Educational Psychology and Special Education Dissertations

Increasing Effective Self-Advocacy Skills in Elementary Age Children with Physical Disabilities

Mary Jane T. Avant — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:35:34 PDT

For students with physical and health disabilities, the development of self-advocacy skills is critical to their future success. Characteristics that may inhibit the development of self-advocacy skills in this population include reliance on others for assistance across multiple areas requiring physical abilities, deficits in communication skills, and the development of learned helplessness. Instruction in self-advocacy is needed for this population of students in order to maximize future success and decrease learned helplessness (Angell, Stoner, and Fulk, 2010; Macdonald & Block, 2005; Roberts, 2007). For this study, the researcher provided instruction to four elementary age students with physical disabilities who exhibited characteristics of learned helplessness, including ineffective initiation of requests. Students used speech, sign, or gestures as their primary form of communication, and were able to use this form of communication as a reliable means of response during typical classroom activities, including social interactions and when responding to questions. When they needed to initiate a request for required materials during classroom activities, they made no response, ineffectively gestured, or made unrelated comments when prompted to complete an activity. Students who initiated requests ≤ 50% of presented opportunities were eligible to participate in this study.

The intervention consisted of combined use of environmental arrangement and the system of least prompts in a multiprobe multiple baseline across participants design. Environmental arrangement strategies included missing materials or materials that were out of reach. The system of least prompts involved the following levels of prompting: (a) independent, (b) verbal – restatement of direction, (c) indirect verbal, and (d) verbal/model. Analysis of the data indicated that three of the four students increased their effective initiation of requests during intervention, and generalized this skill to new materials and novel settings. The fourth student exhibited noncompliant behaviors that interfered with his ability to reach criteria during intervention. These results support the effectiveness of this intervention in decreasing learned helplessness and increasing the self-advocacy skill of initiating requests with students with physical disabilities who have no interfering behaviors.

Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders in a Residential School

Robin Parks Ennis — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:36:01 PDT

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) have academic deficits that affect their success in school; however, few researchers have investigated 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. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an SRSD persuasive writing intervention on the writing achievement of 44 students in a residential school. Results of a piecewise hierarchical linear modeling growth curve analysis suggest statistically significant gains were made over the course of the intervention in writing (quality, correct word sequences, and essay elements) and academic engagement. Effects also generalized to writing achievement measures. In addition, teachers implemented the intervention with high fidelity, and both students and teachers rated the intervention as socially acceptable, with higher ratings postintervention.

What is the Impact of Self-Management on Daily Net Calories Consumed by Women Who are Overweight?

Chad A. Dollar — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:41:09 PST

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of self-management on daily net calories consumed by women who are overweight. Four white females between the ages of 35 and 41 with a self-reported BMI between 25 and 29.9 completed this study. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to demonstrate a functional relation between the independent variable (i.e., self-management) and the dependent variable (i.e., net calories consumed) for each participant. Three of the four participants decreased their daily net calories consumed after beginning the self-management intervention. This was the first single case research study to examine the effectiveness of self-management on daily net calories consumed (i.e., caloric intake minus caloric expenditure) and extended previous literature on white females who were overweight.

Word Reading Strategy Development of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Preschoolers

Victoria Burke — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:16:10 PST

WORD READING STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT OF DEAF
AND HARD-OF-HEARING PRESCHOOLERS

Victoria Burke

Siegler’s (1996) overlapping waves model of strategy development applied to reading posits that children use multiple strategies to read words from the earliest stage of reading development, that these strategies coexist over a long period of time, and that experience results in gradual change in the strategies children use and the effectiveness with which they are executed. Phonological recoding is one of the most effective early developing reading strategies and is predictive of future reading success for hearing children (Ehri, 2005; Juel & Mindencupp, 2000; Share & Gur, 1999). However, less is known regarding the extent to which young children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) develop and use phonological strategies to read words. Due to technological advances such as cochlear implants and digital hearing aids, many DHH children have sufficient functional hearing to be able to perceive and represent spoken language. For these children, beginning reading strategies may resemble those of hearing children (Geers, Tobey, Moog, & Brenner, 2008; Lederberg, Schick, & Spencer, in press). The purpose of this study was to describe changes in the word reading strategies of 15 DHH preschoolers with functional hearing. These children received explicit instruction in alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and early reading strategies in a year-long intervention. Instruction was videotaped and children’s overt behavior while independently reading words was coded for reading strategy and accuracy. The preschoolers used multiple reading strategies at all times including two phonological recoding strategies (segmenting phonemes only, segmenting and blending phonemes) and retrieval. Gradual change was observed in strategy choice, execution, and accuracy. Children’s use of segmenting only decreased while segmenting and blending phonemes increased between the beginning and middle of the year. Retrieval use increased between the middle and end of the year. Execution of phonological strategies gradually improved over the year. These results suggest young DHH children who have functional hearing develop and use strategies in a manner similar to hearing children and benefit from explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle.

Technical and Applied Features of Functional Assessments and Behavioral Intervention Plans

Shannon M. Hawkins — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:41:24 PDT

ABSTRACT

TECHNICAL AND APPLIED FEATURES OF FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS AND BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLANS

Shannon M. Hawkins

When conducted correctly, functional behavior assessments (FBAs) can help professionals intervene with problem behavior using function-based interventions. Despite the fact that researchers have shown that effective interventions are based on function, recent investigators have found that most behavioral intervention plans (BIPs) are written without regard to the function of students’ problem behaviors as documented in their FBAs. This study was conducted to examine the overall technical adequacy of FBAs and BIPs within one educational system to evaluate reliance on the outcomes of FBAs in the development of BIPs. The technical and applied features of a randomly selected sample of 134 FBA/BIPs of students with disabilities, ages 3-21 years, who were receiving services due to their severe emotional and behavioral disorders (SEBD) or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) within the Georgia Network of Educational and Therapeutic Services (GNETS) were analyzed. In addition, similarities and differences between function-based strategies specified in BIPs were examined. Logistic regression was used to reveal the probability that a given behavioral function can predict which intervention(s) might be chosen. A series of chi-square tests of independence and a multinomial logistic regression model were used to examine how BIP component variables, demographic variables, behavioral function variables, and behavioral intervention variables related to each other statistically. Components described as critical in research literature for conducting FBAs and developing BIPs were absent from a significant number of the student files. Results suggest few of the prescribed interventions were likely to be related to function. The findings extend research on FBAs and BIPs, particularly as they are used with students with SEBD and autism, documenting that a significant number of BIPs are developed without regard of the function of the problem behavior.

The Impact of Manipulatives on Students’ Performance on Money Word Problems

Jessica Luke — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:50:44 PDT

Jaye K. Luke

Numeracy skills are needed for daily living. For example, time management and budgeting are tasks that adults face on a frequent basis. Instruction for numeracy skills begins early and continues throughout childhood. Obtaining numeracy skills is difficult for some students. For example, there may be an inadequate fit between the student’s knowledge and the design of the instruction, the student may be unable to select an appropriate strategy for solving the problem, or the student may have a learning disability. Students with a learning disability comprise approximately 40% of identified children with disabilities who receive special education services (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics helps teachers mediate the difficulties students may have in math. The council recommends problem solving and representation with physical objects as a teaching method. Chapter 1 presents a literature review on children with a learning disability, the use of manipulatives, and problem solving. The literature review indicates that children with a learning disability are poor problem solvers, but that further research is needed to investigate best instructional strategies. Chapter 2 presents a study on the impact of manipulatives on the accurate completion of money word problems. Three populations were included: adults who struggle with numeracy (n = 20), children with a learning disability (n = 20), and children who are typically developing (n = 23). Participants were administered a measure of 10 money word problems and were asked to solve them without the use of manipulatives. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of two groups: perceptually rich and perceptually bland manipulatives. Results indicate that none of the participants performed better with manipulatives than they performed without manipulatives. There was an interaction of Condition x Type of participant with the participants with a learning disability in the bland condition performing significantly worse than the other participants. More research is warranted to understand the impact of manipulative use in mathematics instruction for adults who struggle with numeracy, children with a learning disability, and children who are typically developing.

Effects of Teacher-mediated Repeated Viewings of Stories in American Sign Language on Classifier Production of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Jennifer BEAL-ALVAREZ — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:42:42 PDT

Students who are deaf and use sign language frequently have language delays that affect their literacy skills. Students who use American Sign Language (ASL) often lack fluent language models in both the home and school settings, delaying both the development of a first language and the development of literacy in printed English. Mediated and scaffolded instruction presented by a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO; Vygotsky, 1978, 1994) may facilitate acquisition of a first foundational language. Repeated viewings of fluent ASL models on DVDs paired with adult mediation has resulted in increases in vocabulary skills for DHH students who used ASL (Cannon, Fredrick, & Easterbrooks, 2010; Golos, 2010; Mueller & Hurtig, 2010). Classifiers are a syntactic sub-category of ASL vocabulary that provides a critical link between ASL and the meaning of English phrases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of teacher-mediated repeated viewings of ASL stories on DHH students’ classifier production during narrative retells. This study included 10 student participants in second, third, and fourth grades and three teacher participants from an urban day school for students who are DHH. The researcher used a multiple baseline across participants design followed by visual analysis and calculation of the percentage of non-overlapping data (PND; Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Casto, 1987) to examine the effects of the intervention. All students increased their classifier production during narrative retells following a combination of teacher mediation paired with repeated viewings of ASL models.

Sources of Support and Family Quality of Life of Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren With and Without Disabilities

Karen E. Kresak — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:01:34 PST

Researchers have examined sources of support as well as family quality of life of parents raising children with disabilities (Brown, MacAdam-Crisp, Wang, & Iarocci, 2006; Darling & Gallagher, 2004; Davis & Gavidia-Payne, 2009; Zuna, Turnbull, & Summers, 2009). Scant research on grandparents raising grandchildren with disabilities has been conducted; an examination of sources of support and family quality of life of grandparents raising grandchildren is lacking in the literature. This study examined the sources of support and quality of life of 50 grandmother-headed families. Comparative analyses revealed that there were significant differences between grandmothers raising grandchildren with and without disabilities in regard to sources of support and family quality of life. Informal support was significantly higher for grandmothers raising grandchildren without disabilities. In addition, grandmothers raising grandchildren without disabilities rated satisfaction with all aspects of family quality of life except parenting as significantly higher than grandmothers raising grandchildren with disabilities. Correlational analyses showed a moderate correlation between sources of support and family quality of life for both groups of grandmothers. While total informal social support was significantly correlated with satisfaction ratings of family quality of life for both groups of grandmothers, total formal support was significantly correlated with satisfaction ratings of family quality of life only for grandmothers raising grandchildren with disabilities. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that there was a significant relationship between presence ofchild disability and satisfaction ratings of family quality of life. No significant relationship was found between presence of child disability and sources of support.

Using Empirically Validated Reading Strategies to Improve Middle School Students' Reading Fluency of classroom Textbooks

Amy C. Scarborough — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:09:14 PDT

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2007), 27% of the nation’s 8th grade population scored below the basic reading level in 2006-2007. Reading fluency strategies are a viable practice for improving reading achievement yet seldom are they incorporated into the 8th grade curriculum. To be effective, passages used in reading fluency strategies should be at the students’ instructional reading level (Daly, Persampieri, et al., 2005; Welsch, 2007). However, if increased oral reading fluency gained at the instructional reading level fails to generalize to content-area text that a student is required to read, the gain is not clinically significant, as it does not allow the student access to required reading. Stahl and Heubach (2006) recommended providing instruction in more difficult material while providing a strong degree of support. In this study, four middle school students reading one to two years below grade level received strong support for increasing reading fluency while using their social studies textbook. The intervention package consisted of listening passage preview, repeated reading, phrase-drill error correction, and performance feedback with student charting. Two research questions guided this study: (a) What are the effects of a comprehensive treatment package consisting of commonly utilized strategies for improving oral reading fluency on middle school students’ oral reading fluency using their required grade-level social studies textbooks? and (b) to what extent does performance generalize to required literature textbook passages and passages from CRCT Coach in Science (2002) and CRCT Coach in Social Studies (2002)? A multiple probe across participants design was used to answer these questions. Visual analysis of graphically displayed single-case data revealed that the multicomponent reading intervention positively affected student performance on intervention and generalization passages. The results of this study are promising, and given that reading content-area text is the core of education in middle school, further research is necessary.

Predictors of Science Success: The Impact of Motivation and Learning Strategies on College Chemistry Performance

Shari B. Obrentz — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:50:40 PDT

As the number of college students studying science continues to grow, it is important to identify variables that predict their success. The literature indicates that motivation and learning strategy use facilitate science success. Research findings show these variables can change throughout a semester and differ by performance level, gender and ethnicity. However, significant predictors of performance vary by research study and by group. The current study looks beyond the traditional predictors of grade point averages, SAT scores and completion of advanced placement (AP) chemistry to consider a comprehensive set of variables not previously investigated within the same study. Research questions address the predictive ability of motivation constructs and learning strategies for success in introductory college chemistry, how these variables change throughout a semester, and how they differ by performance level, gender and ethnicity. Participants were 413 introductory college chemistry students at a highly selective university in the southeast. Participants completed the Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire (CMQ) and Learning Strategies section of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) three times during the semester. Self-efficacy, effort regulation, assessment anxiety and previous achievement were significant predictors of chemistry course success. Levels of motivation changed with significant decreases in self-efficacy and increases in personal relevance and assessment anxiety. Learning strategy use changed with significant increases in elaboration, critical thinking, metacognitive self-regulation skills and peer learning, and significant decreases in time and study management and effort regulation. High course performers reported the highest levels of motivation and learning strategy use. Females reported lower intrinsic motivation, personal relevance, self-efficacy and critical thinking, and higher assessment anxiety, rehearsal and organization. Self-efficacy predicted performance for males and females, while self-determination, help-seeking and time and study environment also predicted female success. Few differences in these variables were found between ethnicity groups. Self-efficacy positively predicted performance for Asians and Whites, and metacognitive self-regulation skills negatively predicted success for Other students. The results have implications for college science instructors who are encouraged to collect and utilize data on students’ motivation and learning strategy use, promote both in science classes, and design interventions for specific students who need more support.

Naming Speed, Letter-Sound Automaticity, and Acquiring Blending Skills among Students with Moderate Intellectual Disabilities

Dawn Davis — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:58:46 PDT

Students with moderate intellectual disabilities (MoID) typically are not taught decoding skills because they have difficulty mastering critical blending skills. In response to this skill deficit among students with MoID, an Initial Phonics instructional sequence was created that included student development of rapid and automatic retrieval of taught letter-sound correspondences to a level of mastery before teaching the skill of blending. For each of 16 students with MoID (ages 6-15), mastery criterion of letter-sound automaticity phases was determined by their individual naming speed as measured by the Rapid Object Naming (RON) subtest of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). Visual analysis of graphically displayed single-case data revealed a functional relation between simultaneous prompting procedures and letter-sound correspondences, automaticity, and blending acquisition for all students. Furthermore, the use of hierarchical linear growth modeling (HLGM) revealed statistical significance for: (a) the impact of daily instruction on the development of letter-sound correspondences, automaticity, and blending in terms of average student growth per instructional session, (b) variability between student growth trajectories within automaticity and blending phases, (c) student pretest scores on RON as an explanatory variable for differences between growth trajectories within automaticity treatment phases, and (d) the extent to which the number of sessions to mastery within automaticity phases and student age predicted acquisition of blending skills. The purpose of identifying explanatory/predictor variables was to classify cognitive predictors for students with MoID who successfully acquire blending skills.

Effect of Response Cards on Academic Outcomes

Ellen L. Duchaine — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 07:13:58 PDT

ABSTRACT

EFFECT OF RESPONSE CARDS ON ACADEMIC OUTCOMES FOR HIGH

SCHOOL STUDENTS WITHOUT DISABILITIES AND HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WHO EXHIBIT

CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS

Ellen L. Duchaine

Response cards (RC) support effective teaching strategies such as maintaining a brisk

pace of instruction, increased opportunities to respond, immediate and frequent corrective

feedback, and high rates of behavior specific praise statements; all of which have been

effective in increasing student engagement for students with and without emotional and

behavioral disorders (E/BD) (Emmer & Stough, 2001; Simonsen et al., 2008; Sutherland,

Wehby, & Copeland, 2000). RC during academic instruction are successful in decreasing

disruptive behavior, increasing student participation, and increasing academic

achievement from the elementary school level to the university level. This study

examined teacher implementation of RC at the high school level for students without

disabilities and students with disabilities with a history of challenging behaviors (i.e.,

students with a disability and a behavior intervention plan) in general education classes

required for high school graduation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect

of RC compared to hand raising (HR) in inclusive general education classrooms. An

alternating treatment design was implemented to examine the potential functional relation

between the use of RC, student engagement, and academic achievement. RC (i.e., 8” x

11” laminated write

-on cards) were randomly alternated with the more traditional method

of HR which allows one student to respond to each question asked by the teacher.

Intervals of time on-task, attempted responses, next day quiz scores, and bi-weekly probe

scores were measured and analyzed for target students without disabilities and target

students with disabilities. In addition, individual scores of all students in the class were

calculated to provide a class mean, allowing further analysis. All sessions were conducted

by classroom teachers during daily reviews of academic content. The findings from this

study support prior research indicating RC increases student engagement by increasing

intervals of time on-task and attempted responses for the majority of students. In one

class, three of four target students increased daily quiz scores by 10% or more using RC;

and in the second class the mean for daily quiz scores was higher using RC. Although

results on next-day quizzes were inconsistent, bi-weekly probes indicate RC increased

retention of material learned over time.

Evaluating the Relationship Among Parents' Oral and Written Language Skills, the Home Literacy Environment, and their Preschool Children's Emergent Literacy Skills

Nicole A. Taylor — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:43:20 PDT

Studies have examined the impact of parents’ educational level on their child’s emergent literacy skills and have found positive associations (Korat, 2009). However, a review of the literature indicates that previous studies have not investigated whether parents’ oral and written language skills relate to their child’s emergent oral and written language skills. This is important in light of the fact that parents’ educational level does not provide a complete picture of their academic skills (Greenberg, 1995). In addition to parental characteristics, the home literacy environment (HLE) is seen as important in the growth of children’s emergent literacy skills (Hood, Conlon, & Andrews, 2008). The two studies in this investigation explored the relationships among parental oral and written language skills, the HLE, and preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills. Both studies included 96 parent-child dyads. The first study examined the relationship between parents’ oral and written language skills and their preschoolers’ oral and written language skills. All participants were assessed on various oral and written language measures. Descriptive analyses, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), correlations, and regressions were conducted to assess the relationships between the parent skills and child skills. Most of the parental skills were found to have a relationship with the child skills. The second study extended the first study by examining the relationships between parental responses on a Home Literacy Environment Survey (HLES) and Title Recognition Test (TRT) of children’s books, parental characteristics (educational level and oral and written language skills), and children’s emergent literacy skills. Descriptive analyses, one-way ANOVA, correlations, and regressions were employed to gain information about the relationships among the variables. The HLE (measured by responses to the HLES and TRT) had positive relationships with parents’ skills and children’s skills. However, the HLE did not predict the children’s skills beyond the contribution of parental characteristics. Interpreting the results of this study promotes thought about the specific role of the HLE as a potential mediator between parental characteristics and child skills. Altogether, both studies provide preliminary information about parental factors that may influence preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills.

Check, Connect, and Expect in a Self-Contained Setting for Elementary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Sara C. McDaniel et al. — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:32:36 PDT

Check, Connect, Expect (CCE) is a secondary tier behavioral intervention for at-risk students who require targeted behavioral support in addition to school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. A full-time coach in the CCE intervention provided behavioral supports including daily check-in and check-out procedures, as well as targeted social skills instruction. This study extended CCE to a self-contained elementary school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Twenty-two students participated in the 17-week study that involved a four week baseline phase, followed by a 13-week intervention phase. The following research questions were addressed: (a) How did CCE affect student behavior?; (b) How did CCE affect student weekly academic engagement?; (c) How did CCE affect student weekly math calculation and oral reading fluency growth?; (d) How did severity of behavior predict student response to CCE?; (e) How did function maintaining the behavior predict student response to CCE?; (f) How did relationship strength with the coach predict student response to CCE?; and (g) How socially valid was CCE for teachers, paraprofessionals, and students? Two growth curve models were used to analyze the academic and behavioral data. Overall, students displayed significant behavioral growth during the intervention phase and positive growth in the areas of academic engagement and achievement. Severity of behavior, function, and relationship strength were not significant predictors of student response to the CCE intervention. Future directions, limitations, and implications for practice are discussed.

Investigating a Model of False Memory Construction: Is Seeing Believing?

Rebecca Bays — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:10:07 PDT

In the current literature review I examine false memory research, including variables that affect memory accuracy, instrumentation, and analyses used to assess false memory construction, as well as possible frameworks accounting for the development of false memories. Do errors in memory occur during encoding of an event or during retrieval of a memory? I discuss two models of false memories, both born from the source-monitoring framework, to highlight the important cognitive processes leading to crucial errors in memory recall. In the study that follows I investigate whether repeated imaginings of an implausible autobiographical event will lead to the creation of false memories. Plausibility, in the form of prevalence ratings, and visual imagery are manipulated for six suggested events that could have occurred during childhood. A model proposed by Pezdek and colleagues supports the roles of plausibility and imagination in false memory construction (Pezdek, Finger & Hodge, 1997; Pezdek, Blandon-Gitlin & Gabbay, 2006). However, their model is based on research conducted using a Life Events Inventory, a survey that assesses a belief rather than a memory construct. In the present study, I use the Autobiographical Belief and Memory Questionnaire, a survey instrument that distinctly measures plausibility, belief and memory (Scoboria, Mazzoni, Kirsch & Relyea, 2004). Confirmatory factor analysis is employed for instrument validation, followed by a 2 (plausibility: high or low) x 3 (number of imaginings: 0, 1, 5) x 2 (time: pre or post) within subjects ANOVA to test the Pezdek model of false memory construction. Both belief and memory ratings increase significantly when imagination is employed, regardless of event plausibility. However, memory ratings increase as the number of imaginings increase. Belief ratings only increase with one imagining. Present results provide insight into the role of visual imagery on memory accuracy, and inform researchers of appropriate survey instruments and statistical analyses to detect false memories. False memory research is valuable for informing therapeutic techniques, evaluating the reliability of eyewitness testimony, and advising interrogation procedures used by law enforcement and legal officials.

Using Sensory Interventions to Promote Skill Acquisition for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Ginny L. Van Rie — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:40:18 PST

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have documented sensory processing difficulties across the lifespan; however there is limited empirical support for the sensory-based interventions that have become ubiquitous with the population. This study was conducted to address this need and examine the effect of sensory-based interventions on skill acquisition for five elementary-age students with ASD. Proponents suggest that sensory-based interventions can be used to facilitate optimal levels of arousal so that children are available for learning. A single-case alternating treatments design was used to evaluate functional relations between the two sensory-based antecedent interventions and correct responding on expressive identification tasks. Upon visual analysis of the graphed data, functional relations were apparent for two participants. A positive relation between one sensory activity and correct responses was evident for a third student, but his rate of skill acquisition was too slow to verify a functional relation during the study. Results were undifferentiated for two students; one reached mastery criteria with both sensory-based interventions, while one made only modest improvement in expressive identification. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to identify predictors of growth. Scrutiny of the results of the level-1 analysis revealed that there were significant differences among the participants at the start of the study (00 = 388.46, ²(4) = 45.97, p < .001) and that all of the students made significant gains during the study (10 = 2.35, t(4) = 3.43, p < .05). Using treatment as a predictor in Model 2 resulted in the finding of no significance for the sensory-based interventions in predicting growth. The two biggest level-2 predictors of student growth were age (11 = 0.055, t(2) = 6.403, p < .001) and IQ (22 = 0.21, t(2) = 13.41, p < .001). Although not clinically significant, Childhood Autism Rating Scale scores as a level-2 predictor of growth may have practical significance. Implications for mixed-modality research and applied practice are discussed.

Applied Cognition in Reading: An Analysis of Reading Comprehension in Secondary School Students

Joshua A. Cuevas — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:02:45 PST

This research sought to add to a body of knowledge that is severely underrepresented in the scientific literature, reading comprehension in secondary students. Chapter 1 examines the current state of literacy in the nation’s public schools and the consequences that arise if students leave high school with inadequate reading skills. It discusses the neurological processes involved with reading and posits that independent silent reading (ISR) combined with scaffolding techniques may prove to be an effective method for addressing reading comprehension. The review also analyzes the components believed to be essential to reading, including vocabulary development, prior knowledge and background information, inferencing and prediction, and cognitive and metacognitive strategies. It argues that technological tools may have the potential to address these components within the framework of ISR. Chapter 2 details the experiment that tested these hypotheses. The study implemented an ISR program across a 5-month semester in a public high school and included 145 participants from nine 10th grade literature classes. The control group took part in no ISR, one treatment group participated in weekly ISR read from a textbook, and another treatment group participated in weekly ISR read from a computer module designed to address the components of reading comprehension. Students were measured on multiple achievement and motivational assessments. Results indicated that students from the ISR groups made greater gains than the control group in total reading ability, reading comprehension, end-of-course reading scores, and success/ability attribution, but no differences emerged on the vocabulary assessment. The computer module ISR group performed similarly in most respects to the textbook ISR group, but students in the computer module ISR group increased in their reading motivation and scored better on the individual reading assignments, suggesting the cognitive tools assisted them in understanding specific material at hand. This research offers much needed data on secondary students’ reading achievement and motivation, and provides evidence for one method, ISR, that has the potential to address development in these areas.

Using Function-Based Choice-Making Interventions to Increase Task Completion and Accuracy and to Reduce Problem Behaviors for Students with E/BD

Michelle L. Ramsey — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:11:49 PST

Two choice-making interventions (task sequence and where) were implemented by a classroom teacher to determine the effects on the percentage of task completion, accuracy, and classroom disruption for ten sixth through eighth grade students with E/BD in a residential math classroom using a reversal design. An FBA was conducted to determine the function of disruptive behavior during independent math practice prior to the implementation of the two choice-making interventions. The math teacher provided either choice of task sequence of the independent tasks or choice of where to complete the independent tasks. Results indicate that choice of task sequence matched avoidance-maintained behaviors for two of four participants who exhibited reduced disruptive behaviors and increased task completion and accuracy. Results were mixed for six students with access-maintained behavior. Three of the six students showed decreased disruptive behaviors and increased task completion and accuracy with the hypothesized choice of where intervention. However, three participants decreased overall in disruptive behavior and increased task completion and accuracy; choice of task sequence was the most effective intervention. Future directions for research in choice-making interventions are discussed as well as limitations of the present study.

Effects of Error Correction During Assessment Probes on the Acquisition of Sight Words for Students with Moderate Intellectual Disabilities

Rebecca E. Waugh — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:01:52 PDT

Simultaneous prompting is an errorless learning strategy designed to reduce the number of errors students make; however, research has shown a disparity in the number of errors students make during instructional versus probe trials. This study directly examined the effects of error correction versus no error correction during probe trials on the effectiveness and efficiency of simultaneous prompting on the acquisition of sight words by three middle school students with moderate intellectual disabilities. A single-case adapted alternating treatments design (Sindelar, Rosenberg, & Wilson, 1985) was employed to examine the effects of error correction during probe trials in order to reduce error rates. A functional relation was established for two of the three students for the use of error correction during probe sessions to reduce error rates. Error correction during assessment probes required fewer sessions to criterion, resulted in fewer probe errors, resulted in a higher percentage of correct responding on the next subsequent trial, and required less total probe time. For two of the three students, probes with error correction resulted in a more rapid acquisition rate requiring fewer sessions to criterion.

The Effects of Praise Notes on the Disruptive Behaviors of Elementary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in a Residential Setting

Christina N. Kennedy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:54:01 PDT

In this study, the effects of two secondary tier positive behavioral support strategies, teacher praise notes (TPNs) and peer praise notes (PPNs), were investigated using an alternating treatments single-subject design in residential classroom settings with eight elementary students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) in grades one through five who displayed disruptive behaviors. These students were selected based on the following criteria: (a) identified as using attention-seeking behaviors to disrupt classroom instruction, and (b) accrued an average of three or more office discipline referrals (ODRs) during classroom instruction since the beginning of the semester. Teacher praise notes are notes written by the teacher to a student regarding observed appropriate classroom behaviors while peer praise notes are written by the students to peers of their choice regarding observed appropriate behaviors. The type of praise notes were counterbalanced across each session. Duration recording was used to record the length of disruption per student during all sessions. Data were analyzed by visual analysis. The results suggest that TPNs and PPNs decreased disruptive behaviors of the students with E/BD in a residential setting; however, there was minimal to no fractionation between the two interventions. Limitations and future for research directions are discussed.