TOPIC 4.
Research in Positive Behavioral Supports and Independent
Living/Community Integration to Allow Individuals
with Emotional, Behavioral, or Life Support Needs
to Participate in Educational, Vocational, and Everyday
Life Activities

• Internet-Based Presentation of Role Models for Youth in Transition from School-to-Work
• Multi-Lingual Web Tutorial
• Using Virtual Reality to Increase the Success of Middle School Age Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities in Educational Settings through Training in Social Problem-Solving and Communication Skills

SPONSORING OFFICE:
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Abstract:
InfoUse will develop an Internet site, with supplemental CD-ROM and text discussion guide, featuring adults with disabilities who can serve as role models for transition-age students. The product is meant to provide seventh to twelfth graders with an ongoing opportunity for career awareness and exploration and an aid to eventual career selection.

Role models are important in shaping students' expectations for their futures, including the range of possible career options. Through role models, young people develop a sense of their own potential, awareness of a variety of careers, and realistic expectations about possible career challenges. Students with disabilities frequently lack exposure to adults with disabilities who work effectively in their careers and cope effectively with workplace challenges.

In Phase I, InfoUse will develop a prototype that presents six working adults representing various ethnicities, disabilities, and a range of traditional and non-traditional careers that require a variety of post-secondary education and vocational preparation. Phase I objectives are to:

1. identify effective approaches to the role model presentation;
2. develop a prototype depicting six role model vignettes;
3. obtain consumer feedback on the prototype; and
4. revise the prototype and determine implications for Phase II.

Summary of Anticipated Results and Implications:
Phase I will yield a prototype Internet module that features six working adults and addresses their diverse career choices, the rewards of their work, the challenges they encountered in the transition process, and the strategies they have used to meet those challenges. The output of Phase II will include an expanded Internet site featuring fifty to sixty role models, a supplemental CD-ROM, and a discussion guide for classroom use.

Under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) and IDEA, schools have a mandate to provide students with career exploration resources to aid the transition process. This product will constitute a resource in the early transition period that can precede further career exploration activities. Options for commercialization include direct sales to school districts and state departments of employment and vocational rehabilitation (for integration into statewide occupational information computer systems).

Abstract:
The goal of the project is to develop a flexible multi-language Web Based tutorial to augment instructor lectures and lab exercises in the areas of Electronics Technology Training. Through flexible Web Tutorials, Delta 101 Technologies seeks to retain typically at-risk students by reinforcing mathematical and technical concepts introduced in the classroom. A major question in developing a mature multi-lingual Web Base Training Platform is to determine the effectiveness of presenting instructional material in the multi-lingual format (is the student's mastery level improved and, if so, is the student's level of English comprehension also improved).

Working with area High School teachers, Delta 101 Technologies will develop content in the following topic areas: Basics of Algebra (Use of Equations; Scientific and Engineering Notations; Ohms Law Series and Parallel Circuits); Semi-Conductor Theory (FETs); Uses of the DMM (Digital Multi-Meter); and, Uses of the Oscilloscope.

All topic areas will be based on teacher lectures with audio HELP databases in the following languages:

• Spanish
• Russian
• Chinese
• English

Complete tutorials will be placed on the Sacramento City College Web Site for public access.

Summary of Anticipated Results and Implications:
Based upon interviews with local high school instructors within technical preparatory programs and Delta 101 Technologies' experience in technical training major improvements in student mastery should be achieved. Moreover, identification of instructional pitfalls in delivering active multi- lingual content via the Web will lead directly to material applicable to other disciplines as well as commercial and export applications.

Abstract:
Although the preschool years of a child's life are critical in setting the stage for further development, his subsequent school-year experiences are also essential for his continued growth and development. It is during these years that children will develop and refine the social and academic skills which are necessary for functioning as adult citizens. A pattern of positive relationships between children with disabilities and their non-disabled peers and teachers will enhance their development. Children who are emotionally disturbed are often disliked as they are viewed by others as being mean, bad, angry, or uncooperative. This perception of them by others will influence other's behavior towards them. Acquiring good social problem-solving skills and having the ability to communicate effectively are recognized resiliency factors for at--risk youth. These skills can be acquired through training. Virtual Reality provides a superior way of providing such training.

Summary of Anticipated Results and Implications:
It is anticipated that the research and development effort will characterize a training program that will teach social problem-solving (to include anger management and conflict resolution), and effective nonverbal and verbal communication skills to students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The Phase I effort will provide the foundation for the construction of such a training program that can be implemented in the Phase II effort. Virtual Reality (VR) technologies will provide a superior way for obtaining this training without the fear of failure or embarrassment as in the less-forgiving world.

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