Using Technology Tools in Research and Practice with Students who have Special Needs: Examples and Highlights from a Local Research Study
Poster by: Joanna Cannon, Anita Hubley, Julia O’Loughlin, Nancy Norman, Alayna Finley, Lauren Phelan
Sessions B/D | 9:45 – 10:00/10:45 – 11:00 | Room Main Corridor, 2nd Floor
Abstract:
The purpose of this poster would be to highlight how a team of researchers, consisting of UBC graduate students and faculty, used technology tools to complete a three-year study, funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant. The poster would review how we used differing strategies to assess, monitor, motivate, and supplement teacher instruction in the classroom through technology tools. The purpose of this study was to advance our knowledge about whether particular assessments and software-based interventions increase d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students’ language and literacy skills. The SSHRC-funded study is collecting validity evidence for a new test (Comprehension of Written Grammar [CWG]; Easterbrooks & Cannon, 2010), specifically developed for the DHH population, to assess weaknesses in particular grammar structures that are vital for reading comprehension. The pre and post assessments used in this study were the Woodcock Johnson III (WJ III [word identification & passage comprehension subtests]), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT), and the Rhode Island Test of Language Structures (RITLS). We used technology tools to adapt assessments for use with students who use American Sign Language (ASL) and to develop consistent and equitable evaluation methods. For example, to provide consistency of administration of the RITLS (which contains 100 items) the test was translated into ASL and developed into a video format. The interventions used (a grammar software program and a web-based math computation program) were computer-based and presented multiple pros and cons throughout the study. Additional tech tools were used as recommended resources in reporting results to teachers and parents.
