John McDonnell

A Comparison of Constant Time Delay and Simultaneous Prompting Within Embedded Instruction in General Education Classes with Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities

An adapted alternating treatment design was used to measure the effectiveness of constant time delay and simultaneous prompting procedures within an embedded instruction format on the acquisition of academic skills. Four middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities and the paraprofessionals who supported these students in their general education classes participated in the study. The results of the study indicated that both procedures were effective in promoting the acquisition of the target skills. However, the constant time delay procedure was more effective for two of the students and the simultaneous prompting procedure was more effective for the remaining students. Results are discussed in terms of future research and implications for supporting the inclusion of students with moderate and severe disabilities in general education classes.

Comparison of Three Strategies for Teaching Generalized Grocery Purchasing to High School Students with Severe Handicaps.

Teachers often provide classroom based instruction on the assumption that behaviors learned in the classroom will be performed in natural settings. The present study examines this assumption by comparing the effectiveness of three strategies for purchasing grocery store items with four high school students labeled moderately or severely retarded. Students were trained to negotiate payment to the cashier by (a) role playing in the classroom with flashcards designating the amount of purchase, (b) role playing in the classroom with slides of cash registers at different amounts, or (c) role playing with the slides and in vivo training in one store. A multiple baseline design across subjects indicates afunctional relationship between the combined slide and in vivo strategy and correct performance across a range of nontrained probe stores. Neither role playing strategy alone was successful at teaching a generalized purchasing skill. The data are discussed in terms of research implications for studying generalization and instructional recommendations for teachers.

The Efficacy of Embedded Instruction for Students with Developmental Disabilities Enrolled in General Education Classes.

A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evaluate the efficacy of embedded instruction with 3 students with developmental disabilities who were enrolled in general education classes. Two general education teachers and 1 paraprofessional delivered embedded instruction to students during regularly scheduled instructional activities. The skills taught to students included answering probe questions drawn from the general science curriculum, identifying functional sight-words drawn from the general reading curriculum, and making requests using an electronic communication device. Student data showed that embedded instruction was effective with all 3 students. The results also indicate that both general education teachers and paraprofessionals were able to implement the procedure with a high degree of fidelity without disrupting the ongoing instructional activities of the general education classes. Teacher ratings of the acceptability and perceived effectiveness of the procedures suggested that teachers viewed embedded instruction as a practical, effective, and efficient strategy for teaching students with developmental disabilities in general education settings.

A Comparison of One-to-One Embedded Instruction in the General Education Classroom and One-to-One Massed Practice Instruction in the Special Education Classroom

A single subject alternating treatment design was used to compare the relative effectiveness of one-to-one embedded instruction in the general education classroom and one-to-one massed practice instruction in a special education class. Four middle school students with developmental disabilities, their special education teacher, and paraprofessional participated in the study. The results indicate that embedded instruction is an effective instructional strategy for students with developmental disabilities being served in inclusive settings. However, the results indicate that there was some difference in the efficiency of the two instructional formats. Two students reached criterion more rapidly in the one-to-one massed instructional intervention while the one-to-one embedded instruction was more efficient for one student. There was no difference between the interventions for the fourth student. Finally, the study validated previous research that found that both special education teachers and paraprofessionals can, with minimal training, accurately implement embedded instructional interventions in the general education classroom. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

A Comparison of Two Trial Distribution Schedules in Embedded Instruction.

We compared the effectiveness of tWo trial distribution schedules implemented in an embedded instruction package to teach academic skills to students With developmental disabilities in general education classes. In the first package, instructional trials Were distributed across a 30-min time period that reflected the typical length of a lesson in the content area (e.g., math or reading). In the second package, instructional trials Were distributed across a 120-min time period that cut across at least tWo lessons (e.g., math and reading). General education teachers provided instruction to students under both trial distribution conditions. The results indicated that both schedules lead to the acquisition of the target skills. In addition, students Were able to generalize their performance to natural stimuli found in general education classes. HoWever, the 30-min trial distribution schedule resulted in faster acquisition of the skills for tWo of the students. There Were no substantial differences in the rates of acquisition under the tWo schedules for the other tWo students. Results are discussed in terms of future research and implications for supporting the inclusion of students With developmental disabilities in general education classes.

Academic engaged time of students with low-incidence disabilities in general education classes.

Academic engaged time of 6 students with low-incidence disabilities enrolled in a general elementary classrooms for reading or math and at least one other subject was compared to that of 6 students without disabilities from the same classes and 6 students without disabilities from different classes that were not inclusive. Three dependent measures used were frequency of observation intervals that students were engaged in academic responding, task management, and competing behaviors. Results showed no significant differences in academic responding and task management behaviors of students with and without disabilities enrolled in general education classes, significant differences between these groups on frequency of competing behaviors, no significant differences between students without disabilities on academic responding and task management, and significant differences between students without disabilities on frequency of competing behaviors.

Do We Know Enough to Plan for Transition? A National Survey of State Agencies Responsible for Services to Persons wtih Severe Handicaps

Transition of students with severe handicaps from school to community life has become a principle concern of parents, advocates, and professionals. The failure of students with disabilities to access appropriate vocational and residential services following school has highlighted the need for comprehensive transition planning at both an individual and systems level. Through interviews with state administrators of educational, vocational, and residential services, this study attempted to define the scope of the postschool service needs of individuals exiting public school programs on a national level. The results of the survey are discussed in terms of the implications for state agencies in effectively planning the transition of students with severe handicaps from school to postschool services.

Educating Students with Severe Disabilities in Their Neighborhood School The Utah Elementary Integration Model

The Utah Elementary Integration (UEI) Model, a federally funded model demonstration project, focused on providing a comprehensive and appropriate education for students with severe disabilities within their neighborhood elementary school. In this article we (a) review the rationale and data base for supporting neighborhood school placements, (b) provide an overview of UEI model components, (c) summarize data on the outcomes of model implementation, and (d) discuss issues related to the successful implementation of neighborhood school models. Outcome date are reported on several measures of adaptive behavior and social integration for participating students (n = 27), as well as on the reactions of the general education homeroom teachers who included the participating students with severe disabilities in their classrooms for part of the school day.

Comparison of the Instructional Contexts of Students with Severe Disabilities and Their Peers in General Education Classes.

This study examined the instructional contexts of six students with severe disabilities and six peers without disabilities enrolled in the same general education classes. The two groups of students were compared on (a) the extent to which they were the exclusive focus of instruction; (b) the amount of one-to-one, small group, and whole group instruction that they received and the amount of independent work they were asked to complete; (c) who delivered instruction; and (d) the types of instructional interactions that were directed toward them. Data were collected using The Code for Instructional Structure and Academic Response — Mainstream Version (MS-CISSAR; Carta, Greenwood, Schwartz & Miller, 1990). The results indicate that students with severe disabilities were much more likely than their typically developing peers to have instruction focused exclusively on them and to receive one-to-one instruction. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for educational programs for this group of students and future research.

A comparison of forward and concurrent chaining strategies in teaching laundromat skills to students with severe handicaps.

This study compared the relative efficiency of forward and concurrent chaining strategies in teaching the use of a commercial washing machine and laundry soap dispenser to four high school students with severe handicaps. Acquisition and maintenance of the laundromat skills were assessed through a multielement, alternating treatment within subject design. Results indicated that the concurrent chaining strategy was more efficient than forward chaining in facilitating acquisition of the activities. Four week and eight week follow-up probes indicated that concurrent chaining resulted in better maintenance of the activities. The implications of these results for teaching community activities and future research in building complex chains are discussed.