Robin Parks Ennis

Secondary Prevention Efforts at a Residential Facility for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Function-Based Check-in, Check-out

Check-in, check-out (CICO) is a secondary-tier intervention with proven utility for reducing problem behaviors and increasing responsiveness to primary-tier expectations of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). CICO has been investigated at the elementary and middle school levels in traditional school settings with students both with and without disabilities. This study seeks to extend this literature base by (a) investigating the utility of CICO in residential settings for students with emotional and behavior disorders, (b) investigating the role of function in responsiveness to CICO intervention efforts, and (c) using direct observation data and a multiple-baseline design to measure responsiveness across participants. Limitations and future directions also are discussed.

Existing Research and Future Directions for Self-Regulated Strategy Development With Students With and At Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) have academic deficits that affect their success in school. However, there are few research studies investigating what strategies work best for this population, especially in the area of writing. One promising intervention to support the writing skills of students with and at risk for E/BD is self-regulated strategy development (SRSD). SRSD is a six-stage explicit strategy instruction model that includes procedures for goal setting, self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement and can be generalized to a variety of writing tasks. This article summarizes the existing literature using SRSD with students with and at risk for E/BD, including 3 group design and 11 single-subject studies. Future directions for the field are outlined, including using teachers as interventionists, examining behavioral dependent variables, and conducting investigations within three-tiered models of positive behavioral interventions and supports.

Additional Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of the Student Risk Screening Scale at the High School Level: A Replication and Extension

This study reports findings from a validation study of the Student Risk Screening Scale for use with 9th- through 12th-grade students (N = 1854) attending a rural fringe school. Results indicated high internal consistency, test-retest stability, and inter-rater reliability. Predictive validity was established across two academic years, with Spring Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS) scores differentiating students with low-, moderate-, and high-risk status on office discipline referrals, grade point averages, and course failures during the following academic year. Teacher ratings evaluating students’ performance later in the instructional day were more predictive than teacher ratings evaluating students’ performance earlier in the instructional day. Educational implications, limitations, and future research directions are presented.

Secondary Prevention Efforts at the Middle School Level: An Application of the Behavior Education Program

In this study we examine the impact of the Behavior Education Program (BEP; Hawken, MacLeod, & Rawlings, 2007) with four middle school students who were not responsive to a comprehensive primary prevention program including academic, behavioral and social components. To extend this line of inquiry we (a) conducted a functional behavioral assessment prior to implementing the BEP and (b) employed a changing criterion design to determine if a functional relation could be established between the introduction of the BEP program and changes in student performance. Results suggest this intervention may be effective for students whose challenging behaviors are maintained by attention and escape. However, the variability in scores raises questions and concerns regarding the nature of the behavior change that may have occurred. Additional limitations and future direction are discussed.

Embedding the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Framework Into the Complex Array of Practices Within Alternative Education Settings A Decision-Making Process

Alternative education (AE) programs and schools usually serve distinct populations of students with educational disabilities and mental health or other needs. AE program staff often employ a range of curricula, interventions, and strategies that form an eclectic approach to addressing student needs. This may result in practices that are misaligned, contraindicated, or improperly implemented and lead to poor outcomes. In addition, this eclectic approach may not be implemented in an organized, tiered manner that ensures all students’ access to a continuum of supports and services. In this article, a decision-making process for staff in AE settings to adopt and embed positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) practices is presented. This process is rooted in the PBIS framework of systems, data, and practices, and in a public health model of team-based decision making. The authors submit that this approach could be used across a variety of AE program models.

Identifying Students for Secondary and Tertiary Prevention Efforts: How Do We Determine Which Students Have Tier 2 and Tier 3 Needs?

In comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered models, it is essential to have a systematic method for identifying students who need supports at Tier 2 or Tier 3. This article provides explicit information on how to use multiple sources of data to determine which students might benefit from these supports. First, the authors provide an overview of how to make an assessment schedule for all schoolwide data. Second, the authors outline how to create a blueprint for Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports in a given school, including a description of the strategy or practice; inclusionary criteria; data to monitor progress; and exit criteria. Last, the authors provide an overview of how to connect students to support and monitor their progress.

STOP and DARE: Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Persuasive Writing with Elementary Students with E/BD in a Residential Facility.

Self-regulated strategy development is an evidence-based practice for use with students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD). This study adds to the current research base by conducting the first investigation in a residential facility for students with E/BD and the first classwide investigation at the elementary level with students with E/BD. The STOP and DARE mnemonic was used to teach 16 students with E/BD persuasive writing over six-weeks of intervention. The intervention, viewed as socially acceptable by students and teachers, was implemented with high fidelity as measured by the interventionist and researchers. The intervention resulted in large effect sizes as compared with a control group (n = 9) for number of essay elements, overall quality, and total written words. Results generalized to the Writing Samples Subtest of the Woodcock Johnson. Limitations and future directions also are included.

Examining the Effects and Quality of Interventions Based on the Assessment of Contextual Variables A Meta-Analysis

Interventions based on the results of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) have been the topic of extensive research and, in certain cases, mandated for students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. There exist a wide variety of methods for conducting such assessments, with little consensus in the field. The purpose of this study was to conduct a review and meta-analysis of single-case design studies focusing on interventions based on the assessment of contextual variables (i.e., circumstances that form the setting for the behaviors). Results indicated that although most studies demonstrated positive effects that were corroborated by a variety of effect size measures, few met the majority of evidence-based quality indicators. Implications for future research are provided.

Lessons Learned from Implementing Self-Regulated Strategy Development with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Alternative Educational Settings

Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is an evidence-based intervention for use with students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). To date, there are nine studies investigating SRSD in alternative education settings, including self-contained day and residential schools, with 113 students with EBD in grades 3 through 12. A brief synthesis of this body of SRSD research is presented, which represents SRSD implementation in individualized, small-group, and class-wide formats using group and single-case research design methodology. Lessons learned from this research are presented to inform both practitioners and researchers, including guidelines for overcoming the unique barriers to SRSD implementation that students with EBD in alternative education settings may present. Lessons learned include the need for (a) developing strategies for increasing students’ academic engagement, (b) further addressing behavioral and academic needs, (c) overcoming issues of truancy and transience, (d) promoting maintenance and generalization, and (e) increasing teacher buy-in. Future directions for this line of research are also outlined.

Empowering Teachers with Low-Intensity Strategies to Support Academic Engagement: Implementation and Effects of Instructional Choice for Elementary Students in Inclusive Settings

Instructional choice is a low-intensity strategy that requires little preparation, is easy to implement, and supports content instruction in the classroom. In this study we explored the effectiveness of two types of instructional choice—across-task and within-task choices—implemented classwide during writing instruction by classroom teachers with limited university support in an inclusive first-grade classroom. Student participants were one boy (Neal) and one girl (Tina) who were identified using academic and behavioral screening procedures as needing more intensive supports in the classroom. Results established a functional relation between choice conditions and increases in academic engaged time and decreases in disruptive behavior for Tina, but not for Neal. Teachers functioned as both primary and reliability data collectors using momentary time sampling and implemented both choice conditions with high levels of fidelity. Social validity was assessed from the perspectives of all stakeholders. Limitations and future directions are discussed.