other units. Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means of representation and expression. The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement. There were no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD. Students’ performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular materials. Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units. Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed.
Page 1. Minimizing the Observer Effect on Student Behaviors through Video Conferencing Observatio... more Page 1. Minimizing the Observer Effect on Student Behaviors through Video Conferencing Observations Maya Israel University of Kansas mayaosh@ku.edu Introduction School professionals have numerous reasons for observing student behaviors in the ...
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were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the
use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games
and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines during other
units. Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means
of representation and expression. The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement. There were
no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD. Students’
performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular
materials. Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units.
Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed.
were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the
use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games
and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines during other
units. Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means
of representation and expression. The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement. There were
no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD. Students’
performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular
materials. Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units.
Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed.