Elizabeth Doll

Increasingly, special educators are expected to use data in their day-to-day deliberations in support of students. However, teachers often report that they are unprepared to choose and apply reliable strategies for data collection and make good use of data in their deliberations about how to best support student learning. In addition, special education teams in rural areas are often working in isolation and do not have meaningful opportunities to share best practices.

Through this research project, the researchers aimed to test the potential efficacy of a technology-supported professional development program for rural fifth- through eighth-grade science teachers from two rural Nebraska educational service units (ESUs). The program is adapted for rural school populations from a program with promising results in an urban setting.