Andrea Boykin

 

My conceptual framework is a pictorial representation of my research interests and how they relate with my background and experience as a special education teacher. I selected a solar system because although each planet is different, they all orbit the sun and are held together and depend on each other due to gravity, which is similar to how my varied interests and background related to students with high incidence disabilities.  Although each area of interest may not be directly connected, they are all connected and support each other because they can help students diagnosed with high incidence disabilities.  As a researcher, I plan to combine my experience with my interest in strategy implementation and technology to help students with high incidence disabilities gain greater independence within the general education curriculum.

Students with High Incidence Disabilities

I decided to place students with high incidence disabilities at the center of the solar system because most of my experience as a teacher and my research interests have revolved around students with high incidence disabilities.  I am interested in students with high incidence disabilities because the students often access the general education curriculum, but may have difficulty due to their individual learning differences.  Students with high incidence disabilities have the potential to access the general education curriculum, but require specific supports to compensate for any of the difficulties they may have.

Technology

In my graphical representation, technology orbits students with high incidence disabilities because it has the potential to bridge the gap between a students learning differences and requirements of the general education curriculum.  In addition, many school systems are increasingly incorporating technology into the classroom, with students using computers for writing and digital forms of books.  Since technology can support students with high incidence disabilities and it is being increasingly incorporated into schools, this provides a format for students with disabilities to receive the support they need without seeming different from their peers.  It then becomes important for the technology used in schools to be researched to determine if certain features can support the learning needs of students with disabilities. 

Strategies

            Research has determined that strategy instruction can be very helpful in supporting the learning needs of students with high incidence disabilities, therefore, it also orbits students with high incidence disabilities.  I plan to use existing research of effective strategy instruction and combine elements with technology to research if this pairing can support students with high incidence disabilities.

Reading and Writing

            Reading and writing are two important elements of the general education curriculum, as they are required not only in language arts, but throughout the core content areas.  Reading and writing orbits students with high incidence disabilities because this population often has difficulty in reading and writing due to various learning needs that effect decoding, comprehension, handwriting, and focus.  Therefore, the students often struggle not only in language arts, but have difficulty in other core content areas.   In addition, many teachers may not teach reading and writing strategies in the core content areas or embed helpful supports for students.  Because of this, I am very interested in students with high incidence disabilities in the area of reading and writing to find out what supports students throughout the content areas. 

Research

Research orbits students with high incidence disabilities because it is very important to conduct high quality research to determine what supports the learning needs of students.  I plan to conduct quality research that combines technology and strategy implementation in the areas of reading and writing for students with high incidence disabilities throughout content areas.

Experience

            Experience orbits students with high incidence disabilities as it is the reason I am interested in this population and invested in finding supports to help students with disabilities become successful within the curriculum.  After working with students with a variety of disabilities for over ten years, I have seen students struggle within the curriculum and also there potential to succeed.  As a teacher, I implemented strategies and technologies to help students to become successful and independent within the curriculum.  My experience is what drives my aspiration to research because I have desire to see all students with high incidence disabilities have equal access to the curriculum and a fair chance to learn and gain confidence and independence.