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Faculty Mini-Grant 5: Douglas Sturgeon
The Inclusion Science Teacher & Lab Management and Safety
The Inclusion Science Teacher & Lab Management and Safety: Identifying and Filling the Training Gap
Dr. Douglas Sturgeon, Associate Professor
Chair, School of Education – sturgeon@rio.edu
University of Rio Grande
Rationale:
This grant proposal is to identify concerns, in lab safety and management, from area secondary science content teachers with inclusion special education teachers in co-teaching lab settings and to provide needs assessment based training to the special education teachers in these areas. The ‘ideal’ inclusion classroom instructional roles involves the two teachers, special education and content area, team teaching the students in the content classroom. This team teaching includes teaching to both exceptional and non-exceptional students. In the secondary science classroom this may be problematic when it comes to safety and management of the lab settings. The content area certified teacher has had past training in science lab management and safety in his/her teacher preparation program, whereas the special education teacher has not had such training. However, a plus for this inclusion setting is that there will be two sets of teacher hands and eyes overseeing the lab instructional process. This grant initiative, in partnership with the local school districts, seeks to identify and fill this training gap for local inclusion science special education teachers and to provide basic safety materials for the teachers’ use.
Research:
Inclusion is a relatively new concept in education. The investigation into the safety issue of a non-science trained special education teacher leading or co-leading a science lab has not been a research focus. Neither has the gathering of data on the science content teacher’s safety concerns with the inclusion teacher. This initiative will investigate concerns of both inclusion science special education teachers and science content teachers in lab safety and management undertakings in the inclusion classroom.
Purpose:
- To identify teacher, both science content and special education, concerns in
- lab management and safety undertakings by the inclusion special education teacher.
- To provide safety training in lab procedures to 20 inclusion science special education teachers.
- To provide instructional support safety materials to inclusion special education teachers for use with the content area science teacher
Investigative Process:
- Recruit teachers for the training
- Survey special education teachers on their lab management and safety knowledge
- Send surveys to identified content science teachers working with inclusion special education teachers asking their concerns with lab safety and management in a co-teaching or team teaching situation
- Provide training in lab management and safety to special education teachers
- Follow up survey on incorporation of lab management and safety knowledge into professional practice at the end of the school year
Grant Activities Timeline:
October 2007
- Mailing of training announcement to local special education directors
- Identify a pool of 20 teachers for the training
- Develop and send a needs assessment to identified special education teachers about their lab management needs
- Develop and send survey to science content teacher working with the 20 selected special education teachers on their concerns with lab safety and management
November 2007
- Compile needs assessment data
- Schedule training
- Order Materials
Winter 2007/2008
- Implement day long training at the University of Rio Grande
- Distribute onsite feedback survey
- Distribute materials
Summer 2008
- Distribute survey of how provided materials/training were incorporated into professional practice
- Survey inclusion content teachers on their satisfaction with the changes incurred and what was the ‘best’ change
Fall 2008
- Analyze findings for either article submission or conference presentation
- Submit written summary to SEOCEMS website for posting
Project Effectiveness Assessment:
The grant program will be assessed through:
- Safety training survey feedback from selected inclusion special education teachers
- Survey feedback from content science teachers on their satisfaction with the changes from the training in lab management and safety
Dissemination of Findings:
Based upon the findings in regard to the concerns of science content and inclusion special education teachers in the area of lab management and safety in a co-teaching situation, the identified concern areas will be compiled. Analysis will also occur based upon data of satisfaction with both science content and inclusion special education teachers in addressing their concerns with lab management and safety and the incorporation of learned practices into the lab setting. These in turn will be shared at either a conference setting or in a submitted article for publication within the 18 month time parameter of the project.
Total: $3,630
