Abstract

Teachers, special and general educators alike, are required to teach a variety of students including students with ASD. With a rise in the prevalence of autism by 119.4% since 2000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016) and 39% of students with ASD being served in general education classrooms for over 80% of the school day (U.S. Department of Education, 2015), teachers need to be prepared to effectively teach this population. To better prepare teachers, the researcher conducted a two-phase study, situated in the framework of the Skill Acquisition Model (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986) to explore the behaviors of novice and expert teachers in a simulated secondary inclusive environment. This classroom included a virtual student with autism. In phase one, the researcher conducted a Delphi Study to determine the best practices, perceived by experts in the field, for teachers who serve students with ASD in inclusive secondary environments. During phase two, the researcher used the list of skills identified as a framework to observe and interview 10 teachers, five novices and five experts, in a simulated secondary inclusive environment. The researcher identified 11 high leverage simulation practices (HLSP) that expert teachers should use while teaching in a simulated secondary inclusive environment. Observations and reflections of expert and novice teachers were analyzed, finding only 4 HLSP among experts and 5 HLSP among novice teachers. Additional HLSP were seen through the teachers' reflections. Data were analyzed and discussed in detail. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research in teacher preparation is provided.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2017

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Dieker, Lisa

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Education; Exceptional Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0006722

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006722

Language

English

Release Date

August 2017

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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