Share Paper: Addressing the Special Education Teacher Shortage in West Virginia via Online Learning: A Case Study

  1. Lori A. Howard, Marshall University, United States
  2. Isaac Willis Larison, Marshall University, United States
  3. Paula James Kaplan, Marshall University, United States
Wednesday, June 26 4:20-4:40 PM Sidney

Abstract: There is an ongoing special education teacher shortage in West Virginia. One potential solution to this problem is to provide online courses to prepare more special education teachers. The authors of this paper discuss a case study of how an introductory special education course was designed and implemented. This discussion includes both barriers to successful implementation and instructional design considerations. The case study concludes with lessons learned that may be applied in other regions facing similar teacher shortages and geographic isolation.