Classroom Sharing: A Critical Analysis of Assessment, Facilitation, and Generalization Procedures

Peer Modeling of Academic and Social Behaviors during Small-Group Direct Instruction

“…Sharing is a peer-related social behavior consistently recognized as important for young children; preschoolers with disabilities, however, share less often than their peers (Barton, 1982;Hurley, Wehby, & Feuer, 2010;Siperstein & Leffert, 1999). Because sharing is a prosocial behavior likely to result in a positive response from peers (Kohler, Strain, & Shearer, 1992), it may be an appropriate skill to teach to children with disabilities.…”

“…Because sharing is a prosocial behavior likely to result in a positive response from peers (Kohler, Strain, & Shearer, 1992), it may be an appropriate skill to teach to children with disabilities. A number of studies have focused on increasing peer-related initiations, including sharing (e.g., Bryant & Budd, 1984, Guglielmo & Tryon, 2001Sawyer, Luiselli, Ricciardi, & Gower, 2005), using a variety of instructional techniques, such as peer modeling, priming, and prompting and reinforcement (Barton, 1982;Weiss & Harris, 2001). Intervention studies show specific peer-related social behaviors are amenable to change via direct instruction from teachers or peer mediation, but some may require frequent teacher prompting of either children with disabilities or their peers (Odom et al, 1999).…”

Teaching Behaviorally Handicapped Preschool Children to Share

“…Although previous research has clarified that children as young as preschool age can learn to share, Barton (1982) Barton's (1982) second concern with existing sharing research, only three of the sharing studies he reviewed were conducted in naturally occurring settings in which a regular teacher directed the class according to his or her typical daily schedule. Rather, most sharing research has been carried out in contrived classroom settings using experimenters as trainers.…”

“…Although previous research has clarified that children as young as preschool age can learn to share, Barton (1982), in a comprehensive review of classroom sharing research, identified some important gaps in the existing literature. These include the dearth of information on quantitative and qualitative aspects of sharing in individual children, the lack of sharing studies in actual dassroom settings, the absence of cost-benefit analyses of treatment approaches, and inadequate attention to the social validity of treatment effects.…”

“…As Barton (in press) noted, microanalysis of response components related to sharing is needed to identify reasons for the failure of training in some cases and to tailor training to meet individual children's needs. Regarding Barton's (1982) second concern with existing sharing research, only three of the sharing studies he reviewed were conducted in naturally occurring settings in which a regular teacher directed the class according to his or her typical daily schedule. Rather, most sharing research has been carried out in contrived classroom settings using experimenters as trainers.…”