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Experimental Analysis of a Curricular Intervention on Student Achievement and Transition Outcomes. OSEP Project Directors Conference Margo Vreeburg Izzo, Ph.D., The Ohio State University Nisonger Center margo.izzo@osumc.edu Kelly Dillon, MA, The Ohio State University Nisonger Center
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Experimental Analysis of a Curricular Intervention on Student Achievement and Transition Outcomes OSEP Project Directors Conference Margo Vreeburg Izzo, Ph.D., The Ohio State University Nisonger Center margo.izzo@osumc.edu Kelly Dillon, MA, The Ohio State University Nisonger Center kelly.dillon@osumc.edu http://nisonger.osu.edu/transition.htm
Need for Information andTechnological Literacy • Defined as the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze and use information. • Individuals who are both technologically and information literate will be able to use computers effectively to find the information they need. • Useful for people with disabilities because they enhance communication, learning, writing, and task management. • Creates equal opportunities in education and aid in transition from school to work. • Teachers and students appreciate the independent self-directed learning technology can provide.
EnvisionIT Curriculum An online curriculum for ALL high school students that teaches: • Information Technology (IT) Literacy • Self-directed Transition Planning • National and Ohio English/Language Arts Standards • National and Ohio Technology Standards. • Age Appropriate Transition Assessment
EnvisionIT Curriculum • 40 hour curriculum in Technology or English/Language Arts classes • Grades 9–12 • 6th grade reading level, on average • 10 complete units, 8 with Guided Notes & quizzes • Students complete information technology and reading comprehension activities • Students create Self-Directed Transition Portfolios.
Need for EnvisionIT • EnvisionIT integrates IT and transition skills into general curricula. • Students become more engaged and invested in learning by using relevant material. • Examples: Online self-assessments, searching the Internet for information on career choices, developing resumes, cover letters, high school course plans.
Curriculum Intervention Study2006-07 A pretest-posttest control group design was used to answer the following research questions: • Did the EnvisionIT online transition curriculum increase student IT literacy? • Did the EnvisionIT online transition curriculum increase student transition planning skills?
Methods: Setting and Participants • 15 high schools randomly assigned stratified by SES • 7 experimental schools • 8 control schools • 19 inclusive classrooms • 18 resource room/direct instruction classrooms • English/Language Arts classrooms & Technology classrooms • Year 1 N=287
Dependent Measures: IT Literacy Information Technology Literacy Survey • 21-item multiple choice test used as pretest and posttest • The curriculum-based measurement was found to be reliable (Cronbach’s Alpha =.822, ICC =.676) • Example Question: Web directories and search engines are created differently. Search engines are made by ________.
Dependent Measures: Transition Skills Ohio State Career Survey • 23 item survey to measure students’ perceptions of their transition skills • The curriculum based measurement was found to be reliable (Cronbach’s Alpha =.847, ICC = .740). • Example Question: Please rate your knowledge about finding jobs.
Preliminary Results: Analytic Sample Year 1 Participants (N=287) • 59% did not have a documented disability. • 41% had a documented disability, • 17% had a learning disability • 14% had mental retardation • 11% had other documented disabilities (e.g., autism, multiple disabilities, SED/SBH, Speech, TBI and OHI).
Preliminary Results: Analytic Sample • 80% were from rural school districts • 55% were male • 87% were of Caucasian ethnicity, 12% are African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or of other decent. • 47% were 9th graders (65% in experimental group compared to 25% in control group) • 68% were not reading either independently or instructionally at grade level.
Preliminary Transition Results:Knowledge of Finding Jobs Experimental students with and without disabilities had significant gains in knowledge post-test compared to control students with and without disabilities.
Preliminary Transition Results:Finding College Information Compared to control students with disabilities, experimental students with disabilities had greater gains in reported ability to find college information.
Discussion and Questions • Students who completed EnvisionIT: • Improved their IT Literacy Scores • Reported increased knowledge of how to find jobs (all students) • Reported increased knowledge of college information (SwD only) • Data analysis to continue for 2007-08 school year. • All schools receive intervention 2008-09.