Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Generating Positive Programming for Hispanic Children with Disabilities through Mixed-Reality Simulations

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

Research suggests school professionals do not feel prepared for working with Hispanic parents of children with disabilities, the purpose of this intervention study is to address the gap between family-centered practices and current practice regarding parent engagement skills of special education practitioners, through repeated experiences in Mixed-Reality Simulation (MRS). Researchers designed scenarios, intended to generate interactions between parent-avatars and practitioners, to find ways MRS could improve practitioners' performance toward engaging Hispanic families with children with disabilities in the context of IEP meetings. IEP meetings are meetings in which school personnel meet and collaborate with parents of children with disabilities to make appropriate educational decisions for the child. Practitioners demonstrated DEC Recommended Practice competencies as reflected in the parent-practitioners interactions during their MRS experiences. Results indicated the need for teacher education programs to improve practitioner’s development of empathy toward the parents and their development of in- depth knowledge of the intent of special education law IDEA regarding parent participation in

IEP meetings.

Publication Title

2018 CREST Conference Proceedings

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