Understanding special needs educators' experiences in using interactive technology to teach reading comprehension to students with autism: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20405640

This study explored special education teachers' experiences in using interactive technology to teach reading comprehension to students with Autism through an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The research question that guided this study was: How do special education teachers perceive the usefulness of interactive technology in reading comprehension instruction to students with Autism? Using semi-structured interviews, the experiences of six special education teachers were explored through the lens of Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory. Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis, including teacher preparedness to use interactive technology, perceptions on usability, and perceived barriers to comprehension instruction. It was revealed that special education teachers perceived pre and in-service training as pertinent in interactive technology use. Interactive technology was also reported to be useful in reading comprehension instruction to students with Autism, and enabled alternative ways of communication, allowed for learning through different modalities, and enhanced errorless learning. Participants also cited challenges to interactive technology use, which included students' inappropriate use of the technology, unreliability, finding the right program, and the cost of the devices. The implications of this study included: a requirement for special education teachers to understand students with Autism's learning needs before implementing technology, and a need for adequate and relevant pre-and in-service teacher training to improve the teachers' dependability on interactive technology, their attitudes, confidence, and fidelity in implementing interactive technology that may result in better reading comprehension outcomes to students with Autism. Keywords: Autism, reading comprehension, interactive technology, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis --Author's abstract