Research Spotlight
I-Connect
Jackie Millin and colleagues, from the University of Kansas’ Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, received funding to investigate implementation supports for the I-Connect application. I-Connect is an application that allows users to track and monitor their behavior in real time. The grant is a federally funded project by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Stepping Up.
The project, Enabled Self-Monitoring for High School Students with Disabilities, aims to build implementation supports for I-Connect. Through the building of implementation supports, intervention stakeholders can improve classroom engagement and academic outcomes for high school students with disabilities. The project will design, improve, and investigate four ways to improve implementation:
- A readiness assessment
- Mobile application supports
- Website application supports
- Website resources for dissemination and training.
The research team identified the four necessary areas for scaling, maintaining fidelity, and creating sustained use of I-Connect by school staff and parents over time. Current implementation materials as well as the I-Connect application can be found at https://iconnect.ku.edu/. Users are welcome to sign up for an account and take a readiness quiz.
Contact: Jackie Millin
Email: [email protected]
University of Kansas
Project WeGotIT!
TAM members from George Mason University, Dr. Anya Evmenova and Dr. Kelley Regan are currently working on Project WeGotIT!: Writing Efficiently with Graphic Organizers: Teacher Integrating Technology! It is a five-year federally funded project supported by the Office of Special Education Programs, Stepping Up Technology Implementation.
Project WeGotIt! aims to promote an effective integration of technology-based graphic organizers (TBGOs) with embedded self-regulated learning strategies in order to improve writing literacy across the curriculum for students with and without high incidence disabilities who struggle with writing in elementary, middle, and high schools.
Writing is an important skill that is required for all content areas as well as many different areas of life. TBGOs incorporate several research-based strategies including mnemonics, strategy instruction, self-regulated learning strategies, the use of word processing, and graphic organizers. In addition, the technology offers many universally designed supports that can enhance learning for all students.
As a result of multiple iterations, Project WeGotIT now offers three different versions of a technology-based graphic organizer (or TBGO). There is a computer-based graphic organizer, or CBGO, that uses Microsoft Word® on a personal computer, a mobile based graphic organizer application or MBGO that can be used on an iPad, and a web-based graphic organizer, or WBGO. All versions incorporate several self-regulated learning strategies: goal setting, self-instruction, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation. They also include support features, such as a mnemonic strategy, color coding, drop-down menus, text hints, audio comments, and text-to-speech. Though the platforms are similar, there are some differences. TBGOs are available for three essay genres: persuasive, argumentative, and personal narrative.
As of Fall 2016, TBGOs have been used with 30 teachers and more than 600 students including almost 400 struggling writers. When using the TBGOs, the majority of struggling writers increase the quantity of their writing and ALL students, including struggling writers and typical students, improve the quality of their writing. The most promising finding is that given sufficient practice, students maintain their performance when the graphic organizer is removed. For more information about Project WeGotIT!, please visit the website: http://wegotit.gmu.edu
Recent publications about Project WeGotIT! in CEC journals:
Research: Evmenova, A. S., Regan, K., Boykin, A., Good, K., Hughes, M., MacVittie, N. P., Sacco, D., Ahn, S. Y., & Chirinos, D. S. (2016). Emphasizing planning for essay writing with a computer-based graphic organizer. Exceptional Children, 82, 170-191. doi: 10.1177/0014402915591697
Practice: Regan, K., Evmenova, A. S., Kurz, L. A., Hughes, M. D., Sacco, D., Ahn, S. Y., MacVittie N. P., Good, K., Boykin, A. & Chirinos, D. S. (2016). Researchers apply lesson study: A cycle of planning, implementation, and revision. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 31, 113-122. doi: 10.1111/ldrp.12101.
Tar Heel Shared Reader
Karen Erickson, Claire Greer, and colleagues from the University of North Carolina received funding to make shared reading more broadly accessible to students with significant cognitive disabilities. The grant is a federally funded project by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Stepping Up. The research will focus on the widely used Tar Heel reader. Tar Heel Shared Reader is a literacy intervention/strategy developed by Drs. Karen Erickson (PI) and Gary Bishop.
The project, Tar Heel Shared Reader, aims to support students with significant cognitive disabilities who are not yet reading connected text. The project will combine the library of appropriate books in Tar Heel Reader with a new shared reading interface in order to engage students more actively in constructing meaning from texts in order to improve and increase interactions while supporting improved academic success. The books will be aligned with grade level content and standards. Additionally, they will be written at a level the particular students with significant cognitive disabilities can understand. This project will build upon the evidence base in shared reading while using an affordable support available to all teachers.
Tar Heel Shared Reader will utilize Tar Heel Reader. Tar Heel Reader is a widely used, open-source (available to all) program. Tar Heel Reader gives teachers a tool to engage students with texts, align texts with grade level content and standards to support language and literacy outcomes. In Tar Heel Reader, educators can find books by searching by topic or rapidly create books using images in Flickr or by uploading their own images.
Contact: Karen Erickson, [email protected]
Link: http://tarheelreader.org