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AN INTERVENTION SPECIALIS4 FORMAT.pdf (2.09 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

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An Intervention Specialist's Journey Through the Zone of Proximal Development

Carrig, Carol A
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1460491585

Abstract Details

2016, PHD, Kent State University, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies.
This self-study focused of an intervention specialist's decision-making process in designing instruction for students with special needs and those at risk in learning. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) provided the lens through which this research was conceptualized and viewed. The purpose of this research study was to utilize a reflective thinking practice in examining my part of the teaching/learning cycle discerning what information lead to decisions in creating scaffolds for students' zone of proximal development. The findings included: (a) the practitioner ignited an invitation to learn and be motivated, designed scaffolds, and created environments to encourage student empowerment; (b) personal attention was directed to those tensions that required change by igniting a problem solving sequence that offered possible strategies and solutions; and (c) outside factors including institutional influences, limitations, and interruptions distracted the practitioner from the primary purpose of teaching. The findings of this study offered the following implications for intervention specialists. First, a reflective thinking practice enables an intervention specialist to discern thoughts that transpire from school/societal deliberations and those that result from his/her own viewpoint. In grappling with the contradictory messages of these two forces a practitioner develops his/her voice and the self-knowledge needed to define his/her position within a given tension. Second, incorporating the element of play into daily lessons encourages children to acquire greater attention to task, thus, increasing cognitive development. Third, the development of individualized scaffolds employs a deconstructive / reconstructive nature to achieve independence in skill execution.
Alicia Crowe, PHD (Committee Co-Chair)
Jennifer Walton-Fisette, PHD (Committee Co-Chair)
269 p.
Education
reflective thinking practice; decision-making process; intervention specialist; scaffolds

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Carrig, C. A. (2016). An Intervention Specialist's Journey Through the Zone of Proximal Development [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1460491585

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Carrig, Carol. An Intervention Specialist's Journey Through the Zone of Proximal Development. 2016. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1460491585.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Carrig, Carol. "An Intervention Specialist's Journey Through the Zone of Proximal Development." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1460491585

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1460491585
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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.