Enhancing the Education of University Students
By Amy Staples, Evette Edmister, and Jennifer King
The Center for Disability Studies in Literacy, Language, and Learning (CDSLLL)
is a collective of faculty, staff, and students who work to support the full participation of
individuals with disabilities in a variety of contexts. A primary vehicle for supporting
that participation has been through professional development for educators in the area of
literacy and communication development for their students with more complex learning
challenges. Researching the impact of that professional development on teacher practice
and student learning allows us to provide better services that we hope will result in
improved outcomes for school age students. This article celebrates the University
students that work with us, all of whom contribute in critical ways to the Center’s work.
Over the past three years, the CDSLLL has been fortunate to have the opportunity
to employ 34 graduate students from two colleges (Education and Humanities, Arts, and
Sciences) and four different departments (special education, communication sciences and
disorders, educational psychology and foundations, and computer science). The students’
assistantships were funded through two contracts with the Iowa Department of Education,
two federal grants, and one in-kind allocation from the Graduate College. More than two
thirds of these students were employed for the majority or entirety of their graduate
program, with the rest hired to provide short-term support, sometimes for a semester or
during summer months.
The students’ assistance has been invaluable toward completing the work outlined
in the grants and contracts within the specified timeframes. The range of tasks has been
great and includes both field and in-house work. For example, students on one project
developed literacy software that not only required writing code but also creating graphics
and communication icons. Other students designed and developed databases to provide
an integrated way for us to keep track of equipment, materials, and data. Most of our
students provided direct support to our research and professional development projects.
This meant visiting classrooms across Iowa, talking to teachers, observing instruction,
assisting with student assessment, and cataloging classroom artifacts (books, technology,
and classroom materials). The data they helped collect provided them with additional
opportunities to prepare data for analysis. This has meant transcribing audiotaped
interviews or videotaped instruction, coding transcripts for language analysis, creating
summary sheets of student literacy assessments, and entering data into a statistical
software program.
Graduate students were budgeted in grant proposals to support project needs, but
also to provide students with research experience and financial support. Engaging in
ongoing, collaborative work with students is rewarding, both for faculty and the students,
in ways that far surpass the ones just cited. As we have talked with students during the
last three years, and more recently as we prepared this paper, it has become clear that for
them, the experience has been much more than a paycheck and formal education. For
them, the experience has taught them about research, lessened the financial burdens
associated with getting an education, provided them with ongoing field experiences
where they could learn more about the professions in which they soon would find
employment, supported their own coursework and research, offered them the chance to
work closely with faculty in a more collegial fashion, be part of a collaborative
multidisciplinary learning environment, and resulted in the establishment of friendships
with peers, staff and faculty.
When a student is actively engaged in research with a professor, they experience
the research cycle. They see how to conceptualize a study, establish location sites, secure
IRB approval, determine and organize data for collection and analysis, carry out the
study, and process and analyze the data. The idea of research becomes real. They
become excited about the research findings as well and actively participate in the
construction of dissemination materials, be that manuscripts, reports, or conference
presentations. A number of our students have co-presented research at local and national
conferences. This sort of active involvement helps them brainstorm ideas for their own
research. As they think and develop their research questions, they feel free to discuss
their ideas with the Center faculty. They are able to move past their Center tasks and
explore their own interests.
As mentioned previously, one asset for the students was financial support. The
students were grateful to be able to focus on their studies rather than how to pay for them.
For some, the opportunity meant attending graduate school came just after college
graduation. For others, it meant they could return to college after working several years
to pursue an advanced degree. Several students stated that the experience gained,
especially experience in the field (in classrooms across the state) was at least equal to if
not greater than the financial support. For example a former student stated,
“I signed up because I needed experience. I needed it. I wanted it and this was a
huge experience, huge. I don’t know if I would have gotten the job I have now if I
hadn’t had this experience. The interviewers were floored by my experiences and
things I had done through the Center (working under the grants). .. Because I had
seen so many kids with so many abilities. … I’m sooo grateful.”
Another benefit, of the experiences provided by the grant work, was strengthening
students’ understanding of course work. The students were able link what they saw in the
field to their course work and vise versa, connecting what they learned at the University
out in the field. One current student said,
“It’s one thing to hear about it in the classroom, but I wish other people had the
opportunity to have the same experience I did because it connects pieces for you
and shows how it all comes together.”
Another student stated,
“(With the Augmentative and Alternative Communication) AAC classes I was
taking, I was trying to take what I was learning in the classroom out into the
field. … That information helped me go into the schools with a lot more
resources & background.…I was able to use what I saw in the schools in my
classes …”
Overall, students came to appreciate the benefits associated with interdisciplinary
teaming. They appreciated how the faculty (from special education, communication
sciences and disorders, and literacy) worked together to carry out a project or analyze
data. Working alongside students from different disciplines provided graduate students
an opportunity to collaborate with other students, learn about their professions, and better
understand what different people contribute to the education of students with disabilities.
They saw this in schools as well.
“We had a special education teacher, we had a parent advocate, we had grad
students, we had regular education teachers, and we had administrative people
from the state that sometimes would come out and just having all of that it was a
dynamic team. It was really neat. I got to see what everybody does. How all of
the pieces of the puzzle come together.”
Another benefit many students reported was being able to discuss topics with
faculty in a more informal setting as well as being able share their ideas. The Center
faculty and staff promote a climate of collegiality. Students have a “home away from
home” that supports them personally and professionally. Students feel part of a team and
that their ideas and thoughts are valued. One student talked about how nice it was to be
someone who provided help. It was a welcome change since she was more accustomed
as a student to receiving help from faculty than offering it.
“Everybody wants to see their professor in a work setting as opposed to a
professor. I felt included and as an equal and I thought that was probably the
coolest thing. I felt that you wanted to hear my opinion. I didn’t feel like a
student or graduate assistant, I felt needed and that I was an important part of the
whole process.”
While graduate students work across the University each semester and greatly
assist in research, teaching, or development work, it may be important to remember that
students leave these experiences with a leg up – they’re better prepared for their
profession and they’re better prepared to pursue a terminal degree, if they so choose.
Looking forward, we see tremendous opportunity to leverage undergraduate students in
our work as well. Many faculty engage in research, funded or not, and these projects
offer rich learning experiences for our students. Engaging graduate and undergraduate
students in research allows for a focused depth of learning that may contribute to their
capacity to reflect deeply on their practice, determine a next step in their career, or just
have an unforgettable experience while in college.