Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Kathleen McLaughlin
Committee Member
Hardwick Johnson
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
autism spectrum disorders, in-service training, mentoring, reading comprehension, reading instruction, reading strategies, research-based instruction, teacher knowledge, teacher training
Abstract
Mastering reading comprehension is vital to an individual’s long-term success. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) typically struggle with developing reading-comprehension skills. Adequate teacher training in research-based, reading-comprehension strategies is necessary for developing students’ skills in implementation of the strategies. This applied dissertation addressed the lack of training teachers in the research setting received to adequately teach reading-comprehension strategies to students with ASD.
Teachers of students with ASD received in-service, workshop-style training sessions and individualized mentoring sessions. The content was developed and delivered by the researcher based on current literature on reading-comprehension strategies for students with ASD and effective teacher-training methods.
The impact of the teacher training was evaluated through pre- and posttest teacher questionnaires. The Likert-scale questionnaires gathered information regarding teacher knowledge and implementation of research-based, reading-comprehension strategies as well as the impact of implementation on student learning. A qualitative survey was utilized to gather teacher perspectives of the effectiveness of the training.
Six teachers participated in the 6-week training program. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed some improvement, although not significant. Participants improved in their knowledge and understanding of research-based, reading-comprehension strategies and increased the rate of implementing these strategies in their instruction of students with ASD. Participants identified the content and format of the training sessions, the relevant strategies, and the classroom materials as helpful in improving their instruction.
Based on the data, the researcher concluded the training program was effective in improving teacher knowledge and increasing strategy implementation. Additional research should be conducted to determine whether greater improvement results from additional training activities. Administrators and specialists can utilize the content and findings of this study to engage teachers of students with ASD in effective training programs.