Alternate Assessment Administration Practices Online Teacher Stories

Research Design:

The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is a qualitative research methodology that has been used successfully to identify job requirements, recommendations for effective practices, and competencies for a wide variety of professionals in many disciplines.

In the area of special needs services, this technique has been used to study the activities of several types of practitioners, including administrators (Blackhurst, Wright, & Ingram, 1974), professors (Ingram & Blackhurst, 1975), elementary school teachers (Redden & Blackhurst, 1977) and nurses and attendants in institutions for people with mental retardation (Jacobs, Nichols, & Larsen, 1969; Larsen, Nichols, & Jacobs, 1969).

For the purpose of this study, the technique will help researchers to better understand the competencies required for administering alternate assessments judged against alternate achievement standards to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Because we are sampling teachers from across the Nation, we hope to have an even better understanding of the different competencies needed to administer the different alternate assessment approaches such as checklist versus performance event versus portfolio. At the same time, this site will be available over the course of the next few years which will also allow researchers to track responses longitudinally as a whole and within states.


Data Analysis:

The stories we are asking you to provide will be analyzed using a pattern match procedure during the first year, and then a time series procedure (Yin, 2002) across subsequent years of the project. All data will be presented in aggregate themes across years and approaches.


References:

Blackhurst, A. E., Wright, W. S., & Ingram, C. F. (1974). Competency specifications for directors of special education resource centers. Division of Personnel Preparation, Office of Special Education Programs, U. S. Department of Education. Interim Report for Special Training Project OEG-0-72-4305(603).

Ingram, C. F., & Blackhurst, A. E. (1975). Teaching and advising competencies of special education professors. Exceptional Children, 42, 85-93.

Jacobs, M. A., Nichols, D. G., & Larsen, J. K. (1969). Critical behaviors in the care of the mentally retarded. Vol II: Behavior of attendants. Pittsburgh, PA: American Institutes for Research.

Larson, J. K., Nichols, D. G., & Jacobs, A. M. (1969). Critical behaviors in the care of the mentally retarded. Vol I: Behavior of nurses. Pittsburgh, PA: American Institutes for Research.

Redden, M. R., & Blackhurst, A. E. (1978). Mainstreaming competency specifications for elementary teachers. Exceptional Children, 44, 615-617.