Effects of unfamiliar diverse names on elementary students' passage comprehension.

Elementary school multicultural reading curricula include characters with diverse proper names, which are often unfamiliar and differ phonetically from students' native language. These names could impact reading outcomes by increasing students' cognitive load and/or creating cognitive disfluency. In Study 1, students in grades 1 through 2 read a standard passage including common names and a matched passage including unfamiliar names of Russian origin.

Written Language Outcomes of Deaf Elementary Students Engaged in Authentic Writing.

This study explores the impact of Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) on six students' written language skills through the application of a multiple-baseline probe single case design with embedded condition. This was part of a larger Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded project focused on the development and feasibility of implementation of SIWI. For the majority of skills analyzed, there were improvements in the mean level of performance with the implementation of SIWI, as well as more consistent responding and positive trends in the data.

Noncontingent Reinforcement to Improve Classroom Behavior of a Student With Developmental Disability.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a noncontingent reinforcement intervention package implemented by an interning teacher in a special education classroom to address disruptive behavior and task engagement for a third-grade, 8-year-old boy with developmental disability. Using a within-subject reversal design (A-B-A-B), a teacher interning in Max's classroom delivered 3-min breaks (i.e.

Teaching Sight Words to Elementary Students With Intellectual Disability and Autism: A Comparison of Teacher-Directed Versus Computer-Assisted Simultaneous Prompting.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of teacher-directed simultaneous prompting to computer-assisted simultaneous prompting for teaching sight words to 3 elementary school students with intellectual disability. Activities in the computer-assisted condition were designed with Intellitools Classroom Suite software whereas traditional materials (i.e.

The Writing Performance of Elementary Students Receiving Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction.

Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) has led to improved writing and language outcomes among deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) middle grades students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of SIWI on the written expression of DHH elementary students across recount/personal narrative, information report, and persuasive genres. Five multiple-probe case studies demonstrate a relationship between implementation of SIWI and improvements in genre-related writing performance.

Teaching individuals with intellectual disability to email across multiple device platforms.

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of email by people with intellectual disability across multiple technological devices or platforms. Four individuals with intellectual disability participated in this study. Participants were taught how to access and send an email on a Windows desktop computer, laptop, and an iPad tablet device.

Measurement scale influences in the evaluation of sight-word reading interventions.

Working with elementary students with disabilities, we used alternating treatment designs to evaluate and compare the effects of 2 computer-based flash card sight-word reading interventions, 1 with 1-s response intervals and another with 5-s response intervals. In Study 1, we held instructional time constant, applying both interventions for 3 min. Although students completed 6 learning trials per word during each 1-s session and 2 trials per word during each 5-s session, results showed similar acquisition rates for 1-s and 5-s words.

Using taped-problems and rewards to increase addition-fact fluency in a first grade general education classroom.

We used a multiple baseline design across math facts to evaluate classwide use of a taped problem (TP) intervention on first graders' digits correct per minute in a general education classroom. During TP, students attempted to respond to each math fact before they heard the answer on an audiotape. As problems were repeated, response intervals were varied and individual and group feedback and rewards were provided contingent upon improved performance.

Using video Social Stories™ to increase task engagement for middle school students with autism spectrum disorders.

Four middle school students with autism spectrum disorders participated in a brief functional analysis and a video Social Stories™ intervention to remediate attention-seeking and task-avoidance behaviors. Results indicated that matching video Social Stories™ to specific functions of behaviors increased task-engagement behaviors in the general education classroom for all students. In addition, special and general education teachers, as well as participating students, reported favorable social acceptability of the intervention.

Computer- and video-based instruction of food-preparation skills: acquisition, generalization, and maintenance.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a computer-based video instruction (CBVI) program to teach life skills. Three middle school-aged students with intellectual disabilities were taught how to make a sandwich, use a microwave, and set the table with a CBVI software package. A multiple probe across behaviors design was used to evaluate for a functional relation between the software and skill acquisition.

Generalized use of a handheld prompting system.

This study determined the effectiveness of a commercially produced handheld computer, as a prompting system in facilitating the generalization and increasing the probability of long-term maintenance of vocational skills by adolescents with moderate intellectual disabilities. Four students successfully used the system in learning a task and then generalized the use of the prompting system to complete increasingly more complex tasks. Task performance was maintained at a 100% level for up to 9 weeks.

Use of static picture prompts versus video modeling during simulation instruction.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of static picture prompts and video modeling as classroom simulation strategies in combination with in vivo community instruction. Students with moderate intellectual disabilities were instructed in the tasks of withdrawing money from an ATM and purchasing items using a debit card. Both simulation strategies were effective and efficient at teaching the skills.

An investigation of instructional scheduling arrangements for community-based instruction.

The instructional scheduling arrangements of simulated and community-based instruction across an equivalent set of functional and vocational skills were examined. Five secondary age students with moderate intellectual disabilities participated in four instructional scheduling arrangements measuring skill acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of functional tasks. The four instructional scheduling arrangements examined were simulated-only instruction (SOI), community-based instruction only (CBI), combination of SOI and CBI on consecutive school days (CCD), and combination of SOI and CBI on the same school day (CSD).