Trina D. Spencer

Evidence-based Practice: A Framework for Making Effective Decisions

The research to practice gap in education has been a long-standing concern. The enactment of No Child Left Behind brought increased emphasis on the value of using scientifically based instructional practices to improve educational outcomes. It also brought education into the broader evidence-based practice movement that started in medicine and has spread across a number of human service disciplines. Although the term evidence-based practice has become ubiquitous in education, there is no common agreement about what it means. In this paper, we offer a definition of evidence-based practice, provide a rationale for it, and discuss some of the main tenants of evidence-based practice. Additionally, we describe a decision-making model that features the relationships between the critical sources of influence and the chief responsibilities of evidence-based practitioners.

The Effect of a Narrative Intervention on Story Retelling and Personal Story Generation Skills of Preschoolers With Risk Factors and Narrative Language Delays

Narration, or storytelling, is an important aspect of language. Narrative skills have academic and social importance. This study evaluated the effects of a narrative intervention on story retelling and personal story generation skills of preschoolers with risk factors and narrative language delays. Narrative intervention was delivered in a small group arrangement, and materials, activities, and assistance were systematically adjusted within sessions to facilitate increasingly independent practice of oral narration. Participants were 5 preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start classroom who performed below average on two narrative language tasks. Participants made substantial gains in narrative retelling, demonstrated improved preintervention to postintervention scores for personal story generations, and maintained improvements when assessed following a 2-week break. These results have several implications for practice, including narrative intervention’s versatility with a range of children from diverse backgrounds and its use of economic and efficient classroom-based small group formats for intervention.

Systematic Individualized Narrative Language Intervention on the Personal Narratives of Children With Autism

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an individualized, systematic language intervention on the personal narratives of children with autism. METHOD A single-subject, multiple-baseline design across participants and behaviors was used to examine the effect of the intervention on language features of personal narratives. Three 6- to 8-year-old boys with autism participated in 12 individual intervention sessions that targeted 2-3 story grammar elements (e.g., problem, plan) and 3-4 linguistic complexity elements (e.g., causal subordination, adverbs) selected from each participants baseline performance. Intervention involved repeated retellings of customized model narratives and the generation of personal narratives with a systematic reduction of visual and verbal scaffolding. Independent personal narratives generated at the end of each baseline, intervention, and maintenance session were analyzed for presence and sophistication of targeted features. RESULTS Graphical and statistical results showed immediate improvement in targeted language features as a function of intervention. There was mixed evidence of maintenance 2 and 7 weeks after intervention. CONCLUSION Children with autism can benefit from an individualized, systematic intervention targeting specific narrative language features. Greater intensity of intervention may be needed to gain enduring effects for some language features.

The Evidence-Based Practice of Applied Behavior Analysis

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a model of professional decision-making in which practitioners integrate the best available evidence with client values/context and clinical expertise in order to provide services for their clients. This framework provides behavior analysts with a structure for pervasive use of the best available evidence in the complex settings in which they work. This structure recognizes the need for clear and explicit understanding of the strength of evidence supporting intervention options, the important contextual factors including client values that contribute to decision making, and the key role of clinical expertise in the conceptualization, intervention, and evaluation of cases. Opening the discussion of EBP in this journal, Smith (The Behavior Analyst, 36, 7–33, 2013) raised several key issues related to EBP and applied behavior analysis (ABA). The purpose of this paper is to respond to Smith’s arguments and extend the discussion of the relevant issues. Although we support many of Smith’s (The Behavior Analyst, 36, 7–33, 2013) points, we contend that Smith’s definition of EBP is significantly narrower than definitions that are used in professions with long histories of EBP and that this narrowness conflicts with the principles that drive applied behavior analytic practice. We offer a definition and framework for EBP that aligns with the foundations of ABA and is consistent with well-established definitions of EBP in medicine, psychology, and other professions. In addition to supporting the systematic use of research evidence in behavior analytic decision making, this definition can promote clear communication about treatment decisions across disciplines and with important outside institutions such as insurance companies and granting agencies.

Effects of an Individualized Narrative Intervention on Children’s Storytelling and Comprehension Skills:

Narrative skills that are important for preschoolers include retelling stories, telling personal stories, and answering questions about stories. Narrative abilities form the foundation of reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an individually delivered language intervention on the narrative skills of preschoolers with developmental disabilities. Five preschoolers attending Head Start and participating in special education received 24 sessions of intervention each lasting 10 to 15 min. A multiple baseline, multiple probe experimental design was used to investigate the effects of the intervention, which incorporated visual supports (e.g., icons and pictures) and retell and personal storytelling practice, on story retells, personal stories, and story comprehension. Improvements on all three measures were related to the intervention. Parents and teachers reported that the storytelling activities were engaging, enjoyable, and produced improvements in the children’s language skills.

Small Groups, Big Gains: Efficacy of a Tier 2 Phonological Awareness Intervention With Preschoolers With Early Literacy Deficits

PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a phonological awareness (PA) intervention, designed for Tier 2 instruction in a Response to Intervention (RTI) model, delivered to small groups of preschoolers. METHOD A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention on low-income preschool childrens PA skills. A trained interventionist delivered small group sessions 3 to 4 days a week and ensured children received frequent opportunities to respond and contingent feedback. Participants received 28 to 36 lessons that lasted about 10 min each and focused on PA and alphabet knowledge. Initiation of intervention was staggered across 3 triads, and 7 children completed the study. RESULTS The intervention produced consistent gains on weekly progress monitoring assessments of the primary outcome measure for first sound identification (First Sound Fluency). Most children also demonstrated gains on other measures of PA and alphabet knowledge. CONCLUSIONS Results provide support for the application of a small group intervention consistent with an RTI framework and document the potential benefits of the intervention to learners who need early literacy instruction beyond the core curriculum.

Large group narrative intervention in Head Start preschools: Implications for response to intervention

This study investigated the effect of a large group narrative intervention on diverse preschoolers’ narrative language skills with aims to explore questions of treatment efficacy and differential response to intervention. A quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest comparison group research design was employed with 71 preschool children. Classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and comparison conditions. Intervention consisted of explicit teaching of narrative structure via repeated story retell practice, illustrations and icons, and peer mediation. Children’s narrative language and comprehension were assessed at Pretest, Posttest, and 4 weeks after treatment. Statistically significant differences between treatment and comparison groups were found on retell and story comprehension measures. A priori classification criteria resulted in 28 percent of the participants identified as Minimal Responders on the story retell measure and 19 percent as Minimal Responders on the story comprehension measure. Children who were dual-language learners did not have a different pattern of response than monolingual English speakers. Low-intensity narrative intervention delivered to a large group of children was efficacious and can serve as a targeted language intervention for use within preschool classrooms. A culturally and linguistically appropriate, dynamic approach to assessment identified children for whom intensified intervention would be recommended.

Predicting Reading Difficulty in First Grade Using Dynamic Assessment of Decoding in Early Kindergarten A Large-Scale Longitudinal Study

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the classification accuracy of early static prereading measures and early dynamic assessment reading measures administered to 600 kindergarten students. At the beginning of kindergarten, all of the participants were administered two commonly used static prereading measures. The participants were then administered either a dynamic assessment featuring an onset-rime decoding strategy or a dynamic assessment featuring a sound-by-sound strategy. At the end of first grade, those same participants’ reading ability was assessed using multiple reading measures. Results indicated that the dynamic assessments yielded significantly higher classification accuracy over the static measures, but that the classification accuracy of the two dynamic assessments did not differ significantly. Sensitivity for the static measures was less than 80%, and specificity ranged from 33% to 51%. The sensitivity and specificity for the dynamic assessments was greater than 80% for all children, with the exception of specificity for the Hispanic children, which was at or greater than 70%. Results also indicated that the combination of static and dynamic measures did not improve the classification accuracy over the dynamic assessments alone. Dynamic assessment appears to be a promising approach to classifying young children at risk for future reading difficulty.

Effects of a Tier 3 Phonological Awareness Intervention on Preschoolers’ Emergent Literacy

This multiple baseline design study examined the effects of a Tier 3 early literacy intervention on low-income preschool children’s phonological awareness (PA). Seven preschool children who did not make progress on identifying first sounds in words during a previous Tier 2 intervention participated in a more intensive Tier 3 intervention. Children listened to stories and participated in early literacy activities led by an interventionist for approximately 15 min, 3 to 4 days per week for up to 8 weeks. Weekly progress monitoring data showed that five of seven children made progress on first sound identification as a result of the Tier 3 intervention. Children who made progress on first sound identification generally demonstrated gains on more distal measures of PA. Results demonstrate the potential benefit of providing children with multiple tiers of instruction to facilitate academic success.

A Systematic Review of Brief Functional Analysis Methodology with Typically Developing Children

Brief functional analysis (BFA) is an abbreviated assessment methodology derived from traditional extended functional analysis methods. BFAs are often conducted when time constraints in clinics, schools or homes are of concern. While BFAs have been used extensively to identify the function of problem behavior for children with disabilities, their utility with typically developing children has been questioned. This systematic review evaluates empirical studies, in which BFAs were employed with typically developing children to identify function of problem behavior. Twelve articles were reviewed and coded for quality indicators based on specific single-subject design criteria. Nine studies were considered to have acceptable quality and were summarized according to practice dimensions such as settings, therapists, problem behavior, and behavioral functions. Results suggest that BFA meets the standards for an empirically supported assessment methodology for typically developing children. Evidence is strongest for parents and teachers to serve as therapists when disruptive behavior is of concern.