Ed Tech Research
Show Me the Data!
Overview
An important part of obtaining my Master's Degree in Special Education is learning how to collect data to track student progress. Similarly, my work with Dominican University requires that I look at the rate of service usage among students with disabilities. I also work with students 1:1, so I love to seek out any educational articles that could help me come up with new strategies to help them. So, I was excited when this week's topic was looking at research-based educational studies!
This week I explored two reports from the Pew Research Center and the EdResearch for Recovery Project. The Pew Research Center studied technology usage among teens, and the EdResearch Recovery Project covered strategies for teaching students with disabilities. I chose these two reports because I worked with middle schoolers for my student teaching experience, and I currently work with college students with disabilities. Below is a summary of my findings and my thoughts on educational research being a vital element of guiding my instruction.
Pew Research Center
Teens, Social Media, and Technology 2022
The first study I explored was from Emily Vogels,
Risa Gelles Watnick, and Navid Massarat. They researched the frequency of teen’s
social media usage and broke down the statistics by socioeconomic status (SES)
and ethnicity.
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| SES and Technology Ownership by the Pew Research Center |
One of the findings that did not surprise me was the “digital divide” based on the SES and ethnic background of the students. I student taught at Humboldt Park, which has a low SES population, and so many students needed to loan a device or needed Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to help them get internet access. It was both frustrating and saddening that some students missed out on remote instruction due to poor internet or needing to share a device with their sibling. Did anyone else experience this in their classrooms?
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| Images Sourced from Canva |
In addition, their findings on Instagram and Snapchat being two of the top social media platforms was relevant to my student teaching experience since we had an incident where students were using those specific apps to either bully other students or make inflammatory comments about teachers at the school. We had to have a serious conversation about cyberbullying and digital citizenship. Aside from that, I did often use YouTube in my instruction since my students used that app daily and it seemed to improve engagement and generated more discussion.
EdResearch for Recovery
Academic Supports for Students with Disabilities
The second study I explored was by Nathan Jones,
Sharon Vaughn, and Lynn Fuchs. It covered effective and non-effective practices
for students with disabilities.
One of the authors’ findings was the importance of
integrating explicit instruction in lesson plans. Specifically, the authors recommend
“…one-to-one intervention three to five times per week using explicit
instruction” (2020). This does not surprise me since the students I work with
need one-on-one and systematic approaches when breaking down assignments or
learning how to write an email. In fact, it requires multiple meetings to make it a habit!
This finding also intrigued me since one of my favorite educational books is Explicit
Instruction by Anita Archer, a well-known educator who provides resources
for literacy instruction. Below is a short video from Anita Archer on the achievement gap and factors that may require more intensive instruction:
Another finding I was slightly surprised by was their claim that co-teaching can actually be ineffective to special education students. This is due to some students needing individualized instruction that can't be met in a co-taught classroom. I was surprised by this since schools I observed have increasingly been adopting co-teaching models. However, I have heard similar complaints from special education teachers that some co-teaching models take time away from students on their caseload.
Takeaways
Educational research is something all educators should dedicate time to since it can have the potential to improve their instruction and enhance their student's experience in the classroom. This is especially relevant to older teachers who might need to "refresh" their methods due to the evolving nature of evidence-based practices. Truly, it shows intention to grow since you are willing to seek out practices that could benefit your classroom.
I think using educational research also shows parents, coworkers, administration, and the students themselves that you are competent because your instruction is based on researched methods. Many parents/guardians, especially those who have a child in a special education program, might question why you are implementing a certain intervention. Having the research to back up your reasoning will ease any anxiety and improve relationships with the parents/guardians.
References:
Archer, A. (2011). Narrowing the achievement gap [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfjOJQFusrc&list=PLWZNy10RFOFjTLvGFnP5nIeFPolriaDsc&index=5
Canva. (2022). Free use elements. canva.com
Jones, N. et al. (2020). Academic supports for
students with disabilities. EdResearch for Recovery. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/
Vogels, E. et al. (2022). Teens, social media, and
technology 2022. Pew Research Center. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QTbLr2Cv2CmSXpeKcPXMrEImIp34Vno9/view?usp=sharing
Hi Lauren, I enjoyed reading your post and I thought you had a lot of great points to share! It was definitely sad during online learning when students did not have access to devices/wifi. Education is a right and when our students weren't learning because of their situations it was very disheartening as an educator. It felt like there wasn't a lot we could do to help! I'm much happier being back in person now and I know it's a relief for a lot of the families at my school. I was also so interested in your comments on co-teaching. Our school is pushing toward the co-teaching model, so I currently co-teach one period a day with our ESL teacher. I love having her in my room and the lessons we teach are great, but she doesn't get the small group time with her students that she used to and we're both noticing the negative effects of the model. Thanks for your insight!
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing me to EdResearch for Recovery. This is one I wasn't aware of!
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren! I appreciated your perspective as a special education teacher and a teacher that works with students at the college level. In regards to your question, I too found the SES gap between students during the pandemic greatly impacted learning. We also had students with no home internet. I commend my district for trying to get access to any student who needed it, the plan wasn't full proof. There was also a huge disparity in parent involvement. As a sixth grade teacher, my husband had students in charge of younger siblings while parents worked. Those students were not getting the same instruction as students who had a work space with no interruptions. I even had third graders in the same situation watching younger students. I am curious about the research that will continue to be done o the affects of the pandemic on our students. I am grateful to have learned about these resources so I can keep up on it.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon! Yes, I did experience internet issues and device availability issues in my Title I school. This was both sad and frustrating to deal with as a teacher. There was many instances of inequity in education throughout the pandemic, and this was one of the most prominent and common throughout the US. I agree that it is interesting to claim that co-taught classrooms seem to be ineffective for those special education students. I can understand how it can take time away from individualized instruction for those students but also, I think there is a social benefit to co-taught classrooms. Depending on the model, co-taught classrooms do not draw more attention to special education students than general education students. I wonder if it is more widely accepted to be used because of the social benefits or the benefits of the general education teacher? Thank you for your reflections.
ReplyDelete