The
purpose of this research is to explore the use of information and
communications technology to improve home-school collaboration in special
education. In special education, home-school collaboration is defined as
active, equal partnerships based on mutual respect and complementary expertise
with the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes. Much research has demonstrated
higher achievement among students who benefit from the creation and maintenance
of such relationships. However,
traditional paper systems of parent-teacher communication are unreliable and undetailed,
which can cause frustration for all stakeholders and threaten student outcomes.
We are developing a tool that extends Lilypad, a data collection and analysis
system for special education classroom staff, which supports family-school
partnerships in three ways: (1) giving parents access to behavioral data
collected daily in the classroom, (2) including parents in long-term progress
monitoring, and (3) providing a communication channel between family and
school. In order to appeal to parents of all levels of availability, literacy
and involvement, we primarily addressed the questions of which data to include,
how much detail to provide, and which strategies of presentation make the data
easily digestible. Our design process involved understanding data management in
the classroom, and subsequently designing an interface to involve parents in
the management and discussion of that data. We then held focus groups with
expert behavioral psychologists and an interview with a parent of a child in a
special education program. Use of this tool could foster improved home-school
collaboration in special education without placing more demands on teachers.
