Archive for: ‘February 2011’

Life Skills Training Through Situated Learning Experiences: An Alternative Instructional Model

February 27, 2011 Posted by Kantata Taqwa

KB Shelly Meyers
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

This article examines the value of situated learning as an alternative to the traditional college course instructional approach for pre-service teachers. The situated learning mode of teaching immerses students in the actual setting, practicing the skills and concepts emphasized in the curriculum. Through a partnership with a college, community agency and public school, graduate students in the special education program developed and implemented a life skills curriculum for individuals with developmental disabilities, while learning essential principles of delivering instruction. The school aged students who participated in the study were from an urban, racially mixed public school district and they attended the program at the end of their regular school day. Analysis of data from student surveys and focus groups revealed the effectiveness of the situated learning model. … ( Full Journal…)

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Insider, Outsider, Ally, Or Adversary: Parents Of Youth With Learning Disabilities Engage In Educational Advocacy

February 18, 2011 Posted by Kantata Taqwa

Cheryll Duquette
Stephanie Fullarton
Shari Orders
Kristen Robertson-Grewal
University of Ottawa

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the educational advocacy experiences of parents of adolescents and young adults identified as having a learning disability (LD) through the lens of four dimensions of advocacy. Seventeen mothers of youth with LD responded to items in a questionnaire and 13 also engaged in in-depth interviews. It was found that the dimensions of advocacy provided a useful framework for understanding the participants’ experiences and parents could be categorized as insiders, outsiders, allies, and adversaries with different advocacy outcomes. … ( Full Journal…)

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Open Inclusion Or Shameful Secret: A Comparison Of Characters With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (Fasd) And Characters With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd) In A North American Sample Of Books For Children And Young Adults

February 12, 2011 Posted by Kantata Taqwa

Conor Barker
Juli Kulyk
Lyndsay Knorr
Beverley Brenna
University of Saskatchewan

Using a framework of critical literacy, and acknowledging the characteristics of Radical Change, the authors explore 75 North American youth fiction novels which depict characters with disabilities. Books were identified from a variety of sources (i.e., awards lists, book reviews, other research, and word-of-mouth), to represent a random sample that would work within the research timeframe. From the sample, characters who were described as having Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) (n=2) or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (n=14) were analyzed to determine trends and patterns in the character descriptions, settings, and plot lines. There appears to be an underrepresentation of characters with FASD in North American youth fiction in comparison to the representation of characters with ASD, a similar group in society in terms of incidence. An annotated bibliography includes the 15 titles portraying characters with FASD or ASD within the larger sample. … ( Full Journal…)

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