JAASEP SPRING/SUMMER 2025 Part 7 of 11
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This descriptive research study was designed to explore the effects of infusing assistive technology (AT) into the licensure year of graduate students completing their alternative special education teacher license. This study provided each participant both the materials and professional development necessary to explore the impact of a technology kit and best-practicedriven training on professional learning, confidence, and AT implementation in K-12 special education programs. The research field of special education acknowledges there is a tremendous benefit for K-12 students to enhance, accommodate, and access their learning using AT (Edyburn, 2004, 2006, 2015). Additionally, the research field of teacher preparation and adult learning has proven that adults must be active in their own learning, be able to identify the benefit of tools or strategies to implement them with their students, and be able to practice with or integrate technology within their learning to feel proficient using it with students (Oostveen, Muirhead, & Goodman, Evans, 2008; Alper & Raharinirina; 2006; Van Laarhoven, Munk, Chandler, Zurity, & Lynch, 2012; Mason, 2014).
Abstract
This descriptive research study was done at a small, rural-serving, liberal arts university within an online, graduate-level special education teacher preparation program. Participants were graduate students (n = 9) who were provided a technology kit as a recruitment tool. All participants were completing their licensure coursework over one year in an asynchronous format while working full-time as alternative special education teachers. The descriptive research project will detail the impacts of authentic Assistive Technology (AT) use as part of the teacher preparation program. Participants received instruction on using AT for their learning and teaching, emphasizing two primary topics: multimodal literacy AT tools and AT tools for accessibility and accommodation using the features native to the devices supplied in the technology toolkit. The study’s findings provide a lens into the positive impacts of implementing AT learning throughout a teacher preparation program resulting in increased implementation and teacher self-confidence.