A Case Study Evaluation of the Implementation of Twice-Exceptional Professional Development Chin-Wen Lee
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University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Dissertations Student Research 5-2018 A Case Study Evaluation of the Implementation of Twice-Exceptional Professional Development Chin-Wen Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Lee, Chin-Wen, "A Case Study Evaluation of the Implementation of Twice-Exceptional Professional Development" (2018). Dissertations. 521. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/521 This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2018 CHIN-WEN LEE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School A CASE STUDY EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTA- TION OF TWICE-EXCEPTIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Chin-Wen Lee College of Education and Behavioral Sciences School of Special Education Special Education May 2018 This Dissertation by: Chin-Wen Lee Entitled: A Case Study Evaluation of the Implementation of Twice-Exceptional Professional Development has been approved as meeting the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in College of Education and Behavioral Sciences in School of Special Education, Program of Special Education Accepted by the Doctoral Committee Jennifer Ritchotte, Ph.D., Research Advisor John Luckner, Ed.D., Committee Member Amy Graefe, Ph.D., Committee Member Tamara Yakaboski, Ph.D., Faculty Representative Date of Dissertation Defense March 5, 2018 Accepted by the Graduate School _________________________________________ Linda L. Black, Ed.D. Associate Provost and Dean Graduate School and International Admissions ABSTRACT Lee, Chin-Wen. A Case Study Evaluation of the Implementation of Twice-Exceptional Professional Development. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2018. According to the 2014–2015 State of the States in Gifted Education, Colorado is the only state in the United States where a series of onsite, customized twice-exceptional professional development opportunities have been implemented. Yet, the Colorado Department of Education and its partner school districts have not systematically evaluated the impact of that two-year initiative. The purpose of this study was to understand the implementation of twice-exceptional professional development during 2014–2016 in a school district in Colorado. A case study design was used to better understand (a) educators’ perspectives about their training experiences and the educational services developed and/or implemented as a result of the training, (b) educators’ perceptions of the training’s impact on twice-exceptional students’ learning, and (c) organizational support and changes that facilitated the implementation of twice- exceptional educational services. Seven training participants and four administrators who were involved in the training were purposefully selected. Documentation and archival records were collected, and interviews were conducted. Eight major themes emerged: (a) increased knowledge and skills, (b) evolved attitudes, (c) recurring challenges, (d) utilizing a team approach, (e) improved performance, (f) difficulty in measuring impact, (g) improved school culture, and (h) iii planning for the future. In addition to a discussion of themes, implications for improving educator and student outcomes and for creating organizational support and changes are presented. This study contributes to educational research and evaluation in order to assist a local education agency in designing, implementing, and evaluating professional development that provides educators of twice-exceptional students with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in their education. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation and completion of this study represent a journey of faith that officially began in 2012 with UNC’s admission letter and a scholarship from the Taiwanese government. I sang to Him “Great is Thy Faithfulness” for all things that worked together for my good. He helped me accomplish this study through many people. I am grateful for The Incredible Five: Dr. Jennifer Ritchotte, who served as my research advisor, mentor and advocate, and Drs. Stuart Omdal, John Luckner, Tamara Yakaboski, and Amy Graefe, who served on the dissertation committee. Their expertise made this study better than one I could do by myself. I am also grateful for the research participants in the chosen school district and in the Colorado Department of Education; they supported this study by making themselves vulnerable. In addition, teachers and resources in the School of Special Education and UNC equipped me with multiple skill sets so that I was able to conduct this study with my heart. Let praise be to God if something good comes out of this study; otherwise, attribute errors to the author, who is nothing but a normal human being. I could not have survived the challenges that I faced along the way without the supports from my families and friends. My parents, Jin-Rong and Li-Chu, allowed me to study abroad and were patient with me after I became a dependent again. My siblings, Wei-Chung and Jin-Xiu, helped take care of our family. My American families—Tad and Jane Gilmore, Allen and Lily Huang, and James and Rita Buller—tremendously enriched my life in Colorado. I would choose to live closer to them if I could. Friends at Christ v Community Church made my student life in Greeley memorable, as did Raveema Mongkolrat, Valerie Sherman, and Weeramol Locharoenrat in the Ph.D. program at UNC. Finally, I would like to express my adoration and appreciation for His wonderful work: O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea. I am so blessed to have come to Colorado. The journey, people, and mountains—these I treasure in my heart. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………….. 1 Problem Statement Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Definition of Terms II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ……………………………… 9 Giftedness Disability Twice Exceptionality Personnel Training in Supporting Twice-exceptional Students Professional Development Summary III. METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………. 79 Overview of Methodology Purpose and Research Questions Theoretical Framework Researcher’s Stance Research Design IV. ANALYSES AND FINDINGS ………………………………….. 105 Research Participants The 2E Project of 2014–2016 Themes Summary V. DISCUSSION ……………………………………………………. 163 Discussion/Addressing the Research Questions Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research Implications for Practice Reflection Summary vii REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………… 186 APPENDIX A. Sample Email Script for the 2E Project Completers …………………….. 213 B. Sample Email Script for the 2E Project Partial Completers …………….. 222 C. Sample Email Script for Administrators ………………………………… 226 D. Institutional Review Board Approval …………………………...……… 233 E. Chain of Evidence ………………………………………………………. 236 F. Logic Model Matrix …………………………………………................... 242 G. Interval Protocol for the 2E Project Completers ………………………... 244 H. Interview Protocol for the 2E Project Partial Completers ………………. 249 I. Interview Protocol for Administrators at the Hope District ……………... 254 J. Interview Protocol for Administrators at the Colorado Department of Education …………………………………..…………...... 258 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Students Ages 6-21 Served Under IDEA as a Percentage of Population………………………………………………….……….. 25 2. Definitions of “Adversely Affect” and “Educational Performance” in State Law/Regulations ……………………………………………... 27 3. Two Approaches of Response to Intervention …………………………. 30 4. Sources of Effective Practices Inventories in Special Education ……… 35 5. Examples of Twice Exceptionality Included in State Laws ……...……. 41 6. Characteristics of Gifted Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Autism Spectrum Disorders ……………………………………..… 54 7. Possible Professional Learning Topics Regarding Teaching Strategies ….………………………...………………………………. 68 8. Features of High-quality Professional Development …………………... 73 9. Levels of Evaluation of Professional Development ……………………. 75 10. Participants’ Background Information …………………………………. 87 11. Schools’ Demographics ………………………………………………... 90 12. Research Questions and Initial Categories …………………….……….. 94 13. Example: Developing a Theme by Connecting the Research Question, Category and Quotes ………….…………………………. 97 14. Phase 3 of Data Analysis ………………………………………………. 98 15. The General Analysis Procedure ………………………………………. 101 ix 16. Strategies to Build Trustworthiness ……………………………………. 103 17. Participants’ Training Background …………………………………….. 107 18. Rating and Year 2 Involvement ………………………………………... 109 19. CDE’s Deliverables and an AU’s Commitment ……………………….. 111 20. Levels 1 and 2 Training Provided in the 2014-2015 School Year …… 112 21. Research Questions, Themes, and Subthemes …………………………. 123 22. A List of Mini-modules and When They were Used for Professional Development ………….…………………………………………….