Mobile technologies have shown great potential in various educational settings. Moreover, there is an emerging research base demonstrating how students view and interact with mobile devices to learn. As more of these technologies enter inclusive educational settings, an understanding of the extant research base for mobile learning (M-learning) and…

Some researchers have characterized Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a promising framework to provide diverse students with access to the general education curriculum, but to what extent and how have UDL-based interventions fulfilled that promise? The purpose of this review was to analyze studies that investigated impacts of UDL-based…

This manuscript reviews the empirical literature of the TouchMath© instructional program. The TouchMath© program is a commercial mathematics series that uses a dot notation system to provide multisensory instruction of computation skills. Using the program, students are taught to solve computational tasks in a multisensory manner that does not…

Much is known about how to improve students' comprehension when reading printed text; less is known about outcomes when reading digital text. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to analyze research on the impact of digital text interventions. A comprehensive literature search resulted in 27 group intervention studies with 16,513 participants.…

We conducted a systematic review of the evidence related to online instruction in writing for students with special needs with the purpose of determining whether the existing literature can provide a research base and responding to special education researchers' concerns about students with disabilities receiving instruction online. We identified…

In this paper the role of qualitative research in special education is examined. The implications of an earlier naturalistic study are cited, an important one being the tendency in the literature to oversimplify the naturalistic paradigm; and the case is made that implementing such a paradigm is a "labor intensive" approach to research…

The paper discusses five basic single subject research designs used to study special education students: the ABAB (reversal), multiple baseline, multiple probe, changing criterion, and multi-element designs. Examples are provided of each along with information on data evaluation and limitations. (CL)

Group research in special education is defined and its scope explained to encompass questions of description, difference, and relationship. Advantages of the group orientation over the single subject design are noted. Validity issues are examined. (CL)

The article describes single subject research designs appropriate for use by special education personnel to determine whether the treatment methods being employed are effective and responsible for behavior change. (DB)

A major tenet of both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act is the identification and use of evidence-based practices, or those instructional techniques shown by research as most likely to improve student outcomes meaningfully. However, much confusion exists regarding the meaning and potential…

Using evidence-based practices, or those instructional techniques shown by research to improve student outcomes meaningfully, increases the performance of students with disabilities and should therefore be a priority for special educators. But how does a practice come to be considered evidence based? The unique characteristics of group…

In response to recent trends and legislation, the concept of implementing evidence-based practices has become a critical component of contemporary schooling. It is important that teachers and families of students with disabilities understand the role that qualitative research plays in determining whether a practice is in fact evidence based.…

The authors respond to an earlier article by S. Stainback and W. Stainback which suggested the need for more qualitative research in special education. The response centers on the need for better research in the field. The Stainbacks reply, questioning the underlying rationales denigrating qualitative research. (CL)

Considerations for evaluating single subject research in special education include the social validation of treatment goals and effects, the clarity and completeness of treatment descriptions, the generality of treatment results, and component analyses of treatment packages. (Author/CL)

This paper describes development of a study that includes participatory action research, specifically the establishment of a family advisory committee. The study involved a survey of Massachusetts families of children with disabilities. Suggestions for establishing and integrating the committee into the research enterprise are offered, as are…