Kathrin E. Maki

Updated Meta-Analysis of Learner Control Within Educational Technology

Giving a student control over their learning has theoretical and intuitive appeal, but its effects are neither powerful nor consistent in the empirical literature base. This meta-analysis updated previous meta-analytic research by Niemiec, Sikorski, and Walberg by studying the overall effectiveness of providing learner control within educational technology, the characteristics of instruction along the continuum of learner control, and elements of the instructional environments that may play a role in the effectiveness of educational technology. The search terms identified 85 distinct articles, 18 of which met the inclusion criteria (29 effects were computed). The overall effect of including learner control within educational technology was almost zero (g = 0.05), and were also near zero when examining most characteristics of control and classroom contextual factors. Moderate effects were reported for providing learner control within social studies/history courses and for comprehensive technology instructional programs. The effects were larger for behavioral outcomes than academic outcomes, but both were small.

Learning disability identification consistency: The impact of methodology and student evaluation data.

Learning disability (LD) identification has long been controversial and has undergone substantive reform. This study examined the consistency of school psychologists’ LD identification decisions across three identification methods and across student evaluation data conclusiveness levels. Data were collected from 376 practicing school psychologists from 22 states. Eighty-three percent (n = 313) of participants were female. Ninety-one percent (n = 342) of participants identified as Caucasian, 4% (n = 15) Latino, 1.3% (n = 5) African American, .8% (n = 3) Asian/Pacific Islander, .3% (n = 1) Native American/Alaskan Native, and 1.3% (n = 5) 2 or more races. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 9 conditions and used 1 type of identification method and examined 1 type of student evaluation data to determine if a student should be identified with LD. Results showed that overall identification consistency was somewhat low (73.7%, &kgr; = .45) There were no differences in identification consistency across identification methods &khgr;2(2, N = 376) = 3.78, p = .151, but there were differences in identification consistency across conclusiveness levels of student evaluation data &khgr;2(2, N = 376) = 50.40, p = .0001. Implications for practice, training, and research are also discussed, including the need of school psychologists to consider psychometric issues in LD identification as well as the need to further research the impact of student data conclusiveness in LD identification.

Problem Analysis at Tier 2: Using Data to Find the Category of the Problem

The current chapter discusses research regarding methods to focus reading and mathematics interventions at tier 2. A problem analysis model for reading that involves targeting the most fundamental skill is presented in which the student struggles by focusing on the broad categories of comprehension, fluency, decoding, and phonemic awareness. Data from the Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites Project are then presented in which he problem analysis framework was used to target interventions for 175 second- and third-grade students. The data suggested that targeting the intervention based on problem analysis of the four broad areas led to more growth than a comprehensive intervention that was implemented by the school, and more growth than students who were above fall benchmark standards (tier 1). However, these positive results were also dependent on effective grade-level teams to conduct the problem analysis, an easy-to-use data warehouse system, a data manager to facilitate the problem analysis, implementation integrity of the interventions, and quality core instruction.

State Special Education Criteria for Identifying Intellectual Disability: A Review Following Revised Diagnostic Criteria and Rosa's Law.

Across the last century, the condition known as intellectual disability (ID) has been labeled by assorted terms, its key features have varied, and recommendations for its identification have been divided. In light of recent changes to the diagnostic criteria for ID and to federal legislation, this study was designed to compile and summarize information about the state special education criteria for this condition and its associated assessment process, as they guide school-based and associated practices. Authors independently double-coded components of all ID regulations and guidelines from the 50 United States and the District of Columbia in pairs, which was then checked and corrected for inconsistencies. A total of 10% of states provided only the federal definition of ID. Intellectual disability was the most common term used across states, but it was used by only 63% of them. To meet the intellectual deficit criterion, 37% of states referenced a fixed IQ cutoff, and 49% referred to a flexible IQ cutoff. In contrast, most states did not refer to what score types or criteria should be referenced when identifying adaptive behavior deficits. The influence of the recently updated diagnostic criteria for ID and federal legislation was evident, as several patterns of changes were apparent since the last studies of this type. The assessment in intellectual functioning was more well defined than the assessment of adaptive behavior. Health-related features associated with ID were not commonly referenced. These results can inform school psychology practice, training, and related research.

Effect of Modifying Intervention Set Size with Acquisition Rate Data While Practicing Single-Digit Multiplication Facts.

Incremental rehearsal (IR) has consistently led to effective retention of newly learned material, including math facts. The number of new items taught during one intervention session, called the intervention set, could be used to individualize the intervention. The appropriate amount of information that a student can rehearse and later recall during one intervention session is called the acquisition rate (AR). The current study taught single-digit multiplication facts with factors of 6, 7, and 8 to 55 third- and fourth-grade students. Each student was randomly assigned to be taught two multiplication math facts, eight multiplication math facts, or a set size determined by each student’s AR. The average AR was 4.05 (SD = 0.71). Set size led to a significant and large effect on retention, percentage of multiplication math facts retained, and efficiency as computed by math facts retained per minute of intervention time. IR appeared to be an effective intervention when AR data were used to determine the intervention set size, and it was more efficient to do so.

Comparison of progress monitoring data from general outcome measures and specific subskill mastery measures for reading

Interventionists often monitor the progress of students receiving supplemental interventions with general outcome measures (GOMs) such as curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R). However, some researchers have suggested that interventionists should collect data more closely related to instructional targets, specific subskill mastery measures (SSMMs) because outcomes from GOMs such as CBM-R may not be sufficiently sensitive to gauge intervention effects. In turn, interventionists may prematurely terminate an effective intervention or continue to deliver an ineffective intervention if they do not monitor student progress with the appropriate measure. However, such recommendations are based upon expert opinion or studies with serious methodological shortcomings. We used multi-variate multilevel modeling to compare pre-intervention intercepts and intervention slopes between GOM and SSMM data collected concurrently in a sample of 96 first, 44 second, and 53 third grade students receiving tier 2 phonics interventions. Statistically significant differences were observed between slopes from SSMM consonant-vowel-consonant words and CBM-R data. Statistically significant differences in slopes were not observed for consonant blend, digraph or consonant-vowel-consonant-silent e (CVCe) SSMMs. Results suggest that using word lists to monitor student response to instruction for early struggling readers is beneficial but as students are exposed to more complex phonetic patterns, the distinction between SSMMs and CBM-R become less meaningful.

The Relationship Between Acquisition Rate for Words and Working Memory, Short-Term Memory, and Reading Skills: Aptitude-by-Treatment or Skill-by-Treatment Interaction?

The amount of information that students successfully learn and later recall from each intervention session is limited and is called the acquisition rate (AR). Research has consistently supported the effects of modifying intervention set sizes with AR data, but research with AR is in its infancy. The current study compared the relationship between AR while learning words with working memory, short-term memory, and reading skills. Participants were 52 fourth- and fifth-grade students with and without learning disabilities (LDs). Working memory (r = .34), short-term memory (r = .41), and word reading skills (r = .57) all moderately correlated with AR, but word reading skills accounted for 32% of the variance and the other two scores added little unique variance. The corrected correlation coefficients were higher for the word reading with AR than with any other variable and were essentially equal for both groups (r = .73 for average readers and r = .75 for students with an LD in reading). Thus, the data not only support the validity of making decisions with AR data but also suggest that AR is more consistent with a skill-by-treatment interaction framework than an aptitude-by-treatment interaction approach. Potential applications, directions for future research, and limitations are discussed.

Contributions of the Components of Phonemic Awareness to Letter-Sound Knowledge With Kindergarten Students in High-Poverty Urban Elementary Schools

Abstract Phonemic awareness (PA) includes rhyming, phoneme isolation, blending, and segmenting, but the relative importance of each component is unclear, especially for students from high-poverty areas. The current study examined the relationship between components of PA and an early literacy measure among 192 kindergarten students from high-poverty urban elementary schools. A researcher assessed the students using the Quick Phonemic Awareness Assessment and a measure of letter-sound knowledge (LSK). The results showed that PA was highly correlated with LSK. Initial phoneme isolation, blending, and segmenting contributed significant variance to LSK, but rhyming did not. The data supported the Quick Phonemic Awareness Assessment as a measure of PA among an urban population but questioned the importance of rhyming as a predictive component of PA.

School Psychologists’ Confidence in Learning Disability Identification Decisions

Many school psychologists spend a large portion of their time conducting evaluations for special education, but school psychologists’ confidence in learning disability (learning disability[ies] [LD]) identification has not been examined experimentally. This study examined differences in 376 school psychologists’ confidence in their identification decisions across LD identification methods, student evaluation data conclusiveness level, school psychologist experience, identification consistency, and identification methods used in practice, preferred identification methods, and identification methods taught in graduate school. The school psychologists reported lower levels of confidence when using response to intervention (RtI) compared with ability-achievement discrepancy, and they reported lower levels of confidence when student data were inconclusive compared with when student data were conclusive that a student did not have LD. Higher levels of experience and training did not increase the likelihood of greater confidence compared with lower levels of experience and training. However, school psychologists who reported “somewhat confident ratings” were more likely to make inconsistent identification decisions than school psychologists who reported “not very confident” ratings. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Using Performance Feedback of Reciprocal Teaching Strategies to Increase Reading Comprehension Strategy Use With Seventh Grade Students With Comprehension Difficulties

The current study used a multiple-baseline design to examine the effect of providing performance feedback on comprehension strategy use and reading comprehension. The participants were four seventh grade students with comprehension difficulties. The students were taught the reciprocal teaching comprehension strategies of generating questions, summarizing, clarifying, and predicting. Responses to a post-reading interview were coded to identify how well the students implemented the strategies, and this information was then used to provide performance feedback to the students. The use of the comprehension strategies and subsequent reading comprehension increased after receiving the feedback. Directions for practice and future research are included. Subscribe to LDMJ