This paper discusses the development of an assistive technology (AT) toolkit for special education teachers to use in integrating assistive technology with general curriculum standards for students with high incidence (mild) disabilities. Participants were 31 K-8 special education teacher-volunteers recruited from schools representing urban,…

During an 8-month practicum, 41 mildly disabled high school students; their teachers, parents, and counselors; and community business representatives cooperated in defining individual school-to-work transition goals in educational, occupational/career, and social/personal areas. The major aim was to realistically and adequately prepare these…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a project designed to investigate the effective implementation of technology hardware and software as an instructionally integrated component of educating elementary children with disabilities within the regular classroom setting. The project conducted a series of applied research studies to use as a…

This description of a curricular adaptation decision-making process focuses on tenets of reflective practice as teachers design instruction for students in heterogeneous classrooms. A case example illustrates how an elementary teaching team transformed lessons to accommodate a wide range of learners in a multiage first- and second-grade classroom.…

Discussion of the successful integration of technology to assist students with mild handicaps in mainstreamed classrooms highlights the role of the teacher. Three research studies are described: one with elementary schools, one with middle schools, and one with high schools. Curriculum objectives, student needs, group learning, and teacher…

This paper studied contextual barriers inhibiting implementation of the Life-Centered Career Education/Employability Enhancement Strategies curriculum, which contains career education assessment and instructional materials for high school students with mild disabilities. Barriers included competing administrative commitments, scarcity of…

A survey of 388 Indiana secondary vocational educators concerned vocational education programs and practices for handicapped learners. Among the results, it was found that 38 percent of educators had not received special training for instructing handicapped learners, and primary modifications made for handicapped learners entailed extra assistance…

Three experiments compared the effects of interspersal drill and practice using 30% new items/70% review items with 100% new items, with a total of 17 students (ages 9 to 17) having behavior disorders, emotional handicaps, learning disabilities, or mild mental retardation. The ratios were compared for instruction in spelling, multiplication facts,…

This article describes an intraschool consultation model for meeting the transition needs of elementary school special education students moving on to secondary school. Model components include providing staff with a communication vehicle and implementing pretransition programs. A checklist of modified methods of instruction and evaluation that…

Implementation of a pyramid model to teach behavior management strategies to the staff of an integrated childcare center found improvements in performance of the three trained "specialists," improvements in other staff trained by the specialists, changes in child behavior, and general satisfaction with the training procedures. (DB)

Three middle school teachers of mainstreamed students with mild disabilities used a computer networking system to check student understanding of math concepts. Results indicated that, with coaching on how to use the data generated by the system, teachers increased the amount of time spent on active teaching and providing feedback. (Author/JDD)

Two surveys of personnel preparation programs in education of the hearing impaired were conducted, to determine teacher educators' opinions on the preparation of teachers to serve learning-disabled and socially/emotionally disturbed hearing-impaired students. The 98 responses indicated a need to modify existing curricula in personnel preparation…

A survey of 1,140 eighth grade students showed that regular class students had higher levels of self-concept than did students who were educationally marginal or learning handicapped. African-American students had higher self-concept ratings than did white and Hispanic students. Males had higher ratings than did females on five of seven scales.…

This paper examines progress made in educating adolescents with mild handicaps since implementation of Public Law 94-142, based on graduation rates of these students and their postschool outcomes. The paper then presents a model for restructuring special education programs to prepare youth for utilitarian, social, and personal roles. (JDD)

This study investigated the technical adequacy of 7 objective indexes of writing quality in monitoring the progress of 36 middle school students with mild disabilities over a 6-month period. Three indexes (such as "percent of legible words") were moderately correlated with holistic ratings but were not sufficiently stable over time. (Author/JDD)