This week I read the article Training General Educators to Increase Behavior-Specific Praise: Effects on Students with EBD. The article focused on a study completed in three classrooms, two elementary and one middle school, across the country, focusing particularly on three students with EBD and four labeled as at risk for EBD. The goal of the study was "to increase the rate of BSP delivered to all students in the classroom and determine the effects of Increased BSP on students with or at risk for EBD" (Allday, Hinkson-Lee, Hudson, Nielsen-Gatti, Kleinke, & Russel, 2012, p.87). BSP, or behavior-specific praise, "provides students with praise statements that explicitly describe the behavior being praised" (Allday, et al., 2012, p. 87). For example, instead of simply saying "Great work," a teacher using BSP could say "I like how are sitting in your seat so quietly" or "Thank you for raising your hand to speak." Because working with students with challenging behaviors has been reported as the most challenging part of a teacher's professional life, this article aims to give teachers an effective and fairly simple intervention to support success and engagement in the classroom (Allday, et al., 2012, p. 87). It has been shown that "teacher attention, in the form of behavior-specific praise (BSP), is one type of attention that has shown to be effective in previous studies to increase on-task behavior, task completion, correct academic responses, and compliance" (Allday, et al., 2012, p. 87). The teachers in the study went through a brief training on implement BSP in their classroom and then were observed on about 15 to 20 separate, thirty minute sessions. During the observations, the students engagement was tracked, as well as the teacher's use of BSP. After the study was completed, it was shown that every student's level on-task behavior increased throughout the study. As Allday states (2012), "correlation analyses suggest a positive relationship between increases in rates of BSP and increases in on-task behavior, with a moderate to strong relationship for most students" (p. 95). Instead of using behavior-specific corrections, which reference an undesirable behavior, the teachers were using dramatically more BSP for all their students, resulting in a much more engaged and responsive in class.
I found this article related very closely to our reading and activities this week, as well as my personal experiences working in a special education classroom. In my current classroom, we have two students that often exhibit challenging behavior, including noncompliance and aggression, both verbal and physical. We have found that instead of using behavior-specific corrections, such as "Please stop talking" or "Sit down in your seat," the students are much more receptive to behavior-specific praise. Not only do the students enjoy being praised for behaving properly, but they understand exactly what they did that was right and know to repeat that behavior if they want to receive more praise and positive attention in class. Also, because we use BSP rather than BSC for all of our students, not just those with challenging behavior, the students with behavior issues hear their peers being praised for behaving in a positive manner and recognize that they could be receiving attention if they were to follow suit. This allows they students to learn from their peers without having to be told what to do by the teacher or support staff. As the textbook states, many students with EBD "are not fluent in social behavior because they have not had adequate exposure to models of social skills" (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2013, p. 105). Using BSP for all students in the classroom allows the students with EBD to find these positive models within their peers. Also, using BSP helps foster positive and authentic relationships between students and staff. Because "trusting relationships develop when teachers communicate in ways that reflect a genuine concern for students' academic performance and emotional well-being," BSP is much more effective in building these authentic connections than the constant behavior-specific corrections that many students with EBD are used to hearing at school (McLeskey, et al., 2013, p. 106).
I found this article to be very useful and practical for all teachers. The methods used in the study are simple and it would be easy to implement BSP in the classroom. While many teachers are used to using behavior-specific corrections, with time and practice, they could easily transition to using behavior-specific praise instead. I have experienced how receptive students with challenging behavior can be to this positive attention and believe it is a very effective classroom management tool for working with all students, not just those with EBD.
Allan Allday, R. R., Hinkson-Lee, K., Hudson, T., Neilsen-Gatti, S., Kleinke, A., & Russel, C. S. (2012). Training General Educators to Increase Behavior-Specific Praise: Effects on Students with EBD. Behavioral Disorders, 37(2), 87-98.
McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M.S., & Westling, D.L. (2013). Inclusion: Effective Practices for All Students. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Self-monitoring of On-task Behaviors Using the MotivAider® by a Middle School Student with a Moderate Intellectual Disability
Boswell, M., Knight, V., & Spriggs, A. D. (2013). Self-monitoring of On-task Behaviors Using the MotivAider® by a Middle School Student with a Moderate Intellectual Disability. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 32(2), 23-30.
This article, Self-monitoring of On-task Behaviors Using the MotivAider® by a Middle School Student with a Moderate Intellectual Disability, presents a new option for keeping students with intellectual disabilities focused during a lesson or independent work time. The article argues that, in a general education setting, a paraprofessional may not always be the best option for students with moderate intellectual disabilities. Boswell and Knight (2013) argue that students with paraprofessionals can become too dependent on this support staff and may feel separated from their peers, often expressing "feelings of embarrassment, stigmatization, rejection, and disenfranchisement" (p. 23). One alternative to paraprofessionals in the classroom is teaching students with intellectual disabilities how to self-monitor, "in which a student observes and records his or her own target behavior" (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 23). Boswell and Knight tested this alternative on an 11 year old, sixth grade male student with a moderate intellectual disability named Sam using a MotivAider device. The MotivAider is a low cost, small electronic device that "looks similar to a pager and can be easily programmed to vibrate on a fixed or variable time schedule" (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 24). Boswell and Knight set Sam's MotivAider to go off every three minutes as Sam completed math activities in the classroom. When the device would go off, Sam would fill out his self-recording form by circling yes or no to the question "Am I Working?" An instructional assistant would verify Sam's response and, if correct, give him a small edible reinforcer. Sam's responses were accurate 98 percent of the time and, after the initial session, Sam remained on-task 100 percent of the time while using the MotivAider. Once the MotivAider was removed, Sam's on-task behavior decreased significantly, falling to 33 percent (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 28). Boswell and Knight (2013) also found that Sam's Math fluency greatly increased while using the MotivAider, jumping from 1.5 CDM to 3.0 CDM, an 100 percent increase (p. 28).
I found this article and the use of the MotivAider to be very interesting as a strategy for helping students with intellectual disabilities be more independent in a general education classroom. In my classroom, we have used similar methods to help our students gain independence from staff. Some of our ambulatory students carry small alarms with them that go off when the students have to leave for different activities, such as lunch or a therapy. When the alarm goes off, the students know to get a hall pass and leave for said activity. The alarm is small and discrete, not interrupting the rest of the class but still acts as cue or reminder for the student. While I haven't seen the alarms used during lessons as a way of self-monitoring, I have seen how successful they can be in giving students with intellectual disabilities independence from their paraprofessionals and other staff. Although it is a tactile cue instead of visual, I found the use of the alarm to be very similar in concept to many of the visual supports that were demonstrated in our autism module.
I thought this article was extremely practical and useful and I could definitely see the MotivAider, or a similar device, being used in a general education classroom to help students with intellectual disabilities stay focused while also teaching important self-monitoring skills. As a paraprofessional myself, I believe that some students can greatly benefit from having a one on one aide and that extra support throughout their day. However, if the student is becoming too dependent on their support staff and becoming ostracized from their peers, looking into other options for at least part of the day may be beneficial. I believe this MotivAider could be a viable option for many students with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities during class time or, if the student needs more support, possibly just during a homeroom or resource period. After the initial training and some practice, the student would not need a paraprofessional standing near them, reminding them to stay on-task, with the alarm would act as the reminder. The MotivAider is fairly affordable, about 40 dollars, and could be a great investment for the classroom. Habit Change, the company that created MotivAider, has also come out with a MotivAider app for the iPhone and Androids which only costs $1.99, making it much less expensive if the student already has a smartphone or the classroom already has a tablet or iPad. The article suggests many other uses for the MotivAider that could be beneficial in the classroom, such as using it to "signal break time for a student who is easily frustrated by a difficult task," "as a prompt for a student on a toileting schedule," or even as "a prompt for a teacher who wants to deliver verbal praise orcheck on a student at regular intervals" (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 29).
I would be very interested in seeing future studies using the MotivAider, or a similar device, with a larger group of students or testing the variety of different uses that the device could have in the classroom.
This article, Self-monitoring of On-task Behaviors Using the MotivAider® by a Middle School Student with a Moderate Intellectual Disability, presents a new option for keeping students with intellectual disabilities focused during a lesson or independent work time. The article argues that, in a general education setting, a paraprofessional may not always be the best option for students with moderate intellectual disabilities. Boswell and Knight (2013) argue that students with paraprofessionals can become too dependent on this support staff and may feel separated from their peers, often expressing "feelings of embarrassment, stigmatization, rejection, and disenfranchisement" (p. 23). One alternative to paraprofessionals in the classroom is teaching students with intellectual disabilities how to self-monitor, "in which a student observes and records his or her own target behavior" (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 23). Boswell and Knight tested this alternative on an 11 year old, sixth grade male student with a moderate intellectual disability named Sam using a MotivAider device. The MotivAider is a low cost, small electronic device that "looks similar to a pager and can be easily programmed to vibrate on a fixed or variable time schedule" (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 24). Boswell and Knight set Sam's MotivAider to go off every three minutes as Sam completed math activities in the classroom. When the device would go off, Sam would fill out his self-recording form by circling yes or no to the question "Am I Working?" An instructional assistant would verify Sam's response and, if correct, give him a small edible reinforcer. Sam's responses were accurate 98 percent of the time and, after the initial session, Sam remained on-task 100 percent of the time while using the MotivAider. Once the MotivAider was removed, Sam's on-task behavior decreased significantly, falling to 33 percent (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 28). Boswell and Knight (2013) also found that Sam's Math fluency greatly increased while using the MotivAider, jumping from 1.5 CDM to 3.0 CDM, an 100 percent increase (p. 28).
I found this article and the use of the MotivAider to be very interesting as a strategy for helping students with intellectual disabilities be more independent in a general education classroom. In my classroom, we have used similar methods to help our students gain independence from staff. Some of our ambulatory students carry small alarms with them that go off when the students have to leave for different activities, such as lunch or a therapy. When the alarm goes off, the students know to get a hall pass and leave for said activity. The alarm is small and discrete, not interrupting the rest of the class but still acts as cue or reminder for the student. While I haven't seen the alarms used during lessons as a way of self-monitoring, I have seen how successful they can be in giving students with intellectual disabilities independence from their paraprofessionals and other staff. Although it is a tactile cue instead of visual, I found the use of the alarm to be very similar in concept to many of the visual supports that were demonstrated in our autism module.
I thought this article was extremely practical and useful and I could definitely see the MotivAider, or a similar device, being used in a general education classroom to help students with intellectual disabilities stay focused while also teaching important self-monitoring skills. As a paraprofessional myself, I believe that some students can greatly benefit from having a one on one aide and that extra support throughout their day. However, if the student is becoming too dependent on their support staff and becoming ostracized from their peers, looking into other options for at least part of the day may be beneficial. I believe this MotivAider could be a viable option for many students with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities during class time or, if the student needs more support, possibly just during a homeroom or resource period. After the initial training and some practice, the student would not need a paraprofessional standing near them, reminding them to stay on-task, with the alarm would act as the reminder. The MotivAider is fairly affordable, about 40 dollars, and could be a great investment for the classroom. Habit Change, the company that created MotivAider, has also come out with a MotivAider app for the iPhone and Androids which only costs $1.99, making it much less expensive if the student already has a smartphone or the classroom already has a tablet or iPad. The article suggests many other uses for the MotivAider that could be beneficial in the classroom, such as using it to "signal break time for a student who is easily frustrated by a difficult task," "as a prompt for a student on a toileting schedule," or even as "a prompt for a teacher who wants to deliver verbal praise orcheck on a student at regular intervals" (Boswell and Knight, 2013, p. 29).
I would be very interested in seeing future studies using the MotivAider, or a similar device, with a larger group of students or testing the variety of different uses that the device could have in the classroom.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Brain Games as a Potential Nonpharmaceutical Alternative for the Treatment of ADHD
Wegrzyn, S. C. (2012). Brain Games as a Potential Nonpharmaceutical Alternative for the Treatment of ADHD. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 45(2), 107-130.
According to Wegrzyn (2012), "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorder, affecting approximately 5.5 million children between the ages of 4 and 17." However, of these 5.5 million, 20% do not respond to the commonly prescribed stimulate medications (p. 107). Due to this fact, Wegryzn and her team decided to research and test a new alternative for students with ADHD: brain games. One of the believed causes of ADHD is a lack of activity in the prefrontal cortex. Recent research states that activities such as "rapid mathematical calculations and reading aloud" can greatly increase activity in this section of the brain and have proven beneficial for patients with dementia (Wegrzyn, 2012, p. 108). In this article, Wegrzyn had students, ages 10 to 17, that were previously diagnosed with Combined or Inattentive ADHD play at least twenty minutes of BrainAge, a Nintendo DS video game, everyday before going to school. Through student and parent journals, as well as EEG testing, Wegrzyn was able to test the effectiveness of this alternative treatment option for students with ADHD. After five weeks of treatment, the students returned to their normal routine, not playing any brain games for three weeks. When this post-treatment period ended, Wegrzyn began to analyze all the compiled data. According to Wegrzyn (2012), the participant journals revealed that "six of the nine participants who kept journals showed patterns of increased engagement during the treatment period." The students saw "a positive difference in their ability to focus, pay attention, concentrate, or engage in class" (p. 118). The parents also witnessed similar changes, stating that "9 out of 10 parents saw an improvement in one or more symptoms of their child's ADHD" (p. 118). During the post-treatment period, both students and parents noticed a "decreased engagement" and "a negative change in one or more of the symptoms of ADHD" (p. 118).
I found this article and Wegrzyn's research to be very interesting and enlightening. I was previously unaware that such a large percentage of children with ADHD do not respond to the commonly prescribed medication. From the ADHD: Fact or Fiction video, I learned that medication is only part of a treatment program for someone with ADHD, also including aspects such as diet, stress-control, therapy, and coaching. I believe that for some students, brain games could be another effective component. During my student teaching, I worked with one such student, a high school junior with inattentive ADHD. I regularly witnessed this student, like many other students, on his phone and iPod sneakily trying to play games during downtime or passing periods. I found these transition times between classes challenging because this student, and others without ADHD, often lost focus from one class to the next and it could be difficult to get everyone quickly back on track during in the beginning of the class period. Because of this previous interest in video games and the lack of focus after a transition, I believe using brain games either before school or during breaks could have been a viable option. Not only do I believe this student could have benefitted from this activity, but I believe many of my students without ADHD could have benefitted from brain games. I could also see brain games being beneficial in my current classroom at Elim. While our students are not diagnosed with ADHD, many of them struggle with focusing during class due to a variety of learning disabilities. Some effective strategies we use to promote attentiveness and to help the students concentrate include incorporating technology into lessons as well as breaking up our day into short blocks of time for each activity. Since many of students use the computers at school and already enjoy playing video games, adding brain games as one of our activities during centers, individual work, or free time could be a beneficial in the classroom and enjoyable for the students.
I found Wegrzyn's research and her conclusions to be a very practical and useful, not only for teachers but also for parents. I have heard many parents state that they worry about putting their children on medication for ADHD because of the myth that it causes children to become zombie-like. While the video, ADHD: Fact or Fiction, puts these rumors to rest, for parents that are still worried, brain games could be a possible non-pharmaceutical treatment option or component in their treatment plan. For the classroom, brain games could be an inexpensive and interesting way to promote engagement. Wegrzyn's study used Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. A used Nintendo DS and the Brain Age game together costs about 80 dollars. While I don't believe it is a practical idea that schools would provide such equipment for each student, it possible that they may be willing to purchase a few sets for a classroom. If not, many students may already own a Nintendo DS, significantly cutting down the cost. Other ideas such as donations or fundraising could also help in the acquiring the games. The article suggests that teachers could allow students to play the Nintendo DS during homeroom, lunch, recess, or other breaks during the day and then monitor any changes in the student's ability to focus. As Wegrzyn (2012) states, "liability is not an issue, considering that, even if the games did not help the child's engagement, they would at least provide the educational benefit of practicing basic math facts, memorization, and reading skills" (p. 125). Even if it were impossible to afford the video game, there are countless websites, including cnn.com, aarp.com, and many others, that host similar and free brain games.
I believe the biggest weakness point of the article was limiting size and span of the study. Wegrzyn's study only included ten students with ADHD, ages 10 to 17, and lasted only eight weeks, five of which were for the actual treatment. While study was significantly helpful for these students, I would like to see a similar experiment done on a larger scale with various groups. Would brain games be as successful for students with ADHD that also have other disabilities? The article also states that even though the students felt an improvement, because the treatment only lasted 5 weeks, it was "just not enough time for the improvement to carry over into the classroom (Wegrzyn, 2012, p. 126). A longer study would allow the actual classroom impact to be monitored through grades and teacher observations.
Overall, I found the article to be very interesting and useful in providing alternative methods to help students with ADHD focus and become in engaged in the classroom. I could see myself and other teachers I know easily incorporating brain game activities, with or without the actual Nintendo DS game used in the study, into the daily classroom routine. I believe that these brain game activities would help not only the students with ADHD, but other students as well due to their quick and fun approach.
According to Wegrzyn (2012), "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorder, affecting approximately 5.5 million children between the ages of 4 and 17." However, of these 5.5 million, 20% do not respond to the commonly prescribed stimulate medications (p. 107). Due to this fact, Wegryzn and her team decided to research and test a new alternative for students with ADHD: brain games. One of the believed causes of ADHD is a lack of activity in the prefrontal cortex. Recent research states that activities such as "rapid mathematical calculations and reading aloud" can greatly increase activity in this section of the brain and have proven beneficial for patients with dementia (Wegrzyn, 2012, p. 108). In this article, Wegrzyn had students, ages 10 to 17, that were previously diagnosed with Combined or Inattentive ADHD play at least twenty minutes of BrainAge, a Nintendo DS video game, everyday before going to school. Through student and parent journals, as well as EEG testing, Wegrzyn was able to test the effectiveness of this alternative treatment option for students with ADHD. After five weeks of treatment, the students returned to their normal routine, not playing any brain games for three weeks. When this post-treatment period ended, Wegrzyn began to analyze all the compiled data. According to Wegrzyn (2012), the participant journals revealed that "six of the nine participants who kept journals showed patterns of increased engagement during the treatment period." The students saw "a positive difference in their ability to focus, pay attention, concentrate, or engage in class" (p. 118). The parents also witnessed similar changes, stating that "9 out of 10 parents saw an improvement in one or more symptoms of their child's ADHD" (p. 118). During the post-treatment period, both students and parents noticed a "decreased engagement" and "a negative change in one or more of the symptoms of ADHD" (p. 118).
I found this article and Wegrzyn's research to be very interesting and enlightening. I was previously unaware that such a large percentage of children with ADHD do not respond to the commonly prescribed medication. From the ADHD: Fact or Fiction video, I learned that medication is only part of a treatment program for someone with ADHD, also including aspects such as diet, stress-control, therapy, and coaching. I believe that for some students, brain games could be another effective component. During my student teaching, I worked with one such student, a high school junior with inattentive ADHD. I regularly witnessed this student, like many other students, on his phone and iPod sneakily trying to play games during downtime or passing periods. I found these transition times between classes challenging because this student, and others without ADHD, often lost focus from one class to the next and it could be difficult to get everyone quickly back on track during in the beginning of the class period. Because of this previous interest in video games and the lack of focus after a transition, I believe using brain games either before school or during breaks could have been a viable option. Not only do I believe this student could have benefitted from this activity, but I believe many of my students without ADHD could have benefitted from brain games. I could also see brain games being beneficial in my current classroom at Elim. While our students are not diagnosed with ADHD, many of them struggle with focusing during class due to a variety of learning disabilities. Some effective strategies we use to promote attentiveness and to help the students concentrate include incorporating technology into lessons as well as breaking up our day into short blocks of time for each activity. Since many of students use the computers at school and already enjoy playing video games, adding brain games as one of our activities during centers, individual work, or free time could be a beneficial in the classroom and enjoyable for the students.
I found Wegrzyn's research and her conclusions to be a very practical and useful, not only for teachers but also for parents. I have heard many parents state that they worry about putting their children on medication for ADHD because of the myth that it causes children to become zombie-like. While the video, ADHD: Fact or Fiction, puts these rumors to rest, for parents that are still worried, brain games could be a possible non-pharmaceutical treatment option or component in their treatment plan. For the classroom, brain games could be an inexpensive and interesting way to promote engagement. Wegrzyn's study used Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. A used Nintendo DS and the Brain Age game together costs about 80 dollars. While I don't believe it is a practical idea that schools would provide such equipment for each student, it possible that they may be willing to purchase a few sets for a classroom. If not, many students may already own a Nintendo DS, significantly cutting down the cost. Other ideas such as donations or fundraising could also help in the acquiring the games. The article suggests that teachers could allow students to play the Nintendo DS during homeroom, lunch, recess, or other breaks during the day and then monitor any changes in the student's ability to focus. As Wegrzyn (2012) states, "liability is not an issue, considering that, even if the games did not help the child's engagement, they would at least provide the educational benefit of practicing basic math facts, memorization, and reading skills" (p. 125). Even if it were impossible to afford the video game, there are countless websites, including cnn.com, aarp.com, and many others, that host similar and free brain games.
I believe the biggest weakness point of the article was limiting size and span of the study. Wegrzyn's study only included ten students with ADHD, ages 10 to 17, and lasted only eight weeks, five of which were for the actual treatment. While study was significantly helpful for these students, I would like to see a similar experiment done on a larger scale with various groups. Would brain games be as successful for students with ADHD that also have other disabilities? The article also states that even though the students felt an improvement, because the treatment only lasted 5 weeks, it was "just not enough time for the improvement to carry over into the classroom (Wegrzyn, 2012, p. 126). A longer study would allow the actual classroom impact to be monitored through grades and teacher observations.
Overall, I found the article to be very interesting and useful in providing alternative methods to help students with ADHD focus and become in engaged in the classroom. I could see myself and other teachers I know easily incorporating brain game activities, with or without the actual Nintendo DS game used in the study, into the daily classroom routine. I believe that these brain game activities would help not only the students with ADHD, but other students as well due to their quick and fun approach.
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