TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Abstract

The current study examined the utilization of precision teaching with students who have sustained a traumatic brain injury. This study is important because there are increasing numbers of students in our schools who have received such injuries. The results of an injury may cause a decrease in reading fluency and there is an increasing demand for evidence-based research that improves academic skills. The study provided a way to measure the effectiveness of interventions utilizing Precision Teaching. Precision Teaching, which is a visual display of measures of academic behaviors such as words read per minute, is the method chosen for this study.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Overview1

Emotional Impact of a Traumatic Brain Injury2

Instructional Impact as a Result of a Traumatic Brain Injury3

Precision Teaching as a Device to Make Data Driven Decisions3

Purpose of the Study4

The Research Problem5

Research Questions5

Significance of the Study6

Methodology6

Research Design6

Subjects and Selection Procedures8

Apparatus and Materials9

Teachers' Perceptions10

Procedures for Data Collection12

Analysis of Data13

Result14

Sample Characteristic and Demographics of Participants in the Study14

Case Findings15

Discussion16

References17

Appendices18

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Introduction

This paper introduces issues related to students who have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the use of data reflected on Precision Teaching charts to make decisions. Specifically, students in second, third and fourth grades were monitored while developing reading skills. Reading fluency was measured, and feelings regarding the academic competencies were recorded. Students and teachers were interviewed.

Instructional decisions based on the data collected are made by teachers. The primary focus of this study was increasing the student's reading fluency. This may include identifying letters and their associated phonetic sounds. These skills are initially measured utilizing the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Learning Skills (DIBELS). The DIBELS score serves as a “pre-test” and provides an initial baseline measure. Students receive reading interventions. Probes of reading skills are taken three to four times per week.

The following section introduces the purpose of the study and its significance. The research question is stated along with definitions relevant to the investigation, and the limitations and delimitations of the study.

Overview

In the United States the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1.4 million adults and children sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. For children ages 0 to 14 there are over 2,600 deaths, 37,000 hospitalizations and 35,000 emergency department visits each year (Center for Disease Control, 2006). In 1998, 4,114 cases of TBI were reported in Arizona to the CDC. Approximately one in twenty-five of these children sustained a head injury significant enough to receive medical attention (Center for Disease Control, 2006). Justices Statistics indicates that approximately one-in-five hundred children sustain an injury that results in a change in level of consciousness and/or damage to the anatomy of the brain (Michaud, Duhaime, & Lazar, 2007). Due to advances in medical treatment, more children survive head injuries. While this is certainly a positive trend, more significantly injured children survive and require specific educational programming.

A Traumatic Brain Injury can have a devastating impact on a child, affecting both educational and behavioral performance (D'Amato & ...