Using PulpMotion videos as instructional anchors for pre-service teachers learning about early childhood special education

Providing pre-service early childhood general educators with a strong knowledge base of key aspects of early childhood special education is essential in the United States as US federal law mandates it. Specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) stipulates that children with special needs must to be placed in the least restrictive environment, and thus this legislation increases the number of young children with special needs in general education settings (Cook, Klein, Tessier, 2008; Crockett & Kauffman, 2013; Siegel, 2007). For many pre-service early childhood educators, learning about concepts in early childhood special education can be challenging given that pre-service general educators can often feel uncomfortable with potentially working with children with special needs, a population that they may feel they have little understanding of how to effectively teach (Henning & Mitchell, 2002). However, teacher education approaches that allow the exploration of various perspectives about inclusive practices while also developing critically reflective thinking skills can promote a sound understanding of inclusive teaching practices (Silverman, 2007). This study introduced an anchored instructional experience using a software program called PulpMotion to create video media to bridge meaningful understandings of general educators with potentially challenging knowledge of early childhood special education. Pre-service early childhood educator s presented with the PulpMotion created anchored instructional video experiences were shown to have a marked increase of on-line discussion board postings and reviews of "non-required" reading of early childhood special education.