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Action Research to Improve Teaching and Learning for Students with Disabilities

Student’s Name
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
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Action Research to Improve Teaching and Learning

Action research denotes a model where professional advancement encourages

cooperative analysis, replication, and dialogue. “According to Rawlinson & Little, (2004), within

an action research procedure, every educator studies student learning connected to their

individual teachings. This process permits an educator to comprehend his or her instructional

practices as well as continuing in monitoring to enhance student learning.” The concept of action

research is that issues that are related to education are well recognized and examined where any

action is: within the level of classrooms and schools. When research is integrated into such an

environment and engages those working at this level in research practices, the conclusion can be

used instantly, and issues solved faster (Guskey, 2000).

Exceptional Student Education

           Every child needs the appropriate education available despite being rich, poor,

without a home, show behavioral problems, above, below, or average learners. If the child has

autism or has any other learning disability, they still deserve a suitable education accessible.

Exceptional Student Education teachers have a duty to make sure all students receive the best

accessible education that comprises; ensuring that accommodation is given and all students get

the best assistance accessible. Every classroom rapidly becomes occupied and disordered, and

dedication to the particulars and processes are not constantly observed. To work with disabled

learners, however, no details and procedures of justification are observed. Regardless of having

fewer staff, no staff should overdo his or her duty other than what he is employed for, which is

helping disabled learners. Systems and staff are ready to offer any accommodation needed to

such learners, but when the staff is appointed in helping these learners are given other duties, it is

the student who fails. 

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Purpose

           This action research aims to examine more active ways disabled learners can be

attended. While legislation such as (IDEA) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act promise

every disabled learner admission to common education classrooms, the No Child Left Behind

Act of 2001 held every school and teacher - not only Special Education Teacher (SET) –

responsible for the achievement of such learners. So, a study by Steinbrecher, McKeown, &

Walther-Thomas, (2013) shows, over 50% of every disabled student invest in more than 80 % of

the time in a common education classroom setting, and a lot of special education teachers should

be well-informed in suitable intermediations as well as educational procedures for any disabled

student plus to the topic of the common education curriculum supported. By doing research, this

paper will look for more operational procedures to help learners with disabilities.

Problem Statement

           Most schools place learners within a generalized education setting, and schools

provide inclusion services. This is where disabled learners are generally included in education

settings, which limits their environment. An inclusion service is where ESE teachers go into

general education classrooms and offer accommodation and discrimination instructions.

Nevertheless, most learners are positioned in a learning setting with dual-certified educators, and

no extra backings are given for the leaner(s) or the educator(s). Accommodation comprises

testing the student either face to face or in a small group, sitting together while encouraging them

to complete their tasks or interpret the questions. Issues may happen because of understaffing.

Most schools lack sufficient ESE educators or supporting staff to provide the best support to

these leaners or staff members. The available staff does not like going to the assigned classroom.

This brings the issues of unfairness for the learners wanting the assistance and any teacher who
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needs assistance to provide suitable accommodation for the leaner(s). There is also the issue of

accountability. Staff members are held unaccountable for being in a classroom with a student

who is supposed to be supporting. 

Research Questions

 Are the inclusion classroom settings working for every child with learning

disabilities and/or behavioral issues?

 What impact do teacher perception regarding inclusion classroom influence their

mode of teaching?

 How can school set up practices to ensure that learners receive suitable

accommodations daily?

Literature Review

           Every teacher may be willing to welcome an inclusion procedure both practically

and socially. But, as Scruggs & Mastropieri, 2017 illustrate, they might be unresponsive

concerning the inclusion of learners with significant academic disabilities or emotional as well as

behavioral problems. Most educators are challenged when it comes to accommodating every

child among anxieties that time consumed in helping an incomplete level of students may deter

others within the classrooms. The insights of the teacher into the own professional capability

becomes worn when children with disabilities are accommodated; this according to Carrington,

et al. (2016) happens if such children fail to achieve the expected learning results, as suitable for

the most of the learners within a generalized education setting, or if their challenging behavior

lessens on-task involvement for every child.

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           When students agree on certain accommodations during education, educators

should ensure that similar accommodations are available, when appropriate, through analysis.

Bolt & Thurlow (2004) proclaimed that in most cases, if a test is designed in gauging the impacts

of instruction, educators need to ensure that learners get the accommodations obtained in daily

instruction. This shows the significance of collecting data. Data is supposed to be gathered every

day concerning the particular kinds of accommodations provided to every student and how they

performed, whereas getting the accommodations. In lesser cases, as per Bolt & Thurlow (2004),

accommodations are found not beneficial to disabled learners’ success. The collection of data

assist in informing educators concerning the efficiency of accommodations.

There are various apps, such as ClassMax, which can be utilized to track learners’

accommodations. Brown (2018) emphasize using this app by stating, “You need no more

spreadsheets and recalling the previously applied accommodations. Just load the learners and

their needs, and track them yearly in only three clicks while teaching! Make the data operative

and relevant without disrupting the teaching process. Utilize adjustable criterions to track also

IEP objectives in just three clicks.” This application criterion is simple in tracking leaners instead

of recalling the type of accommodations and who received it daily. It is easier to print out all the

data, accommodations, attendance, behaviors, and notes to be used in the IEP meetings.

Methodology/ Design

This project’s research will be a case study on students with disabilities. Data will be

analyzed on how frequent educators offer services and research on push-in services. Data is

involved in learner folders, which comprises service objectives and minutes needed and check-in

for paraprofessionals. The study will likewise look at the development of learners on a Student
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Reading Inventory (SRI) test and formative as well as summative information in various subjects

for disabled learners. After data collection, findings will be later discussed.

Data Collection

The applied data set is found in the special education binders given to schools as the year

starts. A Paraprofessional checks into the classrooms by utilizing a binder and is accountable for

creating minutes that exist and what they are working on with learners. The paper will use

qualitative and quantitative data; however, we only plan to utilize quantitative data for our action

research. This data shows a generalized inclusion view for the students as well as teachers. The

data will generally help us answer the research question. This is quantitative data and will assist

in answering the questions if special needs learners are included fully within education settings. 

Data Analysis

The data from binders illustrate that learners with disabilities are not getting full inclusion

in classroom settings. Consider a class with three disabled students, and everyone is attended to

in short weekly minutes. One of the learners has full-time assistance but was not chosen all the

needed time approximating two times weekly for selecting when required to receive five times

weekly. The remaining two learners are supposed to receive push-in services three times weekly,

and one learner is approximated twice weekly, and the other learner averaged 1.5 times weekly.

Such students work at grade levels, hence to miss an inclusion may appear not influencing their

academic development in a generalized education setting. The last learner who missed selected

minutes is frequently absent and has 17 IEP. The learner did not achieve most of IEP objectives;

however, he missed 30 out of 100 days. Such as attendance makes development challenging and

meeting inclusion and accommodations.   

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Future Action Plan and Force Field Analysis

The data illustrate that the next most rational step for the school will be professional

growth and creating time for educators to meet with the special education educators and

paraprofessionals. In a school with high staff turnover, the newcomers are integrated into a new

inclusion framework. In such cases, management needs to have a weekly meeting with the grade-

level team. Such a meeting can be used to offer time for the special education teams in meeting

with all grade levels on shifting bases. It may seem challenging for special education teams, but

it will be an advantage for all students receiving services.

Goals of Action Plan: Providing time for educators as well as the special education
departments in meeting and discussing how to achieve certain objectives in a generalized
education setting.
Objectives: Educators will get policies that can be implemented instantly in applying
within a generalized education setting.

Driving Forces Restraining Forces

 Learners fails to receive  Insufficient resources makes

services supposed to be outside professional
included in their ESE. development not likely.
 Educators require
professional growth in  The staff are working hard
meeting the requirements of and even though this is
disabled learners within a valuable, they disagree to
generalized education setting. extra work.
 Educators thinks inclusion
model is the best, hence they
want to learn how to assist
learners within a generalized
education setting.

Potential Evaluation Data Sources for Future Action Plan

One of the suitable ways of determining whether this plan will work is surveying

the educators as well as special education staff. The surveying process includes queries on how
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best policies work for the learners and if they find time to work with these special education

members appreciated. Educators will likewise write if they think this will ease the process for

them and the learners. The survey will be carried out quarterly to assure that the program works,

whereas providing educators and staff time for implementing change that is proposed.  

Conclusion

           The ESE research has shown that even though disabled students are missing

inclusion required by the ESE, they may still show development in a generalized education

classroom. We want to carry out more studies into students having behavioral issues to find if the

data convey over to other forms of behaviors and disabilities. The apprehension of teachers

regarding inclusion is adjusted with a value-added knowledge of inclusive education. Enhanced

feelings of skills, throughout time, can likewise be the results of the advancement of the

collection of teachers of expertise skills to handle learning and behaviors within a classroom for

diverse students.
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References

Bolt, S. E., & Thurlow, M. L. (2004). Five of the most frequently allowed testing

accommodations in state policy: Synthesis of research. Remedial and Special

Education, 25(3), 141-152.

Brown, K. (2018). What is ClassMax? Retrieved from https://classmaxapp.com/wicm/

Carrington, S., Berthelsen, D., Nickerson, J., Nicholson, J. M., Walker, S., & Meldrum, K.

(2016). Teachers’ experiences of inclusion of children with developmental disabilities

across the early years of school. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in

Schools, 26(2), 139-154.

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Corwin press.

Rawlinson, D., & Little, M. (2004). Improving student learning through classroom action

research. Daytona Beach: Project CENTRAL.

Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2017). Making inclusion work with co-teaching. Teaching

Exceptional Children, 49(4), 284-293.

Steinbrecher, T. D., McKeown, D., & Walther-Thomas, C. (2013). Comparing validity and

reliability in special education Title II and IDEA data. Exceptional Children, 79(3), 313-

327.