Time perspective refers to thoughts and attitudes toward the past, the present, and the future and may underlie adolescents' decisions and behaviors about school and work. To develop a greater understanding of the topic we used focus group methodology to examine how adolescents conceptualized the past, the present, and the future. Nineteen adolescents aged 13 to 17 participated in six focus groups. Results from qualitative analyses suggested several patterns in adolescents' conceptualizations of the past, the present, and the future including absolute and fluid definitions, relations among temporal dimensions, and affective qualities. Further, responses were similar between genders, and included unsolicited mention of the relationship between socioeconomic status and time perspective. Findings are discussed in light of extant literature and directions are proposed for research on adolescent time perspective.
Introduction: This multiple case study research analyzed how caregivers find and use resources to understand how cerebral or cortical visual impairment (CVI) manifest in young children. Method: Data were analyzed from three caregivers who received services from a well-resourced early intervention program in the Southwest of the United States. The aim was to examine how each parent accessed, valued, and implemented CVI-specific resources to meet practical and meaningful outcomes for their child. Results: The findings from this study clarify the journey that caregivers take from first learning about CVI to engaging in collaborative conversations with service providers about how resources can improve outcomes for their child. The caregivers selected, valued, and implemented resources that were varied in format and content. The resources they found most useful changed over time, and the resources they used with early intervention providers were the most efficacious. Discussion: This study of caregivers and providers within early intervention services found that CVI-specific resources provided in a timely manner and within meaningful collaborative discussion were valued and enacted. The findings show the importance of socially mediated CVI resources within hopeful conversations that provide specificity in how CVI manifests and simple interventions embedded in family routines. Implications for Practitioners: Caregiver access to CVI-specific resources alone does not equate to an understanding of the condition that leads to relevant practices and care. Providers should pair resources with collaborative discussions and coaching with parents to help them develop interventions that are simple, effective, and meaningful to the family.
Including students with extensive support needs (ESN) in general education schools and classes across a district and school can be challenging. To be successful and sustainable, students with ESN need education teams with a wide range of expertise and, at minimum, a district-wide system of inclusion. This article demonstrates how one district and their school teams used a scaffolded tool (5-15-45 Tool) and a five-step implementation process to increase the inclusion of students with ESN at the school and district levels. The tool was designed to support collaborative teams to implement evidence-based practices in general education contexts. Using vignettes, completed examples from the 5-15-45 Tool, and an external link to a grade-level lesson, this article illustrates how education teams, schools, and districts can use the 5-15-45 Tool and five-step process to include students with ESN in general education contexts and to enhance inclusive education across a district.
This article summarizes the results of a survey of 80 parents of children with cortical or cerebral visual impairment (CVI) regarding how a CVI diagnosis is received and supports that are provided after the diagnosis, the educational supports received by children with CVI, and the parents’ perceptions of the supports that they and their children receive.
Early in my career as a teacher I taught a soft-spoken teenager named Marcus. He was a tall, happy guy who had multiple support needs related to being born prematurely. A review of his educational files might lead you to think of him as a student who was extremely limited by his disabilities. In page after page, therapists, teachers, and professionals detailed the ways in which multiple impairments (such as intellectual disability, visual impairment, seizures, cerebral palsy, speech and language impairment) manifested into failed developmental milestones and learning outcomes. But these reports failed to capture who he truly was: a sensitive and sweet teenager who was able to learn and develop once given the right supports, just like every other student. Supporting Marcus was a loving single mother named Hannah. She was an exceptional advocate for her son. During an informal meeting to discuss Marcus' future as his transition to high school approached, Hannah asked me directly and with a tone of deep frustration, Where do kids like Marcus go? Although she was asking where Marcus would go, I knew she was also asking what he would be taught as he transitioned to high school. She was asking this question because in her search for a school for Marcus she found that possible placements in local public and private schools had curricula that were largely organized around categories of disability or severity of impairment, and the teachers she met were weary of how to accommodate his multiple support needs. For example, a local school for the blind was concerned about how he'd benefit from their curriculum given his intellectual disability, a program for learners with physical disabilities thought his cerebral palsy was too mild to benefit from their curriculum, a program for students with communication and behavioural support needs used a highly visual curriculum and the teacher stated unequivocally that it could not be adapted for him. In a nearby public school, an inclusion specialist frankly discussed how he had never seen someone as impaired as Marcus benefit from access to general education curriculum in an inclusive setting. A teacher of a separate or self-contained classroom within a public school thought that Marcus wouldn't learn in her classroom because the curriculum was designed to teach learners who were non-verbal and Marcus could speak. As I accompanied Hannah to observe schools, I realized that an appropriate setting with authentic access to curriculum was going to be challenging to find. Unfortunately, each teacher held tight to their classroom and curriculum while they justified how it couldn't possibly flex to include Marcus. Hannah and Marcus' story emphasizes the continued need for advocacy of inclusive education. Her frustration and confusion over what her son should learn and where he should be taught illustrates the importance of supporting continued and meaningful access to curriculum for all learners. One reason Hannah struggled to find a placement for her son was because classrooms are often designed and developed around how teachers accommodate and modify curricula for discrete categories of disability or severity of impairment despite evidence from years of research that has found many benefits from providing student access to and progress in the general education curriculum for all learners (Jackson, Ryndak, & Wehmeyer, 2008; Wehmeyer, 2006). Marcus is a unique student and not representative of all children with severe disabilities, however he is an important exemplar because he is one member of a growing and diverse group of children (Thompson et al., 2009) who need better access to and progress with flexible curricula that meet their varied needs (Doyle & Giangreco, 2009; Leyser & Kirk, 2004). This article discusses how using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework can support inclusive education for learners with severe disabilities. The UDL framework addresses learning of all students, regardless of their needs, however an examination of how the UDL framework relates to this specific population is warranted because it will show how all students can access and engage in learning that recognizes them as expert learners and how learner variability is a resource that improves education for all. …
Post marketing studies of drugs are frequently performed without randomization. In this paper the most important differences between controlled clinical trials and epidemiologic studies are discussed from a cognitive theoretical point of view. It is shown that on the transition of informations from the basic population to the document many biases may arise so that the feasibility of interpreting epidemiologic studies is doubtful. Hence, epidemiologic studies only allow us to make statements on differences between populations but not on the reasons causing them; they merely contribute to the generation of certain hypothesis on the action of drugs. These hypothesis can only be tested in experiments.
Any course must be goal-focused and consider the needs of all learners. However, online courses require instructors to be proactive in planning for learning. Recruiting and sustaining engagement in an online course must be carefully considered and planned for during all learning modules or units. This chapter addresses how to keep students engaged by considering their affect, the general way students feel toward their learning. Affect impacts motivation, which in turn can impact how a student persists in a course. The Universal Design for Learning principle of engagement addresses the affect through three guidelines. These guidelines are explained in this chapter with potential barriers to student learning and motivation explained as well. Furthermore, possible solutions are provided to give readers examples of ways in which they might reduce or remove barriers to engagement in their online courses.