Supporting Students with Disabilities: An Evaluation of Teacher Professional Development and Implementation of Sensory Labs in HISD Schools, 2019-2020. Research Educational Program Report

Houston Independent School District. Research & Accountability, 4400 West 18th Street 2 NW, Houston, TX 77092. Tel: 713-556-6700; Fax: 713-556-6730; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.houstonisd.org/research

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Students with Disabilities; Student Needs; Faculty Development; Intervention; School Districts; Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Laboratories; Sensory Experience; Teacher Attitudes; Program Effectiveness; Teacher Effectiveness; Teaching Methods; Student Behavior; Academic Achievement; Behavior Change; Teamwork; Grade Point Average; Attendance; Elementary Secondary Education; Student Characteristics; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Perceptual Impairments

To close the performance gap for students with disabilities, teacher and student-focused interventions have been implemented through the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Autism and Behavior Services. The teacher-focused intervention entails support and professional development opportunities to improve teacher efficacy to close the performance gap for students with disabilities. In the 2019-2020 school year, the department implemented a new student-focused intervention with the addition of sensory labs at 30 HISD campuses. This evaluation explored teachers' perceptions of the professional development services and support provided by HISD Autism and Behavior Services Team to improve their efficacy educating students with disabilities. The evaluation also explored teachers' perceptions of and frequency of access to the sensory room, and the impact that sensory room use had on the academic and behavioral outcomes of students with disabilities and/or behavioral challenges during the 2019-2020 school year. Overall, HISD teachers who responded to the survey agreed that the quality of instructional support and information provided by the Autism and Behavior Services Team was effective. However, teachers believed that it would be beneficial if there were better follow-up and more hands-on support through modeling of instructional and behavioral strategies. Teachers who accessed the sensory rooms indicated that the observed benefit of students using the sensory room was increased focus. More than half of the teachers, 57.5 percent, observed that students were better able to follow directions after participating in the sensory room activities, and 38.8 percent observed that students were better able to spend more time on task. In terms of behavior, 55 percent of teachers observed a decrease in negative behaviors, and 27.5 percent observed that students were more motivated. Students with a disability who were at campuses with sensory rooms showed a lower mean rate of suspension (in-school and out-of-school), a higher mean rate of attendance, and a higher mean cumulative GPA than students with disabilities at campuses without sensory rooms. The mean cumulative GPA was statistically significant.

As Provided

2021

ED611218