2007 AFB Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute Dallas, Texas

1. 2007 AFB Josephine L. Taylor Leadership InstituteDallas, Texas How Can Research Have a Positive Impact on Educational Performance or Programmatic Changes?

2. Education Session Facilitators---Robert BeadlesKaren Blankenship Jennifer Johnson Howell Gene McMahon Ann Sebald Mary Ann Siller

3. KWLK: What I know about engaging in research that improves teaching strategies and educational outcomes W: What I want to learn about ------Project CRISS (1988). http://www.projectcriss.org

4. Student Data Driven Program-Based Research Eugene McMahon, Ed.D. Executive Director

5. When you make decisions about instruction, or designing new programs and interventions or modifying existing programs and interventions, what do you rely on most? • Research Findings • Information from college courses • Your own experience • Information from experienced teachers and other direct service staff

6. Difficulties Associated With Research on Low-Incidence Population • Small sample, difficult to generalize findings • Diversity within the sample • Diversity of treatment (interventions)

7. COSB Learning Outcomes Project • Student as unit of measurement • Relational database • Outcome and Process databases are linked to the demographic database to allow for disaggregation of any variables

8. Level of O&M MasteryAges 14-17 Total Sample n=1502, Totally Blind n= 117, Cane Supplement n=175, Vision n= 510

9. Future Directions • Develop more tools • Internet data collection • Online database capable of answering queries • Expansion of sample to VI students in other educational settings • National, Standardized School Record Card for all Students with Blindness or Visual Disabilities

10. Outcomes-based Research: Factors that Drive Programmatic Change Robert J. Beadles, Jr. VI RehaB Consulting Auburn, Alabama

11. Outcomes-based Research: Factors that Drive Programmatic Change • State or Federal Legislation • Accountability (by both state and feds) • Funding (or the lack thereof) • Service Delivery (methods) • Changing Demographics • Strategic Planning or Organizational Restructuring

12. Outcome-based Research Methodology • Develop a research question • Decide what you are going to measure (Five Ws) • Decide how to measure the concept what method (experiment, survey/questionnaire, existing data…) • Once a method has been chosen, deciding on actual measures and procedures, such as questionnaire items or experimental treatments

13. Outcome-based Research Methodology (continued) • Pilot test and revise the measurement instrument • Collect data • Conduct data collection via, telephone, email, or the old traditional paper survey • Code data into a manageable size for analyses • Analyze the data • Report the results

14. National Center for Educational Outcomes “The number of students with disabilities achieving proficiency on state accountability tests is increasing. Most states now have at least three years of trend data and enough evaluation data to be able to attribute increased proficiency to several positive efforts by schools and districts.”(NCEO, 2005) • Clearly communicated participation policy • Better alignment of IEPs with standards • Improved professional development • Development and provision of accommodation guidelines and training • Increased access to standards-based instruction • Improved data collection

15. Specialized School Outcomes • There is an increase in the numbers of identified BVI students around the United States • Specialized schools and public school ratio of outreach and educational service delivery is 1:2 or greater (For every specialized school student; two public school students also receive services from the specialized school services/programs). • Specialized Schools provide contractual outreach services and support to over six percent of the LEAs nationwide.

16. Specialized School Outcomes(continued) • [Some states a lot more than others] • On average, Specialized Schools provide direct instruction to 11 percent of a state’s blind or visually impaired students. • Students served by Specialized School outreach staff have almost doubled since 2001. • Students attending Specialized Schools for the Blind have a significantly lower dropout rate when compared to BVI in public schools.

17. Social/Educational Researchers • We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to a "contentious group of truth seekers" that agrees to organize it in this way - an agreement that holds through the research community and is codified in the patterns of our language of research. • Our challenge as "truth seekers" is to see things as they are and ask why? Hopefully our solutions will have a positive effect on change and not be adversely affected by it.-----David Abrahams

18. Resources • http://education.umn.edu/nceo/OnlinePubs/default.html • http://credo.stanford.edu/ • http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/ParentKit/index.asp • http://www.uticapubliclibrary.org/non-profit/outcomes.html • http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/cyfernet/nowg/comm_index.html • http://national.unitedway.org/outcomes/library/pgmomres.cfm • http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm

19. Data-Driven Effective Instruction Presented by Karen Blankenship, Ph.D. Consultant for Visual Disabilities, Iowa State Department of Education Jennifer Johnson Howell, Ed.D. Curriculum and Assessment Director Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind

20. Effective Instruction • Data-driven • Research/evidence- based instructional strategies • On-going probes for instruction are conducted • Review time & duration • Rigor and Relevance • Iowa ECC resource guide, procedures manual, and progress monitoring. http://www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/576/1083/1/1/

21. Jo Taylor Community Group Presented by Ann Sebald, Ed.D. Grant Coordinator, National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities

22. National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities • Established in 2001 by a Congressional earmark ( Senator Wayne Allard) • Helped to focus the nation’s attention on the educational and social status of students who comprise less than one-half of one percent of the school-age population

23. National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities • Five Missions • Information Exchange • Local Support • Teacher Training • Knowledge Advancement • Policy Analysis

24. Tapped In The online workplace of an international community of education professionals

25. Jo Taylor Community • Established for JLTLI Conference • Online offices • Files available for visitors • Communicate with groups from around the country and world

27. KWLL: What I learned about the process and methods of engaging in research that improves teaching strategies and educational outcomes

28. JLTLI 2007 Education Session Facilitators • Bob Beadles, Ph.D., CRC, VI RehaB Consulting bob.beadles@charter.net • Karen Blankenship, Ph.D. Consultant for Visual Disabilities, Iowa State Department of Education Karen.Blankenship@iowa.gov Jennifer Johnson Howell, Ed.D. Curriculum and Assessment Director, USDB jenniferhow@usdb.org

29. JLTLI 2007 Education Session Facilitators (continued) Gene McMahon, Ed.D., Executive Director, New York Institute for Special Education eugenemcmahon@msn.com • Ann M. Sebald, Ed.D. Grant Program Coordinator, NCLID Ann.Sebald@unco.edu • Mary Ann Siller, M.Ed National Project Manager, AFB siller@afb.net