Retrieval-based learning in special education

Retrieval-based learning has been investigated in various populations. The present study examined retrieval-based learning in a sample of students at a special-needs school with educational tracks for learning and mental development. In addition, a comparison group of students at a regular school was examined. Learning conditions were manipulated within participants. In a first session, participants either received restudy cycles only, or they received alternating test and restudy cycles. A second session then comprised the opposite form of practice. In both sessions, a final test assessed memory after a short distractor phase. This procedure was the same in two experiments but with different kinds of item material. For both kinds (images and image-word pairs), a testing effect occurred, that is higher recall of tested items. These results show that lower cognitive ability or lack of experience with regularly being tested in school do not prevent students from benefiting from retrieval-based learning.     

Substantiating a special cultural emphasis on learning and education in East Asia

Claims of a special cultural emphasis on learning and education (SCELE) in East Asia versus the West – the United States in particular – are legion in the research literature. The evidence is, however, largely anecdotal, severely geographically limited, or reflects an unrepresentative selection of respondents. We review the evidentiary strategies of earlier studies, situate the assumed SCELE in a theoretical framework, and compare the prevalence of learning and education words in general-interest newswriting samples from across East Asia and the United States (N = 61). Our findings confirm earlier unsubstantiated claims, provide new insight into the strength of the difference, and illustrate a novel means of quantifying the difference in magnitude of SCELE in East Asia in comparison to the United States.     

From special tasks to extensive roles: the changing face of special needs teachers in Finnish vocational further education

Following the development of inclusive education in vocational education and training (VET), the discussion about the prevention of marginalisation and dropouts has increased. At the same time, the formal education system has strengthened the position of support services, such as special educational needs (SEN) teachers, social workers and counsellors. However, a confusion of roles in the work of SEN teachers seems evident. The changing work of SEN teachers has not been of great research interest in Finland. The focus has been mainly on SEN teachers at the secondary school level (Kivirauma and Kuorelahti, 2002; Ström, 1999). The work of vocational SEN teachers has been studied by Kaikkonen, 2010 and Hirvonen, 2006. SEN teachers comprise two groups in the field: one group supports vocational subjects and the other group supports general subjects. The aim of this study is to determine how SEN teachers of general subjects define the objectives of their work and how they organise pedagogical support. Ten SEN teachers in vocational colleges were interviewed. A qualitative analysis was performed. The main findings showed, on the one hand, an autonomous position and, on the other, a work model that can be described as a ‘traditional special needs education model’. However, the findings showed that the autonomous role was contradictory. SEN teachers did not emphasise the connection with the VET community or college‐based guidelines and directions. Moreover, although the consultative role exists, the findings showed that it is not a regular part of the work of SEN teachers.     

Lifelong learning ecologies in online higher education: Students' engagement in the continuum between formal and informal learning

Lifelong learning opportunities are readily accessible through the hybridization of digital learning contexts—from formal to informal—in today's globally networked knowledge society. As such, expanded learning opportunities generate a continuum of learning contexts and experiences mediated through digital technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to actively examine the interconnections and complex relations between what is learned in formal university scenarios and the everyday learning that happens outside of the classroom, particularly the informal learning that is afforded through expanded and emerging digital contexts. The current research problem illustrates that expanded and emerging professional development scenarios require new pedagogical designs for empowering lifelong learners to harness the affordances of the web across both formal and informal contexts and practices. This study outlines ways in which students shape their learning ecologies in virtual contexts to support formal academic learning in online higher education. The paper presents qualitative results from a larger mixed methods interpretive case study. The multicase and multisite study examines three fully online graduate programmes in Education and Digital Technology during the 2017–18 academic year, collecting data in the form of online programme documentation, student interviews and online participant observation. Purposeful and criterion sampling were used to select 13 participants across three sites in Spain, the UK and the USA. The study was underpinned by a lifelong learning ecologies theoretical perspective to analyse learning processes across a continuum of practices and contexts. Findings illustrate how students conceive of, as well as how they organize their learning ecologies through a unique configuration of activities, digital resources and networked social support, indicating that academic programmes and teachers have an essential role in empowering student learning ecologies across contexts, recognizing past trajectories and supporting the development of valued disciplinary practices and perspectives across a continuum of learning.     

语用学视角下的特殊教育专业手语合作学习研究

从语用学视角,采用合作学习模式,在特殊教育专业手语教学中开展静态的语形教学、语义教学时,同步开展动态的语用教学研究。研究表明:参加了教学研究的实验组学生在课内、课外的手语使用能力显著提高,自我评价也普遍偏高,对自身的手语能力更具信心。     

个体学习时间:学生发展的独特空间

个体学习时间是学生获得发展的独特空间。在实施新一轮基础教育课程改革中,教师大多都持有促进每一个学生发展的意识,但对如何在有限的学习时间确保有效学习等深层次问题上缺乏一定的认识。因此,需要就个体学习时间作为学生发展的独特空间这一问题进行研究,以进一步谱写我国21世纪初叶全面推进素质教育的新篇章。     

A follow-up study of recent special education graduates of learning disabilities programs

This study investigated the postschool vocational and community adjustment of recent special education graduates from a southwestern metropolitan school district. Sixty-four students with learning disabilities (LD) who had attended self-contained classes at 12 high schools were randomly selected. A questionnaire, administered either via the telephone or in person, was the source of data. Thirty-eight of the LD sample were in competitive employment. In general, the LD students received very few community services. For the most part, they received no agency support after graduation. Most of the LD subjects lived with parents or other relatives and most had a driver's license and car. Implications for postsecondary services and future research are discussed.     

Students' personal networks in virtual and personal learning environments: a case study in higher education using learning analytics approach

The main objective of this paper is to analyse the effect of the affordances of a virtual learning environment and a personal learning environment (PLE) in the configuration of the students' personal networks in a higher education context. The results are discussed in light of the adaptation of the students to the learning network made up by two undergraduate, inter-university and online courses. Besides, we also examine the influence of this effect in the learning process. The findings reflect the effectiveness of a PLE for facilitating student participation and for assisting students in the creation of larger and more balanced personal networks with richer social capital. However, the findings do not provide evidences about a difference in the learning performance between the two environments. From a methodological point of view, this paper serves as an illustration of the analysis of personal networks on digital data collected from technology-enhanced learning environments.     

Teaching and learning in the special education setting: agency of the diagnosed child

ABSTRACT

This article is based on an extensive study of teaching-learning processes in special educational settings organised for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There is a general assumption that children’s learning will be supported through placement in a special class with few students and one or more teachers present. The issues explored concern what educational practices unfold in these settings, i.e. what are the children learning, and how do they participate in the activities? The empirical study is based on video-recorded classroom interaction in eight ADHD-classes during a period of seven years, in total about 200 h. The results show that the interactional format dominating is characterised by one teacher instructing one child at a time. These situations usually seem to follow the well-known Initiative-Response-Feedback (I-R-F) structure. The contributions from the children are generally minimal, and there is no indication that the student’s role in such dyads is more active. Thus, there is little evidence that children’s learning will improve and that they become more focussed and assume a more participatory role in the interactional formats offered in special classes. Also, it is not obvious how experiences of this kind will prepare children for a return to regular classroom or develop towards becoming active citizens.     

Experiencing special education

Abstract

In this study 23 former students of special classes for the emotionally and behaviorally disordered (EBD) located in mainstream school were interviewed about their school experiences. The qualitative data were gathered in two in-depth interviews in 1991 and 1995 in southern Finland. The pros and cons of special education are presented as positive and negative elements of special class treatment.The most positive elements were the special teacher and the small teaching group. The most common and signi?cant negative element was the experience of being labeled. The placement of students with special needs in special classrooms has been criticized during recent years. The positive experiences of former EBD pupils shows that there is still need for this kind of intervention for some pupils and in certain phases of their school careers. However, the quality of education must be guaranteed with the help of individualized education plans (IEPs) in cooperation with the regular class teachers.