Selçuk Doğan
Special education college classroom takes a ‘flip’
Faculty members in the College of Education (COE) at Georgia Southern University recently published research on their efforts to analyze and reconfigure undergraduate special education classroom instruction for preservice teachers at the University.
Lead by Assistant Professor of Special Education Cynthia C. Massey, Ph.D., the research team included COE faculty members Selçuk Doğan, Ph.D., Edward A. Muhammad, Ph.D., Eric Hogan, Ph.D., and Jackie Kim, Ed.D., as well as former Heard County Schools Special Education Teacher Cindy N. Head, Ed.D. Their study, “The Effect of Flipped Instruction on Special Education Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions,” was published in the International Journal of Scholarship for Teaching and Learning.
In fall 2019, Massey taught her first special education assessment course in the traditional format at Georgia Southern with students who were juniors in their first semester of major courses. By spring 2020, she began research to explore alternatives for teaching the material.
“I decided to pursue this research project to explore a nontraditional approach to instruction,” explained Massey. “I wanted to improve the way I supported juniors in the special education program as they mastered course content and improved their pedagogical skills. I chose to use the flipped instruction model to increase the amount of time they spent applying the content learned in a supported atmosphere before implementing the strategies learned with their P-12 students. The purpose of this project was to analyze the effectiveness of this model.”
The new flipped instruction method requires both asynchronous and synchronous instruction, with students engaging in asynchronous assignments centered on the content prior to class time. During synchronous class, students met face-to-face and began with a review of difficult or confusing concepts from the content review done on their own.
“Once we completed review, we then had the remainder of the class time to engage in hands-on activities and group discussions that allowed students to demonstrate their knowledge of the concepts,” said Massey. “I aimed to increase the motivation and engagement with course content while increasing their content knowledge so they become better educators for students with disabilities.”
The use of instructional technology allowed the students to engage in conversation and instruction outside of the classroom. Programs and applications such as Perusall, Flip and Khan Academy allowed students to read, practice and discuss content for the course outside of the classroom without the necessity of costly textbooks.
To further analyze this instruction method, two additional courses were restructured to the flipped classroom method, with one instructor making the addition of administering digital badging to add a gaming element to the course.
After each course, students were surveyed about the new teaching methods. Results were definitive that students preferred the hands-on activities versus lectures and 100% of students surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the course provided a student-centered learning environment.
“As educators, it is important that we continually seek the most effective way to reach our current students,” said Massey. “This project taught me the importance of continuing to grow as an educator to best serve the students I teach. I will continue to search for ways to provide students with a learner-centered classroom environment and evaluate educational technology tools that best meet their needs.”
Since the success of the flipped classroom methodology, several other special education faculty have applied this approach to their classrooms.
Georgia Southern awarded more than $500k to train literacy tutors for Chatham and Bulloch Counties
Georgia Southern University has been awarded $517,575 to train elementary education literacy tutors who will work in select schools in Chatham and Bulloch Counties.
The University piloted summer tutoring last year with the support of University President Kyle Marrero and the Regional Education Collaborative (REC), made up of local higher education institutions and K-12 schools. Previously funded with CARES Act funding, the pilot provided the framework for the most recent grant, prepared by several members of the College of Education (COE).
“Last summer, we responded quickly to the need for support that our schools communicated during summer instruction, due to the learning loss experienced during COVID,” said Alisa Leckie, Ph.D., COE assistant dean for partnerships and outreach. “We saw a positive impact and response from that summer tutoring experience. We decided that as COVID continues to impact students across all levels, we would focus and refine our tutoring efforts and apply for funding to support a robust literacy tutoring support program for our partners in Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and Bulloch County Schools.”
The grant, titled “Mitigating Pandemic Literacy Loss in K-5 Students: Utilizing a Responsive Approach with College Students as Tutors,” received funding from Gov. Brian Kemp’s second installment of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II), and is being implemented this semester at Georgia Southern.
“We are developing both virtual and in-person training opportunities to start this semester,” said Leckie. “For students in teacher preparation programs at Georgia Southern, we will now implement a tutoring component within their pre-professional block, which are the three College of Education courses they take together when entering their teaching programs. These students will complete tutoring sessions throughout the semester with the same student or small group of students. We have also crafted virtual training with resources for literacy tutoring to be completed by any student interested in participating in the program.”
This summer, 60 tutors will be hired to supplement literacy instruction and one-on-one engagement within 10 elementary schools in Savannah-Chatham and Bulloch Counties. Tutors will be solicited from the University as well as members of the REC, including East Georgia State College, Ogeechee Technical College, Savannah State University and Savannah Technical College. Tutors will provide instructional assistance with phonics, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
“Learning to read by the end of the third grade impacts the life trajectories of students,” said Sally Brown, Ph.D., professor of literacy education and principal investigator of the grant. “By helping young readers become proficient readers, we ensure success in their academic futures and ultimately their workforce capabilities. The GEER grant works toward this goal.”
The tutoring services provided by college students offer a win-win scenario for all involved.
“Providing individual and small-group support during the summer will help more K-5 students get the intense academic support needed to master specified skills,” said Elizabeth Williams, Ed.S., program coordinator for undergraduate elementary education program. “Additionally, our education students will gain the critical skills needed to effectively differentiate instruction and help students with academic gaps as well as give our students an additional perspective on teaching.”
The project team includes: Brown; Leckie; Williams; Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., associate professor of instructional technology; Selçuk Doğan, Ph.D., assistant professor of elementary and special education; and Marlynn Griffin, Ph.D., professor of educational psychology and coordinator of the COE’s pre-professional block.
Application for student tutors will open late March.