Association for Behavior Analysis International

Measurements of practitioner performance are rare even in research studies of the effect of interventions. Fidelity measurements provide information that increase generalizability of research findings and can be found useful in praxis when providing feedback to executors. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the provision of training on a regular basis could increase treatment fidelity of three teachers using Direct Instruction (DI) in teaching reading to first graders. A multiple baseline across subjects experimental design was used to measure the effect of training teachers to use DI. Training consisted of three variables: modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The three variables were used simultaneously and the effect of each one was therefore not measured separately. Teachers' treatment fidelity was measured using a tool based on Corrective Reading Decoding Fidelity of Implementation Observation Checklist by Benner, Nelson, Stage and Ralston (2011). The teachers reached the set goal of 80% treatment fidelity and maintained their performance scores throughout the study. When teachers had reached the 80% fidelity goal, training was systematically reduced.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of using direct instruction on English as a Second Language learners' acquisition of new vocabulary. Wanzek (2014) and Ellis (2010) stated that direct instruction in second language learning has showed positive results. Rupley et al (2009) acknowledged the importance of direct and explicit instruction in teaching reading comprehension to students who exhibit difficulties in this skill. In this present research, The researcher, who is also the class teacher, has started collecting data to measure the effects of direct instruction technology on learners' acquisition of vocabulary. The subjects are 30 learners of English as a Second Language. Choral responding, use of Active Student Responses and response cards were used to introduce and teach new vocabulary. Thirty-minute sessions run three times a week from September 3, 2017 to October 1, 2017 were conducted for data collection. These sessions will continue until the end of November 2017. Preliminary results have shown that the technology of direct instruction has indeed a positive effect on the acquisition of vocabulary by learners of English as a Second Language. The researcher aims at encouraging educators to use the technology of direct instruction, especially in the field of second language teaching.

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) vary greatly in reading proficiency. Reading fluency is a skill that they often struggle with. The Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) is an intervention that has been proved effective by previous research in helping students with disabilities improve both reading fluency and comprehension. This study aims to extend previous research and investigates the effectiveness of an intervention that combines both RAAC and positive reinforcement (i.e., 10 minutes iPad time) on reading fluency in three elementary students with ASD. An oral reading fluency curriculum-based measurement was administered first to determine individual student's reading level before implementing the intervention. For intervention, participants are asked to read the material (e.g., a paragraph) three times with a one-minute break in between, followed by a few general questions about the reading material. Whenever the students are able to finish reading the designated materials within a certain time limit (e.g., 1 minute), they will be provided with 10 minutes iPad time as positive reinforcement. This study employs a multiple baseline across participants design to collect data. The intervention is introduced to participants sequentially one by one after baseline data collection and students' reading performances are measured and graphed accordingly.

The current study was designed to investigate the applicability of the IES/NSF pipeline-of-evidence protocol for identifying a given instructional intervention as research-based. To test the protocol, we retroactively examined the empirical evidence for two interventions used for literacy instruction and mapped this evidence to the six steps in the protocol: 1) Foundational studies that examine phenomena in the absence of a direct link to educational outcomes; 2) Early Stage/Exploratory studies that examine the connections or relationships among constructs; 3) Design and Development studies involving the design and testing of individual components of an intervention; 4) Efficacy studies of the intervention under ideal circumstances; 5) Effectiveness studies of the intervention under typical circumstances; and 6) Scale-up studies of the intervention under typical circumstances but in a wide range of contexts and populations. We found that in the case of Reciprocal Teaching, empirical evidence was manifest at each stage of the pipeline. In the case of Shared Book Reading, foundational, early stage, design/development, and efficacy research were absent. Results indicate that the IES/NSF pipeline-of-evidence protocol offers a productive approach to identifying evidence-based practices because it takes into account the role of methodological designs in lines of research inquiry.

Reading screening measures for Kindergarten students typically have lower predictive validity than other types of reading screening measures for older students. We conducted a pilot study of a simple goal/reward procedure ("skill/will") to distinguish between performance and skill difficulties on Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) in a multiple baseline across students design. Before baseline, nine students scored below benchmark on PSF and/or NWF at Middle of Year (MOY) benchmark assessment without changes. Baseline included progress monitoring 2-3 days/week with standard assessment directions. Intervention included adding a goal/reward for students. A "reward" was delivered when students met or exceeded their highest previous score (1 reward item) and met or exceeded the MOY benchmark (2 reward items). Across students and skills (n = 13 legs of study), nine met/exceeded MOY benchmark during baseline (suggesting additional exposure to the assessments was adequate), two exceeded benchmark during goal/reward procedures (suggesting adding a simple performance component was adequate), and two required extended exposure to goal/reward or skill-based review to exceed benchmark. At End of Year benchmark (follow-up), 12 of 13 skills were at or above the benchmark on PSF and/or NWF, suggesting lower risk than predicted by Middle of Year screening.

Reading comprehension is a necessary demand for students' achievement in schools (Crabtree, Alber-Morgan, & Konrad, 2010). However, students with learning disabilities (LD) face more obstacles learning to read (Vaughn, Levy, & Coleman, 2002). While self-questioning as a reading comprehension strategy has been promising in improving reading comprehension for typical students and students with disabilities (Joseph, Alber-Morgan, Cullen, & Rouse, 2016), little is known about the effective self-questioning approaches for students with learning disabilities. This review included 13 empirical studies conducted between 1998 and 2017, investigating the use of self-questioning approaches to improve reading comprehension particularly for students with learning disabilities. Results indicate five self-questioning approaches concerning instructor-provided (e.g., Crabtree et al., 2010) or student-produced questions (e.g., Rouse, Alber-Morgan, Cullen, & Sawyer, 2014). Each of the five approaches asserts the positive role of self-questioning on improving reading comprehension. However, comparing between approaches to determine the most effective self-questioning approach has been proved inconclusive due to the effects of confounding factors (e.g., discrepancies in assessment procedures) and the limited information on generalization across the reviewed studies. particularly for students with learning disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of instructional strategies on letter identification for two Kindergarten students who experienced letter identification difficulties. All procedures were conducted in the participants' school. Across both participants, IOA for task accuracy and instructional strategy use was assessed across 31% of sessions and averaged 97%. A three-phase analysis was conducted within a multielement design. Phase 1 evaluated the number of letters participants correctly identified when an instructional strategy was not provided. Phase 2 evaluated the effects of two different instructional strategies and rewards on participants' correct letter identification, and Phase 3 evaluated the effects of instruction, specifically strategic incremental rehearsal (SIR), plus the most effective instructional strategy, identified in Phase 2, on participants' correct letter identification. Results (Figures 1 and 2) showed that an effective, yet different, instructional strategy was identified for each participant during Phase 2. Specifically, a letter line was identified as most effective for one participant, whereas picture cards were identified for the other. For both participants, strategies were insufficient in fully improving their letter identification skills. Thus, results of Phase 3 showed that SIR plus an instructional strategy was effective for further increasing both participants' correct letter identification.

The current study examined the effectiveness of a novel method of delivering classwide literacy instruction in preschool. The need to improve preschool instruction with evidenced based techniques, especially in the area of literacy instruction is warranted. Four preschool classrooms were involved in the study for a total of 95 students and 4 teachers. Data was collected using AIMSweb Letter Naming Fluency (LNF), AIMSweb Letter Sound Fluency (LSF), and a researcher-created accuracy probe. The classwide matching to sample instruction occurred four days a week for 3-6 mins. It was implemented during opening circle time. Each session consisted of 1 letter that involved a series of steps that were completed within the matching to sample instruction. There were two matching to sample instructions delivered in a week: letter naming and letter sound. Each session consisted of a stimulus being presented with three comparative stimuli, a stimulus being paired with a verbal word, or a stimulus being paired with a verbal sound. Overall, A = print, B = picture, C = letter name, and D = letter sound. Results from the current study provide preliminary support for matching-to sample instruction to be used to improve letter name and sound acquisition, letter naming fluency, and letter sound fluency with preschool students. The current study highlights the effectiveness of utilizing explicit instruction using scaffolding techniques, frequent review and practice opportunities, visual aids, and specific feedback when activating prior knowledge to teach an academic skill.

Reading is an important skill in life. It affects how we understand what the world communicates to us and getting by generally. Most studies in the literature on reading focus on high-functioning autism, but there is limited information on teaching reading to those with severe autism. Jolly Phonics is a synthetics phonics program used to teach reading and writing using multisensory modes by breaking up the English Language into 42 sounds and incorporating various activities. This study was done on a 14 year old boy in Kaizora, a day-centre located in Kenya. Many methods were tried in previous schools and none were successful. By breaking down the jolly phonics program into small steps, he began learning group 1 sounds (s, a, t, p, i, n) and completed these successfully in 25 sessions. He is now able to blend short c-v-c words by learning just these 6 sounds. As he progresses across the 7 groups his ability to blend longer words is predicted to increase whereby he will be able to work on comprehension as well. Jolly phonics has been a successful strategy with other students in this centre and this study shows how much impact it can have on learning to read.

Proficient reading is essential for school success. This poster will present data from the OSU, Special Education Reading Clinic that is housed in an inner-city elementary school. The student population is 75% African American, 13% Caucasian, 4% Hispanic, and 4% Multi-racial. The children are primarily from low SEs families. The school's children typically score below the state mean on standardized reading assessments. Therefore, many children could benefit from supplemental biweekly reading instruction. Tutoring sessions are one hour in length. The clinic targets children (with or without a disability label) who are first and second graders and who are recommended by their teacher due to poor reading skills. The clinic is a service-learning opportunity for pre-service special education students. Our special education students are trained to implement reading instruction using direct instruction strategies. OSU students assess children's progress using both standardized tests and curriculum-based measures. Children often double their reading fluency, increase decoding skills, and demonstrate improved comprehension. End of the semester assessments indicate that many of the children have reduced risk for reading failure as measured by the standardized test (e.g., DIBELS). This poster will provide individual data for children on reading fluency and comprehension using Standard Celeration Charts.

Meta-analyses and literature reviews are important for synthesizing research on a topic, assessing trends in a field, and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions research. Calls for adoption and utilization of evidence based practices in special education warrants the need for methodological rigor in research practices to inform policy and practice. Recent efforts have also been aimed at improving the methodological quality of reviews and meta-analyses, as well as replicability of reporting procedures. Meta-analytic studies have previously excluded studies conducted using single case designs (SCD) owing to absence of standard measures to aggregate effect sizes across studies. The purpose of this review is to examine the characteristics of literature reviews and meta-analyses of reading interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The paper examines the extent to which previous meta-analyses have included SCD studies, and examine effect size measures that have been used in assessing efficacy of the interventions. A brief review and discussion of a novel effect size measure for SCD is provided.

The most common treatment for Attention-Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) currently is stimulant medication. Medications can have side effects and are not always effective. White noise is an alternative to medication for children diagnosed with ADHD to decrease off-task behavior in classrooms. Continuous white noise was used in this study to examine off-task behavior in college students diagnosed with ADHD. In a single-subject reversal design two students performed an academic task while listening to no noise or 75 dB white noise through headphones for 15 minutes sessions. Results indicated a moderate decrease in off-task behavior for one participant and a negligible change in the other. Being that the nature of the intervention is simple to implement and no known adverse effects, white noise is worth exploring for reduction of off-task behavior in college students with ADHD.

Media multitasking involves alternating between completing academic tasks and using technology for nonacademic purposes and has detrimental effects on task performance (Wood et al., 2012). We used a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of technology breaks on media multitasking during independent study with two undergraduate students. During baseline, we observed the participants studying independently and recorded the frequency and duration of media multitasking. The intervention involved teaching participants to implement noncontingent technology breaks. The initial schedule of breaks was determined by the participants' media multitasking during baseline, and then the schedule of breaks was gradually thinned. During breaks, the participants were instructed that they could check their text messages, e-mails, or social media. There were no programmed consequences for media multitasking. The results showed that the technology breaks decreased media multitasking for both participants even though there were no programmed consequences for media multitasking or on task behavior. In addition, the participants implemented the technology breaks with a high level of fidelity. Our findings demonstrate the utility of an antecedent-based self-management strategy for decreasing media multitasking with college students.

Academic procrastination implies a tendency to put off important academic task until their deadline approaches. A study of nursing students in Mexico indicated that 100% of participants reported procrastinate in their academic activities. Previous researches on this phenomenon have linked academic procrastination to higher levels of stress and poorer well-being among university students. To date, only a few studies have analyzed procrastination in a Mexican context; furthermore, there is no one scale that specially measures academic procrastination in a Mexican population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Academic Procrastination Scale by McCloskey & Scielzo (2016) which consists of 25 items Likert-type scales (5 point). As a first phase of the study, translation and cultural adaptation was done according to recommendations and guidelines for validating and cross-cultural adapting research. In a second phase, the scale was administered to 600 students of a public university. The third phase, a factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory) was used to estimate the validity and reliability using the internal consistency method (Cronbach's a). The results support that the adaptation of the scale is a valid and reliable measure of Academic Procrastination in university students.

In college classrooms, group contingencies have increased performance of weaker students, reducing variability on assessment scores. Forty-nine undergraduates completed multiple unannounced, in-class quizzes; scoring 80% or better resulted in extra-credit. In baseline, students studied individually for 5 min prior to each quiz, and during the experimental conditions, they studied with an assigned group. Two conditions were compared within-subjects: group study/individual reinforcement (i.e., extra credit based on the student's score) and group study/group reinforcement (i.e., extra credit based on the group's mean score). For one class, the conditions alternated regularly throughout the semester, and for two other classes, the conditions were blocked (students completed multiple quizzes in each condition prior to experiencing the next condition; the order of conditions was counterbalanced). Figure 1 shows the percent of students who scored below 40% in each condition; there was a decrease in very low scores in the individual reinforcement condition. Results from a social validity assessment indicated aversion to group work; students indicated group extra credit was unfair because group members varied in the quality of their contributions. These latter results contrast with those for school-age children, suggesting the need to better understand social contingencies before implementing cooperative strategies with this population. Keywords: group contingency, variability, college classroom, undergraduate students

Interteaching (Saville et al. 2006) is an empirically-derived and validated teaching method using a dyadic interviewing method that revolves around questions given in advance on a "Preparation Guide." Two students query each other in class, filling in gaps, and offer feedback on the material to the instructor that informs subsequent class periods and lectures. The format of interteaching allows for a more intimate relationship between student and instructor, reduces lecture fatigue, and flows more flexibly than traditional courses, but it requires substantial preparation for a significant number of class periods on the part of the student. However, the relationship between preparing prior to class and course success has not been assessed. In addition, it is presumed that conducting an interteach session with different partners each class improves performance, another hypothesis that has not been tested. In this experiment, three conditions were applied to three sections randomly of the same course during the same semester. In one section, preparation guide "checks" were completed by a trained graduate assistant. In another section, partners were randomly assigned every interteach period. The third section served as the control condition. Performance on quizzes ("probes"), final exams, and attendance will serve as dependent measures. Grading was completed by the course instructor, although they were blinded to condition.

For educators and education institutions, it is always an important concern to insure adequate level of students' learning. This concern is even more important in large enrollment courses as the return on investment in terms of student learning become more apparent for the university administration. This importance should be examined at the social and consumer levels to highlight the value adding nature of behavior analytic approach to learning in college settings. Chase and Houmanfar explored the effect of basic feedback (simply correct or incorrect answer) and the elaborate feedback (basic feedback + information on the topic addressed in the question) on the students' performance when taking the weekly assessment quizzes, demonstrating a significant effect, above all, in the case of "hard questions." By drawing upon the recent literature on feedback plus the follow-up data pertaining to the implementation of Chase and Houmanfar's methodology in a large enrollment course, we will discuss ways by which eye-tracking technology can be used as an assessment technique for selection of effective feedback in an on-line training process.