January 2022 Editors’ Note
Anna Osipova and Jemma Kim, Co-Editors
Dear Readers, Editorial Board, and Authors,
Happy Summer! We hope that your spring 2022 was safe and productive.
We are excited to offer to your attention the second 2022 issue of the Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship (JOSEA). We would like to
thank our Editorial Review Board for their continued support and tireless service as peer reviewers. This spring, we would like to recognize
Drs. Alice Cahill, Young Hwang, Robin Dodds, and Doug Carothers as outstanding reviewers for completing multiple substantial and detailed reviews.
The spring 2022 semester was very productive for the editorial team with many new submissions and scholarly ideas. The JOSEA’s June issue
features six manuscripts. We are thankful to the community of early career scholars for continuing their research and working on publications
despite the difficult times that we live in. The year of 2022 is very significant for the JOSEA as we celebrate 10 years of its publications.
To mark the decade of the JOSEA’s active presence on the publishing scene, we would like to invite you to consider to submit your publications
for the special issue with which we will open the second decade in June 2023. Please see the details on the JOSEA’s website under the Call for
Proposals. We invite you to submit your research and share the call with your colleagues and star graduate students. At the moment we are
considering two themes for the special issue. We will finalize the theme once we begin to receive the proposals.
This issue includes six articles. You will find a well-rounded range of methods which includes intervention studies, a survey study,
a scholarly discussion paper, and a practice manuscript. The issue opens with two manuscripts (Wojcik & King and Rogers et al.)
focused on the population of students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). Wojcik and King’s intervention study was submitted to
the previous editorial team. We continue to thank the authors for their multiple revisions as the Journal finalizes its transition
between the editorial teams. The study explored teaching high school students with ID an algebra skill of creating an equation from
a line using a time-delay strategy and equation template. The study provides promising findings that the use of time delay strategies
aids high schoolers with ID make progress within the general education high school curriculum. The article by Rogers and colleagues
continues discussion of teaching critical academic skills to individuals with ID and developmental disabilities (DD), as it examines
the effects of a multicomponent intervention on the accuracy and fluency of paragraph text writing skills of adolescents with ID and DD.
Despite mixed results, two of the three participants demonstrated growth in multiple skills related to paragraph writing, such as the
use of correct syntax, semantics, and capitalization. The third intervention study by Farra and colleagues turns our attention to
school-family partnerships. It investigates the use of parental tutoring to increase the oral reading fluency of students with disabilities
in rural settings. The work highlights positive results for all the participants and fidelity with which parents implemented the intervention.
Continuing the topic of classes taken by students with disabilities, the paper by Wilson and colleagues provides insights into training
of adapted physical education teachers (APE). Using survey methods, the authors examined faculty preparation and the content of APE introductory
courses for preservice undergraduate APE teachers. The study revealed great variability in concepts of APE concepts along with critical content gaps.
The fifth article in the issue by Hirsch et al. will speak to many in JOSEA’s audience as we continue to grapple with the quality of
the doctoral programs in special education. The paper discusses the importance of training doctoral scholars to develop practical, sustainable
collaboration skills. The issue closes with the practice piece by Hovey et al. who discuss providing young children with disabilities and
their peers with multiple means of action and expression through the use of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in early childhood classrooms.
The article provides numerous useful suggestions for practitioners and could be used as a helpful reading in and beyond fieldwork courses.
We hope that you will find the second 2022 issue of the JOSEA useful and informative. We would like to thank the authors for their excellent
articles and the reviewers for their detailed and timely reviews.
Looking forward to new exciting submissions,
Anna Osipova
Jemma Kim
Co-Editors
Articles
Teaching Students with Intellectual Disability to Create a Slope-Intercept Equation
Andrew Wojcik, Ph.D.1and Alison R. King, Ph.D.2
1King’s College, Department of Education
2Longwood University, College of Education and Human Services
Abstract: Increasingly individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID) are showing the capability of learning abstract mathematical skills
like algebra. The purpose of the study was to show a method for teaching high school-aged individuals with ID the algebra skill of creating an
equation from a line using a time-delay strategy and equation template. We employed a non-concurrent multiple probe across participants design
with four participants who showed an increase in performance after the intervention. All participants showed improvements with a percentage of
a nonoverlapping data effect size of 86.84%. The study supplied more evidence that the use of time delay approaches can help individuals with
ID make progress within the general education high school curriculum.
Keywords: developmental disabilities, inclusion, algebra, time delay
A Paragraph Text-Writing Intervention for Adolescents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Derek B. Rodgers, Shawn M. Datchuk, & Lanqi Wang
Bucknell University
Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Iowa
Abstract:Paragraph text-writing refers to constructing multiple words and sentences into the form of a paragraph. It is critical to overall
written expression; unfortunately, many students with disabilities struggle to develop it to fluency. The present study investigated the effects
of a multicomponent intervention on the accuracy and fluency of paragraph text writing skills of three adolescents with intellectual and
developmental disabilities. The intervention procedures featured a combination of explicit instruction and timed practice delivered through a series
of short, supplemental lessons. Intervention was delivered one-on-one, and a multiple probe across participants designed was used. Results were mixed,
with two of three students showing an improvement in multiple skills related to paragraph text-writing, including sentences with appropriate syntax,
semantics, capitalization, and punctuation. The limitations of this study as well as implications for practice are discussed.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, text writing, writing fluency, explicit instruction
Using Parental Tutoring to Improve the Oral Reading Fluency of Students with Disabilities in Rural Settings
Susan M. Farra, M.Ed., MS, JD11,
Todd Whitney, Ph.D.2, Justin T. Cooper, Ed.D.2,
Amy S. Lingo, Ed.D.2, & Maqenzi Hovious-Furgason M.Ed., BCBA, LBA2
1Kentucky Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Learning
2University of Louisville, College of Education and Human Development
Abstract: Although rural special educators face many challenges in meeting the needs of students with disabilities, they often report having
positive relationships with their students and families. Rural educators have the opportunity to leverage this relationship with families by having
parents implement academic interventions with their child at home. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of the Great Leaps
Reading program when implemented by parents of students with disabilities in rural settings. Using an A-B design replicated across four participants,
results showed that each participant’s reading rate increased as a result of the intervention. Additionally, parents, despite varied educational
levels and backgrounds, implemented the intervention procedures with fidelity. Results were mixed when examining whether parental implementation of
Great Leaps Reading increased oral reading fluency of grade level passages. Implications for rural special educators and the students with
disabilities that they serve are discussed.
Keywords:parental tutoring, repeated reading, oral reading fluency
A Descriptive Probe into Current Introduction to Adapted Physical Education Courses in the United States of America
1Kylie Wilson, M. A., 2Scott W.T. McNamara, Ph.D., and 3Lauren J. Lieberman, Ph.D.
1Arizona State University; 2University of New Hampshire; 3SUNY Brockport
Abstract: The number of public-school students with disabilities has increased in the last decade, as has support for teaching students with
and without disabilities in the same setting. Consequently, sufficient adapted physical education (APE) training for pre-service physical education
teachers is critical to ensure meaningful physical education experiences for all students. Few studies on how physical education teacher education
(PETE) programs are preparing future physical educators to teach students with disabilities exist. The purposes of this study were to preliminarily
describe current undergraduate APE introductory courses, including: (a) instructor demographics, (b) course characteristics, (c) course content and
(d) practicum experiences. Twenty-six faculty members currently teaching an introduction to APE course completed a 35-item web-based survey
(26% response rate). Demographic characteristics of instructors were mainly homogenous, suggesting a lack of diversity among those teaching these
courses. Twenty-four reported their program offered a practicum. Varying coverage of APE concepts explicates important content gaps in curricula
that may hinder the quality of physical education services for students with disabilities. These findings deepen the understanding of who is
instructing the courses, how the APE introductory courses are being taught across the US, and can serve as a reference for creating and improving PETE programs.
Keywords: physical education teacher education; pre-service teacher; service learning
Together We Go Far: Helping Doctoral Scholars Develop Collaborations in Special Education Research
Shanna E. Hirsch, Ph.D.1, Nathan A. Stevenson, Ph.D.2, Kaci Ellis, M.Ed.3, and Rhonda N. T. Nese, Ph.D.4
1Education and Human Development, Clemson University
2College of Education, Health, and Human Services, Kent State University
3College of Education, University of Florida
4College of Education, University of Oregon
Abstract: Collaboration is an undeniably important part of academic work, making challenging, ambitious research possible and more efficient.
Collaboration also serves as a foundation for scholarly networks of individuals with shared interests, values, and goals that support one another
in many ways. In addition, collaboration is described as a critical component in recent doctoral funding calls (i.e., U.S. Department of Education,
Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities). Despite its importance, few special education scholars receive
any formal guidance or training on practical, sustainable collaboration in academia. The need for a framework to support collaborations within special
education doctoral training is ever-present. In this article, we discuss key topics that impact collaborative work within and across institutions.
We adapted the Community Engagement Continuum framework (McCloskey et al., 2011) to increase collaboration for special education graduate scholars.
In addition, we provide advice for faculty members to consider as they guide graduate scholars in creating productive, meaningful professional collaborations.
Keywords: academic partnerships, collaboration, community-engaged continuum, higher education, special education
Providing Multiple Means of Action and Expression in the Early Childhood Classroom Through a Universal Design for Learning Framework
Katrina A. Hovey1, Ariane N. Gauvreau2, and Marla J. Lohmann3
1Western Oregon University, College of Education
2University of Washington, College of Education
3Colorado Christian University, College of Adult & Graduate Studies
Abstract: In order to ensure the success of all children in an inclusive preschool classroom, teachers must utilize evidence-based practices
as outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Developmentally Appropriate Practices and the Council for Exceptional
Children’s Division of Early Childhood Recommended Practices. This can be achieved through the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning
(UDL) framework. UDL is a proactive approach to classroom instruction that provides multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression.
This article provides a brief overview of UDL, with a specific focus on multiple means of action and expression in the early childhood classroom.
It is critical for practitioners to incorporate strategies related to multiple means of action, engagement, expression, and representation because
these strategies afford all learners diverse ways to navigate the learning environment, express their understanding, and demonstrate new knowledge and skills.
Keywords: early childhood, evidence-based instruction, preschool, Universal Design for Learning, action and expression
