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ERIC Number: EJ1182521
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Oct
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2164-0246
EISSN: N/A
Providing Access for Students with Moderate Disabilities: An Evaluation of a Professional Development Program at a Catholic Elementary School
Cunningham, Matthew P.; Huchting, Karen K.; Fogarty, Diane; Graf, Victoria
Journal of Catholic Education, v21 n1 Article 7 Oct 2017
After a significant policy change led to the admittance of students with moderate disabilities, St. Agnes School (SAS; pseudonym)--a Catholic PK-8 school in Southern California--implemented an 18-month professional development (PD) program to improve teachers' inclusive classroom practices. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Center for Applied Special Technology, 2015b), the PD program included cyclical, one-on-one instructional coaching sessions that were led by trained UDL coaches and consisted of lesson demonstrations and personalized feedback. While SAS teachers held state credentials, most had very little training to work with students with special needs prior to this PD; the purpose of this study was to evaluate the UDL PD program at SAS in terms of its impact on teachers' instructional practices and students' engagement in the classroom. Data from one-on-one interviews and classroom observations were analyzed using evaluation coding (Patton, 2002, 2008; Rallis & Rossman, 2003; Saldana, 2013) and findings revealed improvements in classroom instruction and student engagement for teachers who embraced the framework. Administrative and programmatic challenges that emerged over the course of the program and teachers' hope for a long term shift toward professional learning communities among faculty and staff are discussed.
Loyola Marymount University. School of Education 1 LMU Drive, University Hall Suite 1760, Los Angles, CA 90045. e-mail: catholicedjournal@lmu.edu; Web site: http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A