Elizabeth McCallum

The Taped-Problems Intervention: Increasing Division Fact Fluency Using a Low-Tech Self-Managed Time-Delay Intervention.

ABSTRACT A multiple-probe across-tasks design was used to determine if the taped-problems intervention, a variation of the taped-words interventions (Freeman & McLaughlin, 1984), could be used to enhance division fact fluency in a fourth-grade student. During the taped-problems intervention, the student was given a list of problems on a sheet of paper and instructed to attempt to complete each problem before the answer was provided by an audiotape player. On the tapes, problems were read followed by their answers. Progressive time delay procedures were used as intervals between the problem and answer were adjusted. Initially, the interval between the problem being read and the answer was 1 second. During each session, as problems were repeated, the interval was gradually increased and then reduced. Results showed clear increases in division fact fluency after the intervention was implemented. This enhanced performance appeared to be maintained. Discussion focuses on future research related to the taped-problems intervention.

ClassWide Peer Tutoring: Two Experiments Investigating the Generalized Relationship between Increased Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension.

We conducted two experiments designed to investigate the effects of ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) on oral reading fluency and the generalization to students’ rate and level of reading comprehension. First, an alternating treatment design was used to compare two sixth-grade, general education students’ rates and level of oral reading comprehension when tutored (experimental passages) to when not tutored (control passages). Significant differences were found on all dependent measures across participants favoring tutored passages. Two additional sixth-grade students with reading skill deficits participated in Experiment 2. Although Experiment 2 used the same design, students were exposed to only a portion of the passage during tutoring; thus, near generalization to the remainder of the tutored passage was assessed. Significant differences were not found in the direction of CWPT partially tutored passages across any of the measures. Limitations of this research and implications for future research are discussed.

Use of Reading Pen Assistive Technology to Accommodate Post-Secondary Students with Reading Disabilities

ABSTRACT Reading pens are a form of assistive technology that may be used to bypass weak word decoding and vocabulary skills of students with reading disabilities. Only two known studies have examined the effects of reading pens on the comprehension of school-aged students, and no known studies have been published regarding post-secondary students. The present study investigated the effects of reading pen assistive technology on the comprehension accuracy and rate of three post-secondary students with university-recognized reading disabilities. An alternating treatments design was implemented to compare the effects of (1) a reading pen decoding accommodation, (2) concurrent reading pen decoding and vocabulary accommodations, and (3) a no-accommodation control condition on the comprehension of the three participants when provided college level difficulty reading passages. Results indicate that use of a reading pen did not uniformly improve the comprehension of the post-secondary students. However, the student with the poorest reading skills benefitted the most. Discussion focuses on explanations for the results, practical implications for post-secondary students with reading disabilities, and future directions for study.

Comparing the Efficiency of Repeated Reading and Listening-While-Reading to Improve Fluency and Comprehension

An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effects of two reading fluency interventions on the oral reading fluency and maze accuracy of four fourth-grade students. Also, by taking into account time spent in intervention, the efficiency of the two interventions was compared. In the adult-mediated repeated reading (RR) condition, students read a grade-level passage aloud to an adult. The adult provided the students with error correction of oral reading miscues. In the listening-while-reading (LWR) condition, students read along aloud with audio recorded readings of passages using an MP3 player. The RR and LWR conditions had similar effects on reading fluency for three participants and the RR was more effective for one participant. When accounting for instructional time, the LWR condition was more efficient at improving reading fluency for three of the four participants. The same pattern of results was evident in Maze comprehension data. Discussion will emphasize the need to consider instructional time when selecting interventions.

Advocating for Effective Instruction: School Psychologists as an Instructional Leader

Public schools are continually faced with the challenge of responding to and meeting the demands of an ever evolving set of societal and global expectations (Friedman, 2005). Recent iterations of this responsiveness came in the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. These have converged to emphasize the data-based accountability of student achievement in public schools. While many of the professionals working in schools have received training in some areas dealing with instruction, curriculum, behavior, assessment, evaluation, consultation, and data analysis, there are few that have been trained in each of these areas. One profession that does require training in each of these areas is school psychology. The combination of school psychologists’ training and skills and the evolving needs of schools to demonstrate improved student outcomes unveil a context for school psychologists to be increasingly active and influential participants on instructional leadership teams. The goal of this chapter, is to explore recent developments that are impacting professional practices in schools and identify ways that school psychologists can use their skills and knowledge to support effective instruction.

The effects of two assistive technologies on reading comprehension accuracy and rate

ABSTRACT This study compared the effectiveness of two assistive technologies to accommodate the word reading skills of four middle school students with reading learning disabilities. Kurzweil 3000 is a continuous text-to-speech (TTS) computer software program that allows students to follow along on a computer monitor while passages are read aloud. A reading pen is a discontinuous TTS assistive technology (AT) device that allows students to scan and hear selected words read aloud. An adapted alternating treatments design was implemented to compare the effects of listening-while-reading using continuous TTS AT, discontinuous TTS AT, and silently reading without accommodation on reading comprehension accuracy and rate. Results indicate that in three of the four participants, continuous TTS technology led to the greatest improvements in both comprehension accuracy and rate when compared to silent reading with effect sizes reaching 0.70 and 0.99, respectively. The fourth participant demonstrated the highest comprehension accuracy and rate in the discontinuous TTS condition. The discontinuous TTS condition led to the lowest comprehension rates across all four students. Additionally, participants generally found the continuous TTS AT to be the more acceptable of the two accommodations. Discussion focuses on possible theoretical explanations for the results and implications for future research.

Ability of Early Literacy Measures to Predict Future State Assessment Performance

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which early literacy measures administered in kindergarten and Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) measures administered in Grade 1 are related to and predict future state reading assessment performances up to 7 years later. Results indicated that early literacy and ORF performances were significantly and moderately related to performances in Grades 3, 5, and 7. Grade 3 achievement was best predicted by ORF, followed by Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), and then Initial Sound Fluency (ISF). After controlling for the effects of previous state assessment scores in Grade 3, additional significant variance in Grade 5 performance was accounted for by ORF. Finally, after controlling for the effects of Grades 5 and 3 state assessment performances, early literacy and ORF measures did not significantly predict Grade 7 achievement. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for theory and practice, as well as limitations and directions for future research.

Generalization and Maintenance Efforts in Social Interaction Interventions for Preschool and Kindergarten Aged Children

ABSTRACT A review of studies since 1980 reporting social interaction interventions for preschool and kindergarten aged children is provided. Focus is on generalization and maintenance efforts. Reviewed studies fall into two categories, peer-mediated and child specific, and are classified by types of generalization strategies used based upon Stokes and Baers (1977) hierarchy. Eleven studies employed Sequential Modification strategies; seven studies employed Train and Hope and Program Common Stimuli strategies. Strategies represented at lower rates were Introduce to Natural Maintaining Consequences, Train Sufficient Exemplars, and Use Indiscriminable Contingencies. Advances in sophistication of strategy usage in recent years is noted. Implications for school psychologists and related professionals are discussed.