The Daily Bulletin Archive

By Tony Astran

Fifty graduate students in the Exception Education Department will formally present their master’s projects on campus as part of the third annual Exceptional Education Graduate Research Symposium on Saturday, April 25. Nearly 300 guests are expected to attend.

The event begins in Classroom Building C122 at 8:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast. President Muriel Howard and Ronald Rochon, dean of the School of Education and associate vice president for teacher education, will provide opening remarks before introducing the keynote speaker, Leonard Baca. Baca, a professor of education at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will present his research on response-to-intervention techniques for instructors working with English-language learners.

The symposium continues with 18 presentations spread over three 30-minute sessions. Groups of students will present their research studies focused on academic and behavioral outcomes for a wide range of students with disabilities from preschool to high school. Topics include teaching children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder how to self-monitor their attention, the effects of background music on academic performance for students with mild disabilities, and comparing teacher-assisted and computer-assisted oral reading programs for elementary students with learning disabilities. Each presentation will end with a question-and-answer period.

Theresa Janczak, assistant professor of exceptional education, planned the event with department colleagues Mark Posluszny, associate professor, and Lisa Rafferty, assistant professor. She said students must submit proposals in order to participate in the symposium, just as they would for a professional conference.

“The symposium is a culminating activity that showcases the hard work of our graduates and celebrates their accomplishments,” Janczak said.

She said she hopes attendees will see that the students’ findings have practical implications for classroom instruction. “The projects show that research can inform teaching,” she said.

Janczak and her colleagues will conduct a post-event survey to gauge how the experience of presenting projects affects students’ views of conducting research. She expects many of the students to submit their findings for publication and to present at statewide and nationwide conferences. Others may broaden their studies as they pursue doctoral degrees.

Faculty, staff, students, family members, and a number of local school administrators and teachers will attend the symposium, which is open to the public. The event is funded by the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee, the Exceptional Education Department, the School of Education Dean’s Office, and the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College. For more information, please contact Janczak, 878-5313.