Increasing the Effectiveness of SchoolBased Interventions: Strategies for School Psychologists

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Increasing the Effectiveness of School-Based
Interventions Strategies for School Psychologists

• Gary Stoner, Ph.D.
• Email gstoner_at_educ.umass.edu
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• RISPA Fall 2005 Meeting
• Warwick, Rhode Island
• October 20, 2005

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Context The Foundations of Concern

• Increasing numbers of children who are
  difficult-to-teach and difficult-to-manage
• Wait to fail model remains prevalent mode of
  practice in special education and school
  psychology
• School psychology as teacher support, parent
  support, student support for promoting healthy
  development

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The Context Directions for Change and Improvement

• Contemporary school psychology (the future is not
  the past!)
• See http//www.indiana.edu/futures/
• Contemporary special education (the why and how
  of change)
• See
• http//www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/whspecia
  leducation/reports.html
• Contemporary school improvement (leadership,
  curricula, monitoring and decision making
  systems)
• See Results The Key to Continuous School
  Improvement, 2nd EditionMIKE SCHMOKER (published
  by ASCD)

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Hi
Lo
Time/Grade/Age
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Intervention oriented school psychology practices
are characterized by

• Intervention- and prevention-linked assessment
  (cf. assessment for classification)
• Working with all students and teachers (cf.
  referred students/referring teachers)
• Increased emphasis on proactive practices (cf.
  reactive practices)
• Increased emphasis on early intervention with
  problems, across ages/grades (cf. wait to fail)
• Expanded range of intervention/prevention
  strategies and agents (cf. teachers only)

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Guidelines for the design, implementation, and
evaluation of interventions for learning and
behavior problems in school settings

• Intervention development, evaluation, and
  revision should be evidence based activities
• Evidence BEFORE the intervention occurs
  strategies are identified based on
• Documented effectiveness in previous research
• Analysis of the problem and maintaining variables
• Available resources
• Preferences/social validity (parents,
  teachers,students)
• Political variables

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Intervention guidelines (cont.)

• Evidence DURING implementation of the
  intervention
• Treatment integrity is assessed
• Contextual fit is assessed (see context fit doc)

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Intervention guidelines (cont.)

• Evidence AFTER implementation evaluation and
  revision of the intervention
• How effective? Getting better, the same, getting
  worse?
• Unwanted or problematic effects?

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Intervention guidelines (cont.)

• Intervention development, evaluation, and
  revision should be driven by child advocacy, and
  a focus on improving outcomes through
  teaching/learning relations
• Effective interventions result in increased rates
  of appropriate behavior and/or improved rates of
  learning, not solely decreased undesirable/disturb
  ing behavior
• (Example Little Michael 7th graders)

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Intervention guidelines (cont.)

• Prior to its implementation, an interventions
  effects on behavior, environment, others are not
  known
• The rationale for an experimenting society
  approach to psychology/education
• Exploratory trials of one/several potential
  interventions
• Adoption of interventions based on outcomes
• Ineffective strategies are discarded
• Non-dogmatic selection of interventions
• Accountability

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Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success
(see www.pbis.org)
1-5
1-5
5-10
5-10
80-90
80-90
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Universal intervention/prevention strategies

• Evidence-based curricula/instruction
• SRIM/Reading first Skills for school success
  curriculum
• Positive behavior support
• Universal screening and progress monitoring
• Social behavior SSBD/ESP
• Academics/achievement CBM/DIBELS/CBE

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Primary and Secondary Prevention Strategies
Preschool

• Home/school/community based support for
• Language development/early literacy/cognitive
  development
• (Read Together/Talk Together)
• Social development/socialization
• The Incredible Years programs (U. Washington,
  Carolyn Webster Stratton)
• School readiness

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Elementary

• Academic
• Skills for School Success (Curriculum Associates)
• Basic Skills Instruction/Progress Monitoring
• Social/Emotional/Behavior
• Positive Behavior Support First Steps Program
  (Sopris West)
• Mental Health
• Oregon Resiliency Project Strong Kids (Online)

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Middle

• Academic
• Advanced Skills for School Success (Curriculum
  Associates)
• Assignment/Work Accommodations
• Curriculum-based collaboration and Instructional
  support (SPED)
• Mental Health
• Oregon Resiliency Project Strong Kids (Online)
• Social/Emotional/Behavior
• Positive Behavior Support Teaching
  Self-Management Strategies to Adolescents (Sopris
  West)

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High School

• Academic
• Advanced Skills for School Success
• Assignment/Work Accommodations
• Curriculum-Based Collaboration and Instructional
  Support (SPED)
• Mental Health
• Oregon Resiliency Project Strong Teens (Online)
• Adolescents Coping with Depression Course
  (Online)
• Social/Emotional/Behavior
• Positive Behavior Support
• Teaching Self-Management Strategies to
  Adolescents (Sopris West)

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Targeted Interventions Building Blocks
Newcomer and Lewis, U of Missouri

• Teach/build pro-social replacement behaviors
• Build maintenance and generalization strategies
  to promote use
• Attend to possible function of the problem
  behavior

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Important Themes

• Part of a continuum must link to school-wide
  PBS system
• Efficient and effective way to identify students
• Assessment simple sort
• Intervention matched to presenting problem but
  not highly individualized

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Important Themes

• Common misperception is that these strategies
  will fix the student and the classroom teacher
  does not need to be an active participant since
  specialists or outside staff are often involved
  in the intervention Important to stress that
  these interventions will require high level of
  involvement among ALL staff within the school
  building

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Small Group / Targeted Interventions

• Social Skill Training
• Self-Management
• Mentors/Check-in
• Peer tutoring / Peer Network
• Academic support
• Individual plans (FBA)

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Social Skillshttp//maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/pub/
eres/EDSPC715_MCINTYRE/SocialSkills.html

• Identify critical skills (deficit or performance
  problem)
• Develop social skill lessons
• Tell, show, practice
• Match language to school-wide expectations
• Generalization strategies
• Must provide clear specific activities all
  staff follow to promote generalization make
  sure staff using strategies

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Self-Managementhttp//www.specialconnections.ku.e
du/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/specconn/index.php

• Teach self-monitoring targeted social skills
  simultaneously
• Practice self-monitoring until students
  accurately self-monitor at 80 or better
• Periodic checks on accuracy
• It is not simply giving students a
  self-evaluation check-list, must teach and
  practice to fluency and reinforce both accurate
  self-evaluation and appropriate behavior

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Mentoringhttp//ici.umn.edu/checkandconnect/

• Focus on connections at school
• Not monitoring work
• Not to nag regarding behavior
• Staff volunteer
• Not in classroom
• No administrators
• Match student to volunteer
• 10 minutes min per week
• Emphasize the importance of being ready to meet
  with student on a regular, predictable, and
  consistent basis. Goal is not to become a
  friend, but a positive adult role model who
  expresses sincere and genuine care for the student

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Check-in(combines self management and monitoring)

• Focus is on academic social compliance
• AM / PM
• Teach strategies/objectives to accomplish
• All staff must prompt/reinforce student use
• Emphasize the goal is to fade out the check-in
  so the focus should be on reinforcing students
  for accurately self-monitoring and work
  completion across the school day

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Peer Tutoring(see http//kc.vanderbilt.edu/kenned
y/pals/about.html)

• Tutors must be taught how to teach
• Tutors must be taught what to do if tutee does
  not comply
• Tutors must be given the option to drop out at
  any time without penalty
• Initially, peer tutoring should be undertaken
  only with close and on-going teacher supervision
  to ensure success

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Academic Support(focus time and opportunities
with quality instruction)

• Homework
• If data indicate it doesnt come back, give up
  the battle and build support within the school
  day
• Remediation
• Direct instruction in addition to the current
  curriculum
• Accommodation
• Within instruction
• Emphasize the need to identify and intervene
  early before students fall behind Ideal is
  routine screening using Curriculum Based Measures
  (CBM) to identify students early

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Individual Support Plans(see www.pbis.org)

• When small group not sufficient
• When problem is intense and chronic
• Driven by Functional Behavioral Assessment
• Linked to school-wide system

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Expanding the range of intervention agents

• Teachers
• Parents
• Peers
• Computers
• Self

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The Effects of Computerized Reading Instruction
on the AcademicPerformance of Students
Identified with ADHD(School Psychology Review,
2005, 34, 246-254)

• Julie Clarfield and Gary Stoner
• University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Children with ADHD are at higher than average
risk for

• Behavioral and academic difficulties
• Grade retention
• Placement in special education programs
• School drop out
• Lower high school GPA
• Enrollment in college degree programs

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Children with ADHD and academics, continued

• As many as 80 of students with ADHD exhibit
  academic difficulties, including lower than
  expected work completion rates
• Approximately 20-30 are identified with learning
  difficulties due to problems with acquisition of
  academic skills
• Recent studies show literacy/reading skill
  acquisition problems relative to matched peers as
  early as Kindergarten
• These risks and outcomes suggest need for
  effective educational interventions

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Potential educational intervention agents include

• Teachers
• Parents
• Peers
• Self
• Computers

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Computers (CAI) are promising, as students with
ADHD perform better

• when provided with immediate (vs. delayed)
  feedback
• when stimulus conditions are novel (vs.
  familiar)
• when provided with one-to-one student-teacher
  ratio

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Purpose of present study

• evaluate the effectiveness of a recently
  developed computerized reading instruction
  programHeadsprout
• with participants diagnosed with ADHD and
  experiencing reading problems

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Research questions

• Relative to teacher directed, small group
  instruction, what are the effects of the
  Headsprout reading program on students task
  engagement?
• Relative to teacher-directed, small group
  instruction, what are the effects of the
  Headsprout reading program on students oral
  reading fluency?

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Participants

• Tim. 6 yo, repeating Kindergarten.
• inattentive subtype of ADHD 2.5 mg of
  methylphenidate once a day during the first 7
  weeks then an 18mg dose of Concerta once a day.
• Kevin. 7 yo, 1st grade student.
• combined subtype of ADHD receiving Special
  Education services for math and writing
• Joe. 6 yo 1st grade student.
• combined subtype of ADHD 5mg of methylphenidate
  once a day

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Methods

• Independent Variable Headsprout reading program
  3 x week, 20-30 min. each
• http//www.headsprout.com
• Dependent variables
• Oral Reading Fluency
• On- and off-task behavior
• Multiple Baseline Design, across participants

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Features of Headsprout

• internet-based reading program no adult required
• explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and
  phonics
• introduces consistent letters and sounds, fluency
  building exercises and segmenting and blending
  strategies
• provides explicit instruction in building sight
  word vocabularies and recognizing and using
  punctuation cues
• student works sequentially through 40 animated
  lessons, each lasting approximately 20 minutes.

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Headsprout features (cont.)

• highly interactive students engage in over 180
  active learner interactions per 20-minute lesson
• lessons are individualized and adapt to a childs
  pace
• student success rate in each lesson is at least
  90
• Completion of most Headsprout activities involve
  the child moving a character to a desired
  destination
• students keep track of own progress through the
  use of a colorful progress map
• positive feedback is provided after each correct
  response, and the program rewards the student
  with brief (10-30 second) humorous movies in
  between activities

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Off-task data

• Tim. Off-task 24 BL vs. 3 CAI
• Kevin. Off task 49 BL vs.6 CAI
• Joe. Off task 26 BL vs. 4 CAI

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Reading fluency data

• Tim. 6 WRC in baseline vs. 18 WRC during
  intervention Weekly gain .55 before intervention
  to 1.65
• Kevin. 14 WRC in baseline vs. 33 WRC during
  intervention Weekly gain .55 to 2.90
• Joe. 10 WRC in baseline vs. 24 WRC during
  intervention Weekly gain .20 to .75

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Discussion

• Positive effects of CAI on task engagement and
  academic performance, similar to Ota and DuPaul
  (2002)
• Different in that Ota and DuPaul study involved
  math, drill and practice, and upper elementary
  students
• High degree of social validity
• URL www.headsprout.com

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Future work

• individual Headsprout effects (rather than
  additive)
• home based, parent guided intervention
• home/school combinations
• group study with more effective instructional
  comparison control group?

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Peers as intervention agents

• Plumer, P. J., Stoner, G. (2005). The relative
  effects of Classwide Peer Tutoring and peer
  coaching on the positive social behaviors of
  children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
  Disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9 (1),
  1-11