Teacher perceptions on the use of gaming with special education students

Schools in the United States are trying to achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP). Due to federal legislation changes in recent years that require schools to make AYP, there have been many discussions regarding how to achieve this when all subgroups are expected to perform at the same level. According to the literature, special education students must meet the same standards as their regular education peers in order for a school to make AYP and this stipulation is affecting school status nationally and locally. The purpose of the study was to explore and evaluate the responses of elementary regular education inclusion teachers and special education teachers who use academic games to assess whether or not gaming influences special education students' ability to learn. This qualitative study was designed to determine if the use of academic games can aid special education students in their learning process. Students in a single elementary rural school in the southeastern United States served as the population for this study. Data collection occurred through individual interviews, a focus group, and observations of seven regular and five special education teachers in grades 3-5 that met the required criteria of using academic games at least 3 times a week. Data were analyzed using the basic interpretative approach and were transformed into meaningful results which found that regular and special education teachers felt that games are fun, motivating, increase classroom participation, promote active engagement, reinforce learning, improve social skills, and assist with differentiating instruction. Results from this study may assist teachers with making instructional decisions for special needs students as well as indirectly help schools to achieve AYP as it directs teachers to better reach those students through gaming.