Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2020 Teacher Perceptions About Teaching Students with Executive Function Deficits Susan Lynn Dunlap Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University College of Education This is to certify that the doctoral study by Susan Lynn Dunlap has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made.
Review Committee Dr. Timothy Lafferty, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Jerita Whaley, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr. Laura Siaya, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.
Walden University 2020 Abstract Teacher Perceptions About Teaching Students with Executive Function Deficits by Susan Lynn Dunlap BA, LeMoyne College, 1995 MS, Saint Bonaventure University, 1998 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University February 2020 Abstract The problem that prompted this study was that kindergarten through 5th grade teachers were struggling to find appropriate interventions to support the rising number of students exhibiting executive function deficiencies (EFD). The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of local elementary teachers about students with EFD, about instructional strategies used to help focus EFD students, and about teachers’ professional needs to work effectively with EFD students. Diamond’s core characteristics of EFD served as the conceptual framework guiding this study. The research questions focused on teachers’ experiences and perceptions of strategies used for students with EFD, and of the professional training needs of teachers working with EFD students.
A case study design was used to capture the insights of a purposefully selected sample of 12 elementary teachers through semi structured interviews and a focus group interview. Emergent themes were identified through an open coding process, and findings were developed and checked for trustworthiness through triangulation, rich descriptions, and member checking. The findings revealed that teachers perceived that EFD students responded best to active learning and technology-rich lessons delivered within a structured environment. A professional development project was created to provide teachers with instructional and technology strategies and interventions to engage and focus students with EFD.
This study has implications for positive social change by offering teachers strategies to improve the performance and engagement of students with EFD. Teacher Perceptions About Teaching Students with Executive Function Deficits by Susan Lynn Dunlap BA, LeMoyne College, 1995 MS, Saint Bonaventure University, 1998 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University February 2020 Table of Contents List of Tables. vi Section 1: The Problem .1 The Local Problem .3 Definition of Terms.9 Significance of the Study .12 Review of the Literature. 13 Review of the Broader Problem .18 Interventions for Executive Function Deficiencies.
18 Executive Function Deficiencies and Related Issues for Learning. 25 Teacher Training Needed to Work With Students Who Have Executive Function Deficiencies .37 Section 2: The Methodology.39 Research Design and Approach .42 Population and Sampling. 42 Criteria for Selection of Participants. 43 i Access to Participants.
45 Researcher-Participant Relationship .47 Semi structured Interviews. 47 Focus Group Interviews. 50 Data Sources and Tracking. 53 Ethical Protection of Participants.55 Data Analysis and Coding.
55 Evidence of Quality. 59 Data Analysis Results. 61 Research Accuracy and Credibility .63 Theme 1: Teachers Employ a Variety of Instructional Strategies but Recognize the Importance of Increasing Differentiated Learning Strategies. 69 Theme 2: Teachers Struggle With the Loss of Instructional Time Resulting From Disruptive Behavior.
85 ii Theme 3: Teachers Need to Learn Instructional Approaches for EFD Students and to Develop Shared Expectations With Parents. 97 Discussion of Findings .127 Section 3: The Project .134 Review of the Literature .136 Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Teaching EFD Students. 137 Behavioral Management Approaches for EFD Students. 141 Effective Classroom Environments for EFD Students.151 Potential Resources and Existing Supports.
152 Proposal for Implementation and Timetable. 152 Roles and Responsibilities. 154 Project Evaluation Plan. 155 iii Summative Assessment.
156 Overall Evaluation Goals. 156 Key Stakeholder Groups .159 Social Change Implications. 159 Importance of the Project to Local Stakeholders. 162 Importance of This Project to the Larger Context.
162 Section 4: Reflection and Conclusions .164 Project Strengths and Limitations. 166 Recommendations for Alternative Approaches .167 Alternate Approaches to the Problem. 167 Alternate Definitions of the Problem. 168 Alternative Solutions to the Local Problem.
169 Scholarship, Project Development and Evaluation, and Leadership and Change .170 Growth of Self as a Scholar. 172 Growth as a Practitioner. 172 Reflection on Importance of the Work .174 Implications, Applications, and Directions for Future Research .174 Potential Impact for Positive Social Change. 175 iv Methodological, Theoretical, and Empirical Implications.
176 Recommendation for Practice and/or Future Research .180 Appendix A: The Project .220 Appendix B: Interview Protocol. Appendix C: Focus Group Protocol .240 v List of Tables Table 1. Teachers’ Perceptions About Teaching Students With Executive Function Deficits .153 vi 1 Section 1: The Problem The Local Problem At the suburban elementary school where this study was conducted, kindergarten through 5th grade teachers were struggling to find appropriate interventions to support the rising number of students exhibiting executive function deficiencies (EFD). Diamond and Ling (2016) defined executive function deficiency as a disorder characterized by three components: inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility; students who present these conditions are often considered to be off-task or inattentive.
Teachers are concerned about the increased number in students exhibiting problematic ED related behaviors in the suburban element school. Several commonly diagnosed disorders for children are related to cognitive deficits in the frontal lobe, or EFD (Langberg et al. With the increased number of EFD students in their classroom, teachers were concerned. At the site, teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade voiced their concerns about the increased number of EFD referrals; the growing EFD population prompted a need for more intervention services (5th grade teacher, personal communication, December 2016).
Data from monthly “Think Tank sessions” indicated that EFD-related concerns had increased steadily over the last 3 years, from one to two average monthly concerns per grade in 2015-2016, to three to four concerns in 2016-2017, to four to five concerns in 2017- 2018 (Kindergarten teacher, personal communication, November 2017). Students with 2 EFD, who exhibit off-task behaviors in the classroom, are problematic for teachers at the elementary level. Students who present with EFD are often considered to be off task or inattentive. Students at the local site who are likely to demonstrate off-task behavior are those identified as having EFD or EFD related disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Martinez, Barraza, González, & González, 2016).
Students with EFD may be referred by classroom teachers for diagnostic testing. Special area teachers involved in the referrals of EFD students at the local site expressed feeling overloaded with paperwork and wanted assistance (3rd grade teacher, personal communication, November 2017). The problem for teachers of students with EFD extended beyond the local elementary school. The director of special education for the local school district sent a letter to district personnel acknowledging an increase in student diagnostic referrals by teachers for EFD behaviors district wide.
As a result, the school district hired an additional school psychologist to assist with the increase in student referrals (school psychologist, personal communication, December 2016). Across the country, the problem of meeting the needs of students with EFD has been growing in scope (Fairman, Peckham, & Sclar, 2017). A 2017 medical survey reflected a steady increase in diagnoses of EFD in youth age 5-17 years in the last ten years (U. Department of Education Statistics, 2018).
3 There is a gap in practice in the local elementary school between teachers’ instructional practices and the instructional strategies that could benefit students with EFD. Teachers have acknowledged to administrators that formal training and professional development (PD) have not been offered to provide interventions to address the learning needs of students with EFD (Principal, personal communication, November 2017). Training for teachers has only included reading and literacy initiatives from the state in the last 3 years. While the local elementary school’s literacy scores on state mandated tests remain the highest in the district, teachers have communicated a professional need for knowledge of EFD strategies in the classroom.
One teacher stated that many colleagues have spoken about their desires to improve off-task behaviors in students with EFD and noted that the teachers needed help to improve instructional practices to manage behaviors associated with EFD (3rd grade teacher, personal communication, May 2017). There was a need to examine the perceptions and experiences of local teachers about working with students with EFD. Rationale At the local elementary school, teachers were struggling with the off-task behaviors of students with EFD because interventions they used were not working. K-5 teachers asked administrators for resources and instructional strategies to increase student attention on learning tasks (Kindergarten teacher, personal communication, June 2017).
Teachers needed specific interventions that would be effective in addressing EFD behaviors, as their current behavior management strategies were not improving 4 off-task behaviors. During a local professional learning community (PLC) meeting, a first-grade teacher raised concerns about students who were not able to focus without constant redirection by the teacher. The teacher expressed that she had tried several behavior consequences, and she claimed that the consequences had not worked in addressing focus issues. The teacher noted that it was difficult to teach and manage all students with EFD-related behaviors because redirecting them could take up a large amount of instructional time (1st grade teacher, personal communication, September 2017).
Special area art and music teachers noticed an increase in the number of students who were challenged by problems related to maintaining focus and following directions. Two special-area teachers and a fourth-grade teacher remarked about the increase of socially distracting behaviors and the interventions needed to manage these difficult behaviors (4th grade teacher, personal communication, December 2017). At the project site, intervention team meetings often ran overtime as participants discussed students with EFD and with EFD-related disorders (5th grade teacher, personal communication, May 2016). Administrators received multiple requests from teachers to help provide resources to manage EFD behaviors because students were scoring poorly on tests, not finishing work, and dominating teacher attention.
The current interventions, such as extended time on tests and verbal reminders, did not materially improve student performance. In 2017, the school intervention team logged a substantial increase in EFD-related cases over a 4 year period (5th grade teacher, personal communication, May 2017). 5 Other teachers at the school were also affected by EFD. A special education teacher expressed frustration with her 2017 EFD caseload (4th grade teacher, personal communication, October 2017).
The teacher stated that the increase in EFD-related caseloads in 2017 compared to 2016 was frustrating. She noted that she did not have enough time in the week to meet with all students in her caseload (4th grade teacher, personal communication, October 2017). She further noted that the number of referrals to test students for EFD behaviors was problematic because referrals created excessive scheduling issues and required teachers’ attendance at before-school and after-school meetings (4th grade teacher, personal communication, October 2017).