Laura D. Fredrick

The Effect of Teacher Coaching with Performance Feedback on Behavior-Specific Praise in Inclusion Classrooms

This study extends teacher coaching with written performance feedback as a means to increase behavior-specific praise statements (BSPS) in inclusion classrooms at the high school level. Three inclusion math teachers increased their use of BSPS during mathematics instruction. On-task intervals and frequency of BSPS were measured throughout the study. The study provides support for teacher coaching with performance feedback as an effective method for teacher training. Favorable teacher responses indicate it may be an acceptable source of professional development. Future researchers may explore introducing other teaching strategies and feedback on other dependent variables into the teacher coaching sessions. Limitations are inconclusive findings on the effectiveness of BSPS to influence student time on-task. Future research should include a more sensitive, systematic measurement of on-task and disruptive behaviors.

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF MULTIPLY CONTROLLED INAPPROPRIATE MEALTIME BEHAVIOR

Functional analyses identified children whose inappropriate mealtime behavior was maintained by escape and adult attention. Function-based extinction procedures were tested individually and in combination. Attention extinction alone did not result in decreases in inappropriate mealtime behavior or a significant increase in acceptance. By contrast, escape extinction alone resulted in a decrease in inappropriate mealtime behavior and an increase in acceptance. However, inappropriate mealtime behavior did not decrease to clinically acceptable levels. A combined extinction technique (i.e., escape and attention extinction) resulted in a decrease in inappropriate mealtime behavior to clinically acceptable levels and high and stable acceptance.

Use of self-operated auditory prompts by workers with moderate mental retardation to transition independently through vocational tasks

The use of single- and multiple-word self-operated auditory prompting systems by five school-age workers with moderate mental retardation to independently transition between an ordered chain of tasks was examined in two vocational settings. The effectiveness of single- and multiple-word self-operated auditory prompts was assessed using an alternating treatment design within a multiple probe across settings. Analysis of the data revealed a significant effect on the number of independent task changes made by workers when using the single- or multiple-word auditory prompting system. When prompting systems were compared with one another, no significant differences were found in the number of independent task changes made by workers. Self-operated auditory prompts served as the stimulus control for desired behavior, they were effective for teaching workers with moderate mental retardation to manage their own task change behavior, and their use generalized across settings without additional training.

Vocabulary Instruction through Books Read in American Sign Language for English-Language Learners with Hearing Loss.

Reading to children improves vocabulary acquisition through incidental exposure, and it is a best practice for parents and teachers of children who can hear. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing are at risk for not learning vocabulary as such. This article describes a procedure for using books read on DVD in American Sign Language with English-language learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. This research examined the effectiveness of DVDs as a tool to increase a student’s production of the printed word in American Sign Language. The researchers used expository books with math vocabulary in a multiple-baseline design (ABC) across three sets of five vocabulary words. Four participants aged 10 to 12 with severe to profound hearing loss engaged in vocabulary activities using the DVD math expository books read through American Sign Language. DVDs alone were less effective for increasing vocabulary than when accompanied with preteaching of the target vocabulary words.

Concept Mastery Routines to Teach Social Skills to Elementary Children with High Functioning Autism.

Children with autism are included in general education classrooms for exposure to appropriate social models; however, simply placing children with autism with typical peers is insufficient for promoting desired gains in social skills. A multiple baseline design was used to explore the effects of concept mastery routines (CMR) on social skills for four elementary-age boys with high functioning autism. Visual and non-parametric analyses support the conclusion that small group instruction with typical peers via the CMR was effective for increasing responses, initiations, and recognition of emotional states. The skills taught in small groups generalized when the visual strategy of the completed concept diagram was taken to another setting. Most importantly, the four boys experienced improved social status following intervention.

Components of Visual Literacy: Teaching Logos.

Definitions of literacy that focus solely on reading words provide too narrow a framework for many students with severe disabilities. Obtaining information from the environment may be accomplished in a variety of modes, such as visual literacy, which is the ability to discern meaning conveyed through images. A component of visual literacy is picture reading. This study demonstrates the teaching of logo reading through time delay as an additional component of visual literacy. Visual literacy is discussed as a primary means of obtaining information for some students and as an additional means of literacy for students who can also learn to read Words.

Using a Three-Step Decoding Strategy With Constant Time Delay to Teach Word Reading to Students With Mild and Moderate Mental Retardation

The use of a three-step decoding strategy with constant time delay for teaching decoding and word reading to students with mild and moderate mental retardation was investigated in this study. A multiple probe design was used to examine the percentage of words correctly decoded and read as well as the percentage of sounds correctly decoded. The data indicate that all five students learned to read words using the three-step decoding strategy with constant time delay. This was replicated with increased learning efficiency using a second set of phonetically similar words. Implications of this study on phonological memory and reading ability are discussed.

Check In/Check out: Effects on Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders with Attention- or Escape-Maintained Behavior in a Residential Facility.

Check In/Check Out (CICO) is a secondary tier intervention for those students who are not responsive to universal tier, school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. The present study extended the implementation of CICO to six students with emotional and behavioral disorders in a residential facility whose behaviors were maintained by either attention or escape. Results of a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design indicate that the mean percentage of problem behavior improved for two of three students with attention-maintained behavior and two of three students with escape-maintained behavior. Future directions and limitations of the research are addressed.

A Randomized Control Study of Instructional Approaches for Struggling Adult Readers

Abstract This study measured the effectiveness of various instructional approaches on the reading outcomes of 198 adults who read single words at the 3.0 through 5.9 grade equivalency levels. The students were randomly assigned to one of the following interventions: Decoding and Fluency; Decoding, Comprehension, and Fluency; Decoding, Comprehension, Fluency, and Extensive Reading; Extensive Reading; and a Control/Comparison approach. The Control/Comparison approach employed a curriculum common to community-based adult literacy programs, and the Extensive Reading approach focused on wide exposure to literature. The Fluency component was a guided repeated oral reading approach, and the Decoding/Comprehension components were SRA/McGraw-Hill Direct Instruction Corrective Reading Programs. Results indicated continued weaknesses in and poor integration of participants’ skills. Although students made significant gains independent of reading instruction group, all improvements were associated with small effect sizes. When reading instruction group was considered, only one significant finding was detected, with the Comparison/Control group, the Decoding and Fluency group, and the Decoding, Comprehension, Extensive Reading, and Fluency group showing stronger word attack outcomes than the Extensive Reading group.

Impact of Mindfulness Training on the Behavior of Elementary Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder

This study investigated the effects of mindfulness training on the behavior of four 8-year-old boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. A multiple baseline design was used to investigate whether a multisession mindfulness intervention resulted in increased on-task behaviors in the classroom. Graphic analysis of observation data indicated that the intervention was effective in increasing the percentage of intervals of on-task behavior. In addition, parent and teacher ratings on the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition (BASC-2) generally indicated a decrease in hyperactive behaviors. Conversely, significant changes in pre- and posttest ratings on the BASC-2 Attention Problems Scale were generally not observed.