InSpEd Recommended Practice Presentations

The following presentations have been provided by researchers and practitioners with expertise in the field of special education. The aim is to provide short overviews of practices that are supported in the literature and strategies that have a strong research support.

All presentations have been approved by at least two relevant members of the Expert Panel.

Documented Plans - Dr Susan Main

In order to implement an effective individual program, it is important that there is a clear written plan including meaningful goals, achievable objectives and a system for measuring progress towards the achievement of those goals and objectives. The following presentations by Dr Susan Main provides guidelines for writing individual plans and for writing objectives that can be easily and reliably measured.

1 – Individual Education Plans (IEPs)

2 – Differentiation and Individual Education Plans  (IEPs) – Writing Behavioural Objectives

Task Analysis - Dr Mark Carter

Task analysis is a valuable tool in special education. The following presentations by Dr Mark Carter overview types of task analysis and provide examples of how these can be developed and implemented. Task analysis can be used with individuals with high support needs through to those with learning difficulties. We recommend these presentations for viewing by support teachers who are not familiar with this approach but also as a refresher for those who were introduced to task analysis in their special education courses.

1 – Introduction

2 – Temporal Task Analysis

3.1 – Prerequisite Task Analysis Part I

3.2 – Prerequisite Task Analysis Part II

4 – Complexity Task Analysis

5 – Evaluating Task Analysis

System of Least Prompts - Dr Bree Jimenez

The following presentation is from Dr Bree Jimenez, Professor of Special Education at the University of Texas at Arlington and an Honorary Associate in Special Education at the University of Sydney. In this presentation, Bree provides practical guidance for using a System of Least Prompts within a program of systematic instruction for students with special education needs.

1 – System of Least Prompts

Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD) Website Presentations - Multiple

There are several presentations of evidence-based practice on the website of the US organisation Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Two members of the InSpEd Expert Panel have viewed these and recommend the following:

Positive Reinforcement
This is a presentation by Dr Sarah Cox, Assistant Professor from Eastern Michigan University. Positive reinforcement, as described by Dr Cox, can be used with a range of populations with disabilities and other special education needs. A definition of positive reinforcement and an overview of types of reinforcers and how they can be used in practice are provided.
Task Analysis and Upside Down Task Analysis 
These presentations by Addie McConomy, a doctoral student from Florida State University, demonstrate how task analysis can be used in data-based decision making and for monitoring progress, including self-monitoring. They complement the presentations by Dr Mark Carter.
This presentation by Briella Baer Chen, a doctoral student from the University of Maryland, provides step-by-step guidance for developing a video modelling/video prompting intervention. This intervention relies on skills in task analysis. Although only one task is used to demonstrate the intervention, the presentation clearly demonstrates the process, which makes it easy for an educator to generalise to other tasks.