Problem+Statement+and+Research+Methodology

=**Research Proposal: Effective Uses of Technology for Students with Autism ** =

==** Researched by: Bethany Stiefel ** ==

===** **Problem Statement: ** Due to the sensory overload often experienced by students with autism, it is difficult for students to differentiate between important and unimportant stimuli. A problem special education and general education teachers face concerning students with autism involves keeping the student's attention. // Engagement with Electronic Screen Media among Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders // (Gill, Mineo, Salkin, & Ziegler, 2009) focused on electronic screen media and engagement among students with autism, //The Computer in the Classroom: A Medium for Enhancing Social Interaction with Young People with Autistic Spectrum Disorders? // (2005) focused on whether computers enhanced social interaction. Based on what was derived from these articles, the article focuses will be combined by finding out if computers help promote engagement among students with autism with deterring social interaction. A point of interest is the impact on electronic screen media in helping students with autism focus on important stimuli due to the limited view of the screen. A point of concern, however, is whether or not autistic student would focus so intently on the computer that the information begins to lose relevance. The research will delve a bit further than what the cited articles’ focus to determine if engagement is increased by using computers and if so, what strategies can be used to reap positive impacts on behavior as well as academics. How can technology be used in the special education classroom to help students with autism better develop academic, social, and functional skills? **Research Methods: ** Based on the above problem statement, how can technology be used in the special education classroom to help students with autism better develop academic, social, and functional skills, a mixed approach will be needed for data collection. To collect quantitative data, pretests and post tests will be used along with teacher commentary of student behaviors while using technology. A student behavior observation form will also be used in the assessment process to determine student engagement while using technology in the classroom. This will allow the researcher to observe how the technology will be used to keep the students' attention for the duration of the activity or lesson. Ten trial data sheets will also be used to document the percent correct on activities for technology related activities. This will help determine if using technology in this way helps students improve with the goals they have set. In addition to this quantitative data collection, qualitative data will also be used in the form of an online survey completed by special education teachers in the school system. This will allow the researcher to gain needed input for the data collection process. It will also make the survey easily accessible to teachers. Accessibility will help the data collection process to be completed more efficiently and encourage participation. Using quantitative and qualitative data will help the researcher determine the best approaches for students with autism at different levels of development. A mixed data approach will also reveal how technology affects a broad spectrum of stereotypies and sensory issues. While most of the data will be collected in the classroom, it will be collected while students are working toward development of social, academic, and functional skills. **Types of Data: ** To collect qualitative data, interviews of special education teachers will take place along with digital surveys they educators will be asked to complete. To collect quantitative data, a pre/post test format will be used along with teacher commentary of student behaviors while using technology. Using both types of data will help the researcher determine the best approaches to use for students with autism of different age groups as well as a broad spectrum of stereotipies and sensory issues. While most of the data will be collected in the classroom, it will be collected while students are working toward development of social, academic, and functional skills. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Data Collection Strategy & Instrumentation: ** <span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0in;">Determining the best method of data collection to sufficiently answer the research question was a bit of a struggle. //Using Computer-Presented Social Stories and Video Models to Increase the Social Communication Skills of Children With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders// used baseline, intervention, and final data to show how students were affected by technology use in the classroom (Sansosti & Powell-Smith, 2008). At first, it seemed that a pretest/posttest format would be the best option, but after the review of several articles, it seems that to best determine the how computer-based instruction impacts students with autism would be to use a baseline, intervention, and final data model as mentioned in the above article. The compilation of baseline, intervention, and final data, along with collecting data of non-disabled peers to use for comparison will help the researcher determine how technology-based instruction will help students with autism. A student behavior observation form will be used to record students’ are reactions to using technology in the classroom. This will help the researcher determine students' level of engagement. To show how technology is affecting engagement though, the researcher will need to also take data on students' behavior during instructional activities that are not technology infused. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Data Analysis: ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0in;">Based on the data that will be collected using baseline, intervention, and final data that will be used to show how students are affected by technology use in the classroom, the researcher will analyze the data based on each individual student's ability. Students will be evaluated before they were introduced to the technology, at the time of introduction, and a final administration when the student exhibits proficient use of the technology. Since there will be no similar class available for comparison to use as a control group, the researcher will analyze data from non-disabled peers who also use technology in the classroom. This will give the researcher some means of comparison to help determine how technology-based instruction will help students with autism. The student behavior observation form will be used to analyze student reactions to the use of technology for behaviors that imply excitement, boredom, interest, confusion, etc. to determine student level of engagement. For the sake of comparison, the researcher will also analyze data on student behavior during instructional activities that are not technology infused. All data will be placed directly into an Excel Spreadsheet for analysis. Line graphs will be made of the baseline, intervention, and final data to show student growth in the use of technology along with other trends. A bar graph will be created to show the trends and most popular answers in the teacher survey. The student behavior observation form will be turned in for research purposes but will be used mainly to help teachers in determining student engagement and thus help them in answering the survey questions. ** ===