Teaching students with ASD: Does teacher enthusiasm make a difference?

Abstract

There is a general belief that students perform better in an environment in which teachers exude enthusiasm. In elementary, secondary, and college settings, the display of teacher enthusiasm is associated with positive attitudes toward teachers, recall of information, and improved classroom behavior. Although the assumption that students perform better when teachers are enthusiastic is frequently extended to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is currently no published research on the topic. Research on social avoidance suggests that individuals with ASD may have no reaction or even respond negatively to teacher enthusiasm and thus perform better in conditions of low teacher attention. The current study was conducted to examine the effects of teacher enthusiasm on task performance for 12 students diagnosed with ASD. For each participant, performance on a matching task was measured during a high attention condition and during a low attention condition. Inspection of performance data indicated that out of 12 participants, only one demonstrated better performance under high teacher attention and one demonstrated better performance under low teacher attention. Interestingly, when experimenters who served as teachers in the study were asked to judge student performance, they stated that all students performed better with high teacher attention. Based on the findings of the current study, educators and parents of children with ASD are cautioned against attributing differences or changes in student performance to type and intensity of social attention provided during task instruction in the absence of conducting a functional analysis. Implications from the current study serve as a reminder to avoid oversimplifying the complex learning challenges of children with autism and reiterate the importance of obtaining continuous objective performance data.

Video Modeling Training Effects on Types of Attention Delivered by Educational Care-Providers

“…One study limitation was that the attention preferences selected for Josie were based on direct observation and not formalized preference assessment. Of relevance, Natof & Romanczyk (2009) advised that types of attention should be empirically documented and are likely to vary considerably among children with developmental disabilities. Other characteristics of attention, not evaluated in the current study, would be an instructor's tone of voice, physical mannerisms, and enthusiasm when interacting with a child.…”

Teacher Enthusiasm and Collaborative School Climate

“…Many positive outcomes of teacher enthusiasm can be mentioned. Teacher enthusiasm plays a role in reducing students' boredom in the classroom (Cui, Yao, & Zhang, 2017) and increasing their interest, motivation, and performance during lessons (Frommelt, Schiefele, & Lazarides, 2021;Frenzel, Taxer, Schwab, & Kuhbandner, 2019;Lazarides, Gaspard & Dicke, 2019;Natof & Romanczyk, 2009). In addition, teacher enthusiasm positively affects participation in learning, both socially and behaviorally (Patrick, Hisley, & Kempler, 2000;Dewaele & Li, 2021;Lazarides, Gaspard & Dicke, 2019;Orosz et al, 2015;Taehee & Schallert, 2014;Zhang, 2013).…”

Attitudes of Special Education Teachers in Jordanian Private Schools towards the Inclusion of Autistic Children in These Schools: Empirical Study

“…It is suggested that teachers' attitudes and enthusiasm affect the expectations, academic achievement and selfimage of autistic students (Natof & Romanczyk, 2009). Hence, exploring teachers' attitudes shall contribute to the improvement of the quality of the school education provided for autistic students.…”