Teaching Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities to Recruit Positive Teacher Attention

Abstract

Four middle school students with learning disabilities were taught to recruit teacher attention while they worked on assignments in two inclusive general education classrooms. The students were taught to show their work to the teacher two to three times per session and make statements such as: “How am I doing?” Training was conducted in the special education classroom and consisted of modeling, role-playing, corrective feedback, and praise. A multiple baseline across students design showed that recruitment training increased (a) the rate of recruiting by the students, (b) the rate of teacher praise received by the students, (c) the rate of instructional feedback received by the students, and (d) the accuracy with which students completed their workbook assignments.

Effect of Varying Rates of Behavior-Specific Praise on the On-Task Behavior of Students with EBD

“…Recent research has shown that students with developmental disabilities (Craft, Alber, & Heward, 1998) and students with learning disabilities (Alber, Heward, & Hippler, 1999) in general education classrooms can be taught to recruit teacher praise. Craft et al found not only increased rates of teacher praise for the four students in their study, but also increased academic productivity and accuracy.…”

Including children with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms: implications for pedagogy from a systematic review

“…In these studies this co-construction took the form of peer-led discussion groups (Cushing, Kennedy, Shukla, Davis & Meyer, 1997;Stevens & Slavin, 1995a;1995b), careful questioning of pupils (Palincsar, Magnusson & Cutter, 2001) and focusing on social cognition and behaviours (Frederickson & Turner, 2002). In the cooperative learning groups, that were the subject of several of these studies, Adaptation of instruction • Case study: scaffolding to assist cognitive learning processes (Flem, 2000) • One teacher's application of mnemonic strategy instruction in her inclusive, Grade 4 social studies class (Mastropieri, Sweda & Scruggs, 2000) Adaptation of materials • Impact of professional development leading to use of new strategies and materials to support pupils struggling with reading (Bryant & Linan-Thompson, 2001) Adaptation of assessment • Adaptation of teaching, environment, materials and assessment (Bryant, Dean, Elrod & Blackburn, 1999) Adaptation of classroom environment • One teacher's approach combining activity-oriented science curriculum with the building of caring relationships in her classroom and developing enthusiasm for science and fulfilling students' personal purposes (Zembylas, 2002) Behavioural/programmatic intervention • Pupils trained to attract teacher attention and thus increase (a) the rate of teacher attracting, (b) the rate of teacher praise received, (c) the rate of instructional feedback received, and (d) accuracy in work completion (Alber, Heward & Hippler, 1999) • Simple peer-prompting procedure for reducing or eliminating annoying/disruptive sounds made by child with developmental disabilities (Arceneaux & Murdock, 1997) Computer-based pedagogy • The electronic mirror and emotional growth: influencing self-appraisals and motivational affects in students with EBD through the use of computer-mediated education (Luth, 2001) • Computer-assisted cooperative learning in Grade 3 mathematics instruction compared with whole-class computer-assisted learning (Xin, 1999) Peer tutoring • Academic effects of classwide peer tutoring during spelling instruction compared to traditional teacherled instruction (Mortweet, 1999) • Pupils with learning disabilities and students at risk for referral for special education assessment trained as tutors for younger children in a peer tutoring programme (Yasutake, 1996) Peer group interactive • Strategies for active facilitation of social interactions, empowering children, building a sense of community in the classroom, modelling acceptance, and developing school organisational supports.…”

Classwide Interventions

“…Fortunately, training can help teachers learn to use praise as a reinforcer. Praise is a generalized reinforcer and has a rich research base that demonstrates its effectiveness in increasing social and behavioral competence in students (Alber, Heward, & Hippler, 1999;Sutherland, 2000). Effective praise is specific and contingent (Sutherland).…”