Kouraeva, Natalia A.. Preparing special education teachers to differentiate instruction by integrating technology. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3J9689S
DescriptionAs the inclusive movement continues to gain momentum, preparing prospective special education teachers to successfully meet the needs of a diverse student population is an essential mission. Integrating technology to differentiate instruction (DI) can be an effective method to support each student’s individual learning. This cross-sectional mixed-methods study utilized surveys and multiple case studies (focus groups discussions, interviews, and observations) to collect data from both teacher educators and prospective special education teachers to investigate whether prospective special education teachers receive ample preparation and develop sufficient capability to differentiate instruction by integrating technology. The findings showed that the instructors and pre-service teachers recognize the importance of differentiated instruction and acknowledge that integrating technology can be a potentially effective method to DI, but improvement in preparation of pre-service special education teachers to differentiate instruction with technology is needed. The findings of this study are intended to assist teacher educators as they re-evaluate how to better prepare pre-service special education teachers to address the learning needs of all students in an inclusive environment.