ERR ERRVERERPRRRE IR-SERRRE ’ ‘ TRRRERE RETHRR AS A MODEL FOR REE WIRE TEACHERS AND REES} i’i:; . 1- ; if‘l WBUC SSHOGL PRQGRAMS FOR j EERRERETETRREVERELY REEERRER: " ' ' V 31 WEEKS Sissertation for the Begree of Ph'. D. WEI-{EGAN SERTERNWERSETY ' BERSQN ROBERT HERBERT 2975 E “REA 1; 2’ lflichégza‘rffifi This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE ACTIVE RESPONSE IN-SERVICE TRAINING METHOD AS A MODEL FOR USE WITH TEACHERS AND AIDES IN PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR MODERATE T0 SEVERELY RETARDED STUDENTS presented by BENSON ROBERT HERBERT has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for PH.D. degree in SPECIAL EDUCATION Date July 1, 1975 ABSTRACT THE ACTIVE RESPONSE IN SERVICE TRAINING METHOD AS A MODEL FOR USE WITH TEACHERS AND AIDES IN PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR MODERATE T0 SEVERELY RETARDED STUDENTS Michigan, in recent years, has been faced with a number Of sociaL legal and educational changes in reference to the public school education of moderately to severely retarded students. The rapid in- flux of formerly institutionalized retardates into public school pro- grams, the increased use of paraprofessionals in these programs, the lack of undergraduate and graduate teacher training programs, and the scarcity of quality in-service training have created a need to more efficiently prepare professionals and paraprofessionals for their roles as instructors of this student population. In response to this need, the Jackson-Hillsdale—Lenawee Project was developed to study the effectiveness of a model for providing an integrated approach to the two separate functions of graduate teacher training and staff in- service training in trainable and day-training programs. The vehicle for the integration of these two functions was the Active Response In-service Training Method. As part of their total graduate training program, special education graduate students acted as in-service trainers for a group of professional and paraprofessional special educators. Benson Robert Herbert This study represents one facet of the overall attempt to evaluate this integration of the two functions. As such, this study is an evaluation of the Active Response In—service Training Method for use as a model for providing in-service training. The Active Response In-service Training Method (ARITM) was developed by Burke and Rowland for use as an in-service training method in state institutions. Unlike the more traditional (lecture) method for in-service training. the ARITM is Characterized by l) individualized training of a subject in his classroom while he is working with his students on existing instructional problems, 2) utilization of assessment as a basis for designing both the subject training and the student instruction, 3) the modeling of desired sub- ject behavior, 4) immediate practice of the skill to be learned, 5) utilization of behavior modification techniques to both train the subject and teach the student. The purpose of this study was twofold. As an evaluation of the effectiveness of the ARITM as an in-service training model in public school trainable and day-training programs, this study was undertaken to profile some changes in important teaching behaviors that accrued to the subjects over the treatment period. Through analysis of these changes, three Objectives of this study were to be accomplished: l) the strength of the ARITM for teaching various requisite instructional skills would be ascertained; 2) specific subgroups within the focal population would be identified as more or less receptive to the ARITM as an in-service training tool; and 3) data collected could be used for modification of the ARITM for future USE. Benson Robert Herbert This study was a clinical analysis of the ARITM'S efficacy for influencing change in four dimensions of teaching behavior. 1. The Opinion Dimension analyzed change in subjects' Opinions about in-service training in general, about their own strengths as teachers, about various methods and techniques advocated by the ARITM, and about the subjects' feelings of satisfaction with the ARITM experience. 2. The Skill Dimension analyzed subjects' change of skills in applying behavior modification techniques. 3. The Verbal Expression Dimension analyzed subjects' change in ability to conceptualize and verbally express an understanding Of the prescriptive teaching process and to use the technical language of instruction. 4. The Intent Dimension analyzed the subjects' intent to in- corporate learnedTERills into their daily instructional routine and to apply these skills beyond the period of the in-service training. Over the academic year (project period), changes accrued to the subjects that indicated the appropriateness of the following conclusions for subject populations of similar description. A substantial increase in subjects' ability to apply ap- propriate behavior modification techniques is to be expected. To a lesser extent, but nevertheless evident, the ARITM has a positive influence on the subjects' verbal expressive skills in regard to articulating the process of prescriptive teaching and the ability to use the technical language of instruction. Having learned the skills taught by the ARITM, the subjects will tend to take a more individ- ualized approach to instruction and will most likely incorporate and practice the skills they have acquired. The ARITM will influence stronger feelings of adequacy as instructors on the part of the sub- jects. In its present form, the ARITM does not influence a positive Benson Robert Herbert Change in subjects' opinions about the general feeling of the adequacy of the overall in-service training programs offered within the subjects' school district. Finally, when considering the relative gains Of the various subgroups, it can be concluded that most benefit was derived by the aides in day-training programs, followed by aides in trainable programs, and least, although substantial, by teachers in trainable programs. THE ACTIVE RESPONSE IN-SERVICE TRAINING METHOD AS A MODEL FOR USE WITH TEACHERS AND AIDES IN PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR MODERATE TO SEVERELY RETARDED STUDENTS By Benson Robert Herbert A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Elementary and Special Education 1975 Dedicated to Bear and Bink ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study is the result of cooperative efforts of numerous persons, some proximal, some distant only in time and space. A special feeling of thanks is extended to the children. . . Most grateful appreciation is extended to Dr. Donald A. Burke, dissertation chairman, for providing the vehicle upon which this study traveled, the guidance, concern, perception, encouragement and many personal hours of work necessary to steer it to conclusion. TO a gentleman, a deep and sincere gratitude is extended, Dr. Charles E. Henley - doctoral program chairman, for his friendship and guidance and for the concern he showed for this persons well being and progress. Gratitude is extended to committee members Dr. Edwin J. Keller for sharing his knowledge and invaluable suggestions, and to Drs. E. Jane Oyer and Richard L. Featherstone for their positive contributions to the dissertation experience and to the entire pro- gram process. Appreciation is extended to Dr. Martha E. Rowland and the six graduate students for their Close and willing cooperation through- out this study. To the staff and administrations of the participant school districts thanks are extended for permitting this investigator's trespass. To my parents I would like to express thanks for the indescribable influence that they have exerted upon my life; the meaning of which is just beginning to be comprehended. Finally to my wife, Nancy, my most profound feelings of gratitude and appreciation for her understanding support, unselfish endurance, and assistance in this partnership. And to Stacey and Whitney my gratitude for permitting this rather bizarre intrusion during their young lives. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES . ................. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ..... 1 Recent Events in Michigan's Education of the Severely Retarded ............... l Instructional Personnel . ......... x ..... 2 Background and Training of Paraprofessionals 4 Emphasis on In-service Training ..... . . . . . . 6 Relevancy Of In—service Training .......... 6 Development of the ARITM . . . . . ...... . . . 7 Description of the ARITM .......... . . . . 9 Characteristics of the ARITM ........... ll Main Steps in the ARITM Process .......... ll Summary of the ARITM Process ....... . . . . l4 Evaluation of the ARITM in Institutions . . . . . . . l5 Purpose of Project ................. 18 Purpose and Focus of the Study ........... 19 II. METHODOLOGY ...................... 21 DESCRIPTION Of PROJECT and STUDY .......... 21 Description Of Intermediate School District Program Organization .............. 2l Description Of the Jackson-Hi1lsdale-Lenawee Project Organization ....... . ...... 22 Page Description of the In-service Trainers and University Training Program . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Assignment of In-service Trainers . . . . . . . . . 26 Selection of Participant School Districts ..... 27 Subject Selection ................. 28 Subject Characteristics ............. 29 Implementing the ARITM .............. 3l EVALUATION PROCEDURES ................ 31 Overview of the Four Dimensions of the Study . . . 31 Instrumentation ........ . ......... 32 Opinion Dimension ................ 32 Intent Dimension . ............... 36 Whole Class School Day Program Schedule . . . . 37 Verbal Expression Dimension ......... . . 41 Teaching Sample ................ 42 VTR Response Sheet . . ............ 44 Evaluation of the VTR Response Sheet ..... 46 Judgment Form ....... . . ........ 47 Skill Dimension ................. 48 Instructional Behavior Observation Check List ....... . . ...... . . 50 In-service Trainers as Observers ....... 54 Instrument Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Evaluation of Teaching Samples ........ 56 Instructional Behavior Analysis Sheet (IBAS) ............ . . . . . . . 57 SUMMARY of the DIMENSIONS of the STUDY ....... 58 TREATMENT of DATA '. ................. 58 III. RESULTS ........................ 61 STUDY OVERVIEW ................... 61 General Purposes of the Study ........... 61 Objectives and Assumptions ............ 61 Dimensions of the Study . . . ........... 62 Composition of Subgroups ............. 63 vi RESULTS for EACH DIMENSION ............. Skill Dimension .................. Overall Performance ............... Amount of Positive Change in Skill ....... Positive Change in the Six Factors of the Instructional Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . Verbal Expression Dimension' ............ Regrouping Of Subjects ............. Changes in Understanding Prescriptive Teaching and Use of Technical Language Intent Dimension ................. Regrouping of Subjects . . ........ Shifts in Instructional Interaction Types . . . . Opinion Dimension ...... . ........ . . Subject Grouping ............... Statement Analysis and Response Format ..... Analysis of Responses to Specific Statements .................. SUMMARY of RESULTS ................. Overview ..................... Summary of Results in Skill Dimension ....... Summary of Results in Verbal Expression Dimension .................... Summary Of Results in the Intent Dimension Summary of the Opinion Dimension ......... Results Over All Dimensions ............ SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................ SUMMARY of the PROJECT . .............. Development of the Model . . . . ......... J-H-L Project Organization ............ ACtive Response In-service Training ........ Evaluation Procedures . . . . . .......... vii Page 64 64 64 66 69 72 72 73 75 76 77 80 80 8O 81 9O 9O 91 92 93 94 95 97 97 97 99 100 Page DISCUSSION of RESULTS ................ 103 Skill Dimension .................. 104 Overall Change ....... . ......... 104 Amount of Change ............ . . . . 105 Change in Specific Subfactors of the Behavior Modification Cycle .......... 106 Verbal Expression Dimension ............ 107 Intent Dimension ................. 108 Opinion Dimension ................. 109 Statement Number 29 ............... 110 Statement Number 40 ..... . ......... 111 CONCLUSIONS ..................... 114 IMPLICATIONS for FURTHER RESEARCH ..... . . . . . 118 APPENDICES A. Opinion Survey ..................... 120 8. Whole Class School Day Program Schedule ........ 129 C. Instructions for Completing Classroom Schedules . . . . 130 0. Instructions for Completing the Teaching Sample . . . . 132 E. Post VTR Response Sheet ................ 133 F. Judge's Response .................... 134 G. Folder Contents . . . . . . ........ . ..... 136 H. Evaluation Procedure .................. 137 1. Instructional Behavior Observation Check List ..... 138 J. Instructional Behavior Observation Check List Code Key ....................... 139 K. IBOCL Reliability Check ................ 145 L. General Directions ................... 149 M. List of Coded Segments ................. 150 viii Page N. Instructional Behavior Analysis Sheet . . . ...... 151 0. Pre Treatment Characteristics of the Instructional Environment as They Relate to the Respective Subject Dyads .................... 162 P. Post Treatment Characteristics of the InstrUCtional Environment as They Relate to the Respective Subject Dyads .................... 163 REFERENCES .......................... 164 ix LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1. Table l. A comparison of the Traditional In-service Training Format with the ARITM . . .......... Assignment of Each Of the Six In-service Trainers (I.T.) to Their Respective School Districts, Staff Members (Subjects) and Programs ........ Disposition of Subjects According to Position, School District and Program Assignment ........ Summary of Study's Four Dimensions with Respect to Measures and Instruments and the Objectives Relevant to Each Dimension .............. . . . . Distribution of All Subjects With Respect to Their Instructional Subgroup Affiliation by Position and Program . . . . ............... . . Number and Respective Percentage of Subjects Showing Both Positive Change (Growth) and Negative Change (NO Growth) in the Ability to Apply Behavior Modification Techniques ......... . ..... Distribution of Subjects Showing Positive Change According to Their Subgroup Affiliation by Program (Trainable or Day-training) and by Position (Teacher or Aide) and Giving the Representative Percentage for Each Group . . . . .......... Distribution of Subjects Showing Positive Change According to the Magnitude of Change and Subgroup Classification by Program and Position ........ Comparison of Percentage Breakdown According to Magnitude of Positive Change Between the Two Subgroups: Teachers and Aides* (Trainable Teachers and Trainable Aides Dyads) . . . . . . ........ Page 10 27 30 59 64 65 65 66 68 Table Page 9. Comparison of Percentage Breakdown According to Magnitude of Positive Change Between the Two Subgroups: Trainable Program and Day—training Program (Trainable Program Aides and Day-training Program Aides) ......... . ...... . . . . 68 10. Number of Subjects Showing Positive Change in the Six Specific Factors Considered in the Instruc- tional Trials According to the Instructional Behavior Observation Check List (IBOCL) ....... 7O 11. Rank Order of the Six Factors for Each Subgroup According to the Number of Subjects in Each Subgroup Showing Positive Change in the Various Factors . . . . . ..... . ............ 71 12. Distribution of Subjects Responding to the Verbal Expression Dimension ................. 72 13. Summary of Group Performance in the Two Areas Of the Verbal Expression Dimension ........... 73 14. Distribution of Subjects According to Direction of Change and Subgroup Affiliation by Program and Position ...... . . ........ . ...... 74 15. Pre and Post—treatment Comparisons of the Trainable Program Dyads' Use of the Various Instructional Interaction Types ................. . 77 16. Pre and Post-treatment Comparisons of the Day- training Program Staffs' Use Of Various Instruc- tional Interaction Types ............... 79 17. Opinion Survey Statement Numbers Used and the Maximum Desirable Score Values Assigned to Each . . . 82 18. Summary of Mean Pre and Post Scores and Indication Of Opinion Change on Selected Opinion Statements for the Whole Group and Subgroups and Those Sub- jects Not Included in any Subgroup* . . . . . . . . . 83 19. Pre and Post-treatment Comparisons of Percentages of Subjects Showing Varying Degrees of Perceived Strength as Instructors of the Mentally Retarded . . . 89 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Recent Events in Michigan's Education of the Severely Retarded Several events in Michigan have added to the current needs in programming a quality public school education for moderately and severely retarded children and in the concomitant need for trained educational personnel. Public Health Statutes (Section 9) of P.A. 54-Community Mental Health Act of 1963, set the priority to and the vehicle for the community care and education of the formerly institutionalized retarded and disturbed. Community Mental Health data (April 1974) depict the impact of the statute and the trend toward community place- ment. In 1971-1972, 360 mentally retarded persons, seventeen years Old or younger, were discharged from institutions in Michigan and given "community placement status." Of that same age grOup, 283 more were given "convalescent status" during that same year. ”Convalescent status" is defined as trial placement before achieving full "community placement status.“ During the following year (1972-1973), 523 were classified as community placement status and 477 achieved convalescent statUs. In 1971, the availability of social security funds (Fed. Soc. Sec. Act of 1969, Title IVa of 1971) made large scale public school programming for severely and multiply impaired children pos- sible. At that same time, the responsibility for the education of this population was transferred from the Michigan Department of Social Services to the Michigan Department of Education. In 1973, P.A. 198 of 1971 became effective making mandatory the public school education of all handicapped persons. This act also extended the age of public school eligibility to include handicapped persons from birth to 25 years, regardless of severity of the handi- cap. Community care and education facilities existed prior to these events, but the majority were managed by the private sector and staffed by untrained paid and non-paid volunteers. Few, if any, guidelines were available for educational programming. Most education for this population occurred in the institutions where "care" and not education was stressed (Wolfensberger, 1969; McBride, 1972). Instructional Personnel In the school year 1972-1973, there were 553 teachers and 878 aides employed in trainable and day training programs in Michigan. In 1973-1974, 640 teachers and 1012 aides were employed and estimates for 1974-1975 totaled 647 teachers and 1086 aides. These totals do not include personnel employed by community mental health programs for the mentally retarded or the mentally ill (Chappell 1972). The Michigan approved teacher/aide ratio for these focal programs is one teacher to three instructional aides to 30 children, and one teacher to one non-instructional aide to 15 Children. In all, non-trained paraprofessionals potentially outnumber certified teachers almost three to one. Michigan has no specialized certification or approval re- quirements for teachers of trainable and day training students; general approval as a teacher Of the mentally retarded is the only requirement. There are no state requirements for approval of "non- instruCtional" classroom aides. Rule 93 of the Michigan School Code states that approval is left to the discretion of the employing inter- mediate school district. Rule 94 states that instructional aides must have a high school diploma and a minimum of two years of success- ful experience working with handicapped children. The Michigan Department of Education (June 1970) published the report of the Michigan Special Education Committee on Certifica- tion of Teachers of the Handicapped. Although not considered to be an appropriate part of the formal report, the Committee felt "compelled" to bring to the State's attention two concerns about paraprofessionals. The Committee recommends that there be a thorough exploration of the relationship between the employment of non-professional persons in Special Education and Vocational Education. We particularly would like to see the use of a licensing procedure for these people within the context of Special Education. The problem of training (and approval) of paraprofessionals has not been resolved. This will become more critical as the pro- fessional organizations become involved with graduated levels of professionals and the definition of roles for each level. Saettler (1970), in a national survey, states that there are 774 undergraduate programs and 794 graduate programs preparing teachers in various disability areas. Of these, 276 undergraduate and 231 graduate training programs are in the area of mental retarda- tion. Although Saettler does not indicate how many train teachers Of the severely retarded, he does state that there are only nine under- graduate and ten graduate programs for training professionals for the multiply handicapped population. Chappell (1972) states that there are no four year degree institutions in Michigan with programs that prepare teachers of the moderately to severely retarded. Although there are some community colleges training paraprofessionals for work with this population, there is little standardization and no record of the competency of graduates of Michigan programs. Ba k round and Training_ at: c f raprofessionals This wide spread acceptance of the use of aides, the lack of specific training and the expansion of public school programs for the trainable and day training population creates a problem that is compounded when one considers the paucity of in-service training pro- grams for personnel working in these programs. Addressing this focal population, Harris (1972) indicates that in-service training is scarcely available in Michigan. In-service training takes on particular significance when one examines the background Of the paraprofessionals seeking and find- ing employment in these programs. Prior to extensive use Of paid aides in public school systems, most documentation on aide characteristics came from state hospitals, residential institutions and federally funded programs in which formerly disenfranchised poor adults were employed and trained to work with preschool age and handicapped chil- dren. The majority of the aides specified had not attained a high school education, had no formal or informal experience with retarded children, and functioned on a 7th to 9th grade educational level (Cortazzo, 1971: Bernsberg, 1964; Roselle, 1950; Wilson, 1972). Although the educational level of the aides employed in public school programs is somewhat higher, those aides who have gone beyond a high school education have usually done so in areas non-related to the education of handicapped children (Harris 1972). One might expect that aides or paraprofessionals working in programs would acquire a certain degree of competence through daily interaction with trained professionals working in or as consultants to such programs. TO a certain extent, this is true, but several factors combine to greatly mitigate the value that an aide might de- rive from such interactions; such interactions are usually informal, highly focused, and occur on an abstract verbal plane. This presupposes that the interactors are conversant in educational theory and techni- cal vocabulary. Secondly, there are few educators available on local program staffs that have been trained to teach this population. Finally, many programs for this student population operate without the resource personnel which are normally available to other special edu- cation programs. Consultants to day-training and trainable programs are few in number (Harris). Most support personnel that are available work directly with the student, thus having minimal impact on the development of staff teaching competencies, particularly competencies of the paraprofessional. Emphasis on In-service Training_ The National Commission for Teacher Education and Profes- sional Standards (1965) expressed urgent concern for effective in- service training in special education. Michigan, too, has expressed its concern by including in the rules and regulations for the imple- mentation of Mandatory Special Education (P.A. 198) a section requiring intermediate school districts to provide effective in-service training programs. Four recommendations made by Harris with specific reference to day-training programs express the need for in-service training of professional and paraprofessional staff. Relevanoypof In-service Training Existing in-service training is usually provided in an academic theoretical manner which places the burden of actual skill development on the trainee rather than the trainer. Attacks on tra- ditional methods of in-service training are common in the literature. MacIntyre (1972) typifies these references saying that "traditional converences or meetings . . . have come under fire as having limited information giving functions and showing no evidence of Changing teacher behavior . . . ." Aside from the questionable efficacy of traditional in-service methods, the administrative problems inherent in the tra- ditional format are of major concern to the public school sector. Considering the above, it would appear that special educators should place high priorities on the design and implementation of specifically focused, highly practical in-service training. Secondly, much of this in-service training effort should be directed toward the upgrading of staff competencies in trainable and day-training programs. Further, it appears appropriate to designate the paraprofessional as the primary focal population because they represent the greatest number and least trained segment in these programs. This group also is representative of those persons least likely to benefit from the more traditional in-service training formats. It was in response to this identified need for in—service training and with an awareness Of the manifest weaknesses of traditional formats that the Active Response In-service Training Method (ARITM) was developed. Development of the ARITM The ARITM was originally developed by Burke and Rowland in 1970 as a result of their work with residents and attendants in various state hospitals for institutionalized retarded. The litera- ture and practical experience had indicated a need for alternative forms of staff in-service training. Traditionally, most in-service training was provided for the professional ancillary medical personnel and stressed basic care and medical treatment. In-service for non- medical staff was usually provided by nursing staff and stressed custodial care and not education and habilitation. This type of training was consistent with an important purpose Of the institutions; providing custodial care for the residents (Goldstein 1959). The traditional format employed lectures and technical concepts which proved to be of little training value as the average attendant had less than a twelfth grade education and ranked in the lower portion of normal tested intelligence (Barnett 1965). Many had less than eight years of formal schooling (Parker 1951). In a selected paper, "An In-service Technique to Teach Ward Attendants How to Give Language Development Training to Institution- alized Retardates," presented 1971 at the annual conference of the Michigan Speech and Hearing Association, Burke and Rowland outlined their early attempts in the development of the ARITM. Three basic assumptions about learning provided the under pinnings of the method; learning is best facilitated by 1) active involvement of the learner, 2) knowledge of results and reinforcement for success, and 3) Oppor- tunities for practice in the trainee's milieu. Burke and Rowland described their method as a seven step process: 1. Training of a resident was preceded by assessment of the resident's current functional developmental level. 2. Assessment was followed by a behavioral statement of the training goals for the resident. 3. The goals were clarified and ultimately articulated by the attendant. 4. The trainer demonstrated a given procedure on the resident. 5. The attendant then practiced the procedure. 6. The trainer then shaped the attendant's training behavior through prompting and the reinforcement of successive approxi- mations. 7. Generalization was promoted by having the attendant practice on other residents. Although no evaluation of Burke and Rowland's early work was undertaken, both felt that their in-service training method would be applicable for training attendants to teach other skills such as dressing, toileting, eating. Furthermore, they felt that it would produce more satisfactory results than would traditional methods. Figure 1 outlines some of the important differences between the tra- ditional in-service training formats and the Burke/Rowland method. This method was later to become known as the Active Response In—service Training Method (ARITM). Description of the ARITM Although the Active Response In-service Training Method (ARITM) has undergone extensive modification since its inception, the core of the method has remained identical to that reported by Burke and Rowland (1971). The ARITM still holds three basic assump- tions; those being: 1) benefits Of in-service training will better accrue if training is provided while the trainee is actively involved in instruction; 2) trainees are most likely to assimilate and retain new knowledge and skills if models of desired behavior are provided in an interactive environment conducive to immediate practice and reinforcement of a new skill; 3) in-service training is most relevant if it is structured pursuant to the trainee's identification of in- structional problems with which he is faced in his classroom. 10 Traditional 1. Administratively complex involv- ing school dismissal, teacher release time and hiring of sub- stitutes. 2. Separation of staff and student. 3. Symbolic abstract presentations with transfer only expected. 4. Information must be retained for long period before oppor- tunity for use. 5. Skills are presented under ideal or simulated conditions. 6. Skills later applied without supervision. 7. Rewards for participation are often not related to assimi- lation of in-service content. 8. Single exposure to complex and abstracted methodologies. 9. Participants are treated as isolates. 10. Passive participation. Figure 1. ARI On-site in—service given while teachers and students are in class. Staff are trained to work with their students. Skills presented in concrete terms and practiced as modeled. Exposure to new skills and practice occur simultan- eously. Skills presented in the normal working environment. Skills applied under super- vision with immediate feed- back given. Rewards are only given as a consequence of assimilation of in-service content. Multiple exposures given over prolonged periods of time. Participants are treated as interacting members of a team. Active participation. A Comparison of the Traditional In-service Training_Format with the ARITM. 11 Characteristics of the ARITM The ARITM displays five broad characteristic components: 1) individualized on-site interaction of the in-service trainer and the subject; 2) the institution Of assessment-based child instruction and a prescriptive teaching model; 3) immediate application Of newly learned techniques; 4) the utilization of techniques of behavior modification on two levels (the staff level and the student level); and 5) a program of in-service training designed around the problem- atic conditions the subjects find in their own Classroom. Although the concrete application of the ARITM involves some specific content, such as the isolation and definition of a particular student behavior, the utilization of a particular assess- ment instrument or a particular training procedure for a given subject matter, the ARITM is actually a "process" method. The utilization of the ARITM is independent of particular academic subject matter. A description of the ARITM process follows: Main Steps in the ARITM Process The Active Response In-service Training Method consists of six (6) main steps*: As each step in the ARITM is taken, various interactions may occur between the people involved: the in-service trainer (I.T.), the subjects and the students. In-service Subject Student] Trainer ----' *Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Rowland for providing this excellent description Of the ARITM, while allowing extensive modifications to be made for purposes of this study. The first step was the identification and behavioral statement of the problem or area of interest. The identification of the problem was usually a cooperative effort by the I.T. and the subject. Informal discussions during breaks or after school, coupled with classroom Obser- vations, facilitated problem definition. Problems were stated behaviorally before proceeding to the next step. In-service Subject Student(s) Trainer U The second step was a functional assessment of the student. Assessments were made to further define the problem or to identify the student‘s.developmental level. Both formal and informal assessment.instruments and procedures were used to.fit the specific needs of the particular situation. The I.T. might have assessed the student(s) l1 In-service Subject Student(s)| Trainer . on the subject may have assessed the student(s) In-service Subject [Student(s)] Trainer ‘ * [1 F— At times, the subject requested to be trained in giving a new assessment. In such cases, the ARITM was used by the I.T. to instruct the subject in the use of assessment pro- cedures. In-service Trainer [1 Subject Student(s) Step three involved the development of the assessment based training program to address the problem or interest area. Using the assessment.results, a training program was developed by the I.T. and subject.. Activities usually involved in this step include-cooperative I.T./subject efforts to locate or construct training materials, arranging training areas in the l3 classroom, piloting training.procedures, determining appro- priate-student reinforcers, describing acceptable approxi- mations of the behavior being trained. [In-service lSubjectl Student(s)] Trainer 4. The fourth step involved the I.T.'s demonstration of the training procedure to the subject using the student previously assessed in step two. Vocal demonstrations could accompany the physical demonstra- tion to clarify procedure. Vocal demonstrations without physical demonstrations were used only when: 1) subjects were more.ski11ed in the particular training area; 2) when there was certainty that the training program was appropriate for the student; and 3) when the procedure did not need to be piloted by the I.T. The demonstration served two purposes. First, it allowed the subject to become familiar with the training procedures through observation of the demonstration. Secondly, during this period, the I.T. made any necessary modifications in the.training procedure. In this step, as in all other steps, the inability to obtain acceptable ap- proximations.of the training objectives resulted in going back to the prior step in the method. If adjustments to the training procedure appeared appropriate, the modified pro— cedure was demonstrated by the I.T. In-Service Student(s) Trainer 5. The fifth step in the method involved the shaping of the subject's skills in the use of the particular procedure. The subject was given an opportunity to use the procedure with the student. During this time, the I.T. observed the subject's application of the procedure, providing cues and prompts.when necessary. Feedback was given as to the cor- rectness-of the.application, and social reinforcement was given to the subject in the form of praise for correct ap- plications and acceptable approximation. This step (subject practice) was undertaken immediately following the I.T.‘s demonstration of the procedure. If necessary, to facilitate * When instructing the student either during the period of demonstration by.the I.T., or during subject practice session, the instructional interactions followed a basic behavior modification format (stimulus presentation/prompting/response/reinforcement). ’__.-.._——- 14 the subject's success, additional demonstrations were given by the I.T. In the case of a complex training program, the I. T. would demonstrate small portions to insure subject success as the.subject.tried it for the first time. Written guides describing the training program in step-by-step format were always left with the subject to assure appropriate ap- plication of the training program under conditions Of non- supervision. In-service Subject Student(s)] Trainer » 6. The sixth step concerned the I.T.‘s follow-up with the sub- ject about the implementation and progress of any training program. The I.T. followed up the progress of the training program as it was being carried out by the subject in the classroom by providing any needed adjustments in procedures, reassessment of student(s), or needed additional instruction of the subject. During this step, the I.T. discussed student performance data with the subject for the pbrpose of evaluating the progress and direction of the training programs initiated. ”Follow-up" included group staff training sessions with or without stu- dents.before or after.school hours. These sessions were used only to reinforce and extend understanding of concepts already being used by the subjects. In-service A lSubject [Student(s)] Trainer , , Summaryjof the ARITM Process In summary, then, and in reference to the underlying assump- tions and five characteristics Of the ARITM, this overview follows: 1. The method provides in-service training to subjects while in their own classroom, while the subjects are actively involved with the problems Of teaching their students. 2. The method models and actively promotes student instruction based on accurate assessment of the developmental level and instructional needs of each student. This approach is Char— acterized by:. a) definition and behavioral statement of the problem; b) assessment of the functional level of the student; c) writing of an individualized plan of instruction; 15 d) subdivision of instructional procedures into objectives which best facilitate the student's learning; 3) evaluation Of the student's progress toward meeting those objectives: and f) program modification based on evaluative feedback. This procedure is used on two levels. All training of stu- dents adheres to this process, and all in-service training of the staff members likewise employs the same process. 3. The subjects were afforded the opportunity to practice any program procedure or technique immediately after the model demonstration had been presented. This practice was done in the presence Of the I.T. so learning could best be achieved. 4. Behavior modification techniques were employed on two levels. On the first level, the I.T. during demonstration, and the subject during practice, used a behavior modification format when instructing the student. On the second level, the I.T. shaped the subject's behavior in practice sessions by apply- ing these same behavior modification techniques on the sub- ject. The difference between utilization on these two levels was primarily in the reinforcements used. When using these techniques with the student, tangible reinforcers such as toys, tokens or food were likely to be used in conjunction with social reinforcers. When used with the subject, the I.T. used only social reinforcers such as praise and positive feed- back. 5. The content or subject matter of the in-service training was totally designed and controlled by the actual problems of instruction encountered by the individual staff member in his everyday instructional activities. Evaluation of the ARITM inTInstitutions In an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the ARITM in institutional settings, McBride (1972) compared a traditional lecture method of in-service training to the ARITM (in McBride's terms, "on-the-ward training."). Each treatment group received training in teaching language to the residents of the institution. The training centered around proper use of assessment and behavior modification techniques as tools 16 of instruction. McBride hypothesized that the pre-test post-test gain scores of the group trained using on-the-ward training would be equal to or better than the scores of the group being trained by the tra- ditional lecture method. The subjects were forty institutional at- tendants asSigned to two treatment groups of twenty each. Treatment Group I participated in the onLthe-ward training. Each attendant in Treatment Group I was exposed to ten training sessions each thirty minutes in duration. During these sessions, the subjects worked with the children they see every day during the normal discharge Of their duties. Treatment Group II ("off-the-ward training") received in- service training consisting of formal class sessions with lectures and discussions and supervised practicums. Subjects in Group II were relieved of their regular duties to attend morning classes. Classes consisted of lectures on principles of behavior modification, Obser- vation and recording, language development, self help skills, and management of behavior problems, audio-visual presentations, group discussions, and discussions on problems encountered in the previous days' practicum experiences. In addition, specific problems and tasks were outlined which were to be practiced during afternoon practicum experiences. These experiences took place with different children from those in the subjects' regular charge. Although McBride states that the practicum experiences of Group II subjects were "supervised," he does not indicate the nature of the trainer/trainee interaction during supervision. It is assumed that this supervision did not em- ploy the shaping and reinforcements employed in Treatment Group I, and that feedback to and reinforcement of the trainee was delayed until 17 the following class session where such interaction was more abstractly related to the trainees' approximations of the training goals. McBride summarizes the differences between the two treat- ment groups in the following manner: Treatment I Treatment 11 l. Trained on the ward l. Trained off the ward 2. Trained with children in 2. Laboratory experience the subject's charge with new children 3. Each attendant received 3. Each attendant received approximately 5.0 hours approximately 40 hours of training of training 4. Approximately 120 hours 4. Approximately 120 hours of staff time of staff time McBride's evaluation dealt with the measurement of the subjects' application of learned behavior modification techniques. To meaSure application, McBride developed an observation instrument referred to as the Behavior Analysis Rating Form (BARF). The results of McBride's study support his hypothesis of equal or greater effect. Neither Treatment Group I nor Treatment Group 11 showed significant differential gains. Both groups showed small but non-significant gains from pre to post-treatment. In reference to the small gains, McBride makes several observations and conclusions worth investigation. McBride, unlike some investigators, chose to use an obser- vation instrument that would measure application of learned skills. The learning of the skills was substantiated in McBride's study, yet their application was minimal. Therefore, McBride concluded that the ability to use and the tendency to use skills require different measures. 18 McBride also suggests that the reward system within an institution reinvorces the attendant's custodian and caretaker be- havior and not his instructional behavior. His conclusion is rein- forced by other investigators. A third conclusion is that conflicting demands on the attendants' time mitigate instructional Opportunity. McBride suggest that a possibility for explaining the absence of greater gains lie in attendant role expectation. His colleagues do not see him as a teacher. Because of McBride's conclusions and implications, it was decided to evaluate the efficacy of the ARITM in an atmosphere where some of the mitigating influences could be eliminated. The public school system offered such an environment. It was assumed that staff in public school programs were education and not care oriented, that their rewards would be contingent upon habili- tative and not controlling skills, and that they would be more likely to see themselves as teachers and not caretakers. Purpose of Project Prior to 1973, the ARITM was viewed and functioned solely as a method for providing in-service training in institutions. Graduate students were involved informally in its use as implementors of the training and it was not considered as an integral or primary process for teacher training. Not until this present project was it fully utilized as the major vehicle for the training of graduate students as an integrated approach to the teacher training/in-service training concept. 19 In the past, the decline in the use of laboratory schools in Michigan, the remote locations Of institutions for the retarded, the lack of funding for educating the severely retarded and the train- ing of teachers for this segment of the population had, as forces, acted in consort to create a great gap in the provision of comprehen- sive services to the handicapped. At the same time, social changes and the consequential passages of laws in this area served to point out the needs that had to be addressed. The purpose of the overall project was more far reaching in scope than the focus of this investigator's study. The project (the Jackson-H11lsdale-Lenawee Project) was an attempt to demonstrate feasibility of integrating the two traditionally separate functions of graduate teacher training and in-service training. Beyond the attempt to show the temporal and economic efficiency of such integra- tion, the project hoped to demonstrate that a more reality-based and applicable experience could be derived through this integration than would be realized should the two separate functions remain separate. Furthermore, the project was to demonstrate that the ARITM could serve well as a method for improving the quality of both the in- service and graduate training experiences. Purpose and Focus of the Study This study is an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Active Response In-service Training Method (ARITM) as an in-service training model for use with teaChers and aides in public school 20 programs for trainable and day training students (moderate to severely retarded youngsters). More specifically, it was designed to profile some Changes in important teacher behaviors that accrued to the sub- jects over the period of in-service training (treatment) using the ARITM. As such, the investigator studied four dimensions of subject behavior he considered to be important to any long lasting benefits that one might expect of an in-service training program designed to improve the teaching competency of an educational staff. In consideration of the above, it appeared appropriate to conduct an investigation of a clinical nature concentrating on the types Of behavior change observed. It was hoped that by this method, one might develop some expectations for outcomes when employing the ARITM with similar populations. CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY DESCRIPTION of PROJECT and STUDY Description of Intermediate School District Program Organization This study (part of the Jackson-Hi1lsdale-Lenawee In- service Training Project) was conducted in three intermediate school districts (Jackson, Hillsdale and Lenawee) in Michigan. In-service training was given to staff members employed as instructors (teachers and aides) in programs for moderately to severely retarded children and multiply handicapped children Of the three school districts men- tioned above. Each school district maintained a slightly different profile of programs. Hillsdale programs were housed in two separate facili- ties: trainable and day-training programs were jointly housed; a training workshop was housed in a separate facility. The training workshop was not ready for occupancy until one month after commence- ment of this study. Jackson programs were originally housed in four separate facilitieszi primary trainable programs were located in a regular elementary school; multicap programs were housed in a building located on the grounds of a hospital; day-training programs occupied several classrooms in a church, secondary trainable programs were located in the old Torrant Training Center. At a point in time half 21 22 way into this study, all Jackson programs, with the exception of the multicap program, were merged and jointly housed in the new Lyle Torrant Training Center. Lenawee programs occupied two separate facilities: in the Lenawee school district, the Lenawee Institute housed primary and secondary trainable programs; a second facility on on the Institute grounds housed the day-training program for pre- school age through secondary school age youngsters. The student population served by all three districts' pro- grams approximately totaled 222. This population consisted of 162 moderately retarded (trainable), 48 severely retarded (day-training), and 12 multiply handicapped (multicap) students. The ages ranged from 2 years to 22 years old. For purposes of this study, day- training and multicap student populations were combined. This combined population will be referred to as day-training. This combination has been found desirable for two reasons: 1) the size of the multicap program was too small to consider separately: and 2) it is very diffi- cult to accurately distinguish between the two classifications with younger children. Description of the Jackson-Hillsdale- Lenawee Project Organization The administrative organization for the Jackson, Hillsdale, Lenawee In-service Project is described as follows. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) provided financial support for the pro- ject through a grant. The Special Education Division of the Michigan State University (MSU), Department of Elementary and Special Education 23 assumed all project administrative responsibilities. Project de- velopment and overall administrative duties were the responsibility of the Project Director: an MSU faculty member. Project implementa- tion, in—service trainer field supervision, graduate training and all other project administrative responsibilities not managed by the Project Director were the responsibility of the Project Coordinator. The in-service trainers under the supervision of the Project Coordina- tor were responsible for providing the content of the in-service training. Evaluation of the graduate training aspect of the project was the responsibility of the Project Director and the Project Coordin- ator. All aspects Of the evaluation pertaining to the efficacy of the ARITM as an in-service training model (this study) were the responsibility of the Project Evaluator (this investigator). The following chart graphically depicts the organizational aspects of the project. The "solid“ lines depict administrative of supervisory relationships. The "broken" lines depict cooperative, liaison or staff relationships. ”5":— 1 I ”301 _ Special Education J “"‘T- [Project ._ .. _ __ ._ School A Service Area (Director . District ' _Administrations_ Project | Project '1 Evaluator ------- Coordinate f x. '\ \. \‘\ In-service l \ ,.’ Trainers \\1’ ’ - School District Staff (Subjects) 24 Description of the In-service Trainers and Ufiiversity Training Program The in-service trainers (I.T.S): were those individuals who actually provided the in-service training during the project period. Although this study only indirectly concerns itself with the I.T.s, the following brief description of these individuals seems appropriate. Six teachers of the retarded were selected to partici- pate in a special master's degree program offered by the Department of Elementary and Special Education at Michigan State University. All six were experienced special education classroom teachers. Teach- ing experience ranged from one to five years. Five of these individ- uals were female and one was male. Their master's degree program spanned a full academic year (three terms). Each term, the I.T.s enrolled for a given number of lab and field credits (maximum was eight credits per term). Work involved in earning these credits con- stituted the time each I.T. spent providing in-service training to the districts participating in this project. Simultaneously, each I.T. was enrolled for four credits each term of independent study in mental retardation. The requirement for those credits was participa- tion in a group seminar. Most of the material presented in this seminar centered around the knowledge and practical application of the principles of behavior modification, assessment-based teaching, the development and evaluation of assessment-based training programs and assessment instruments relevant to moderately and severely re- tarded students, and the principles and application of the Active Response In-service Training Method (ARITM). Seminars were also 25 devoted to exposure of the I.T.s to a variety of assessment and training materials appropriate to the focal student population. Most I.T.s took additional related coursework. The group seminar was developed, implemented, and supervised by the Project Coordinator who was solely responsible for the course content, instruction and supervision of the I.T.s while at their field assignments. During the first term, when in the field, the project coordinator provided close supervision and modeled the be- havior to be learned by the in-service trainers. In addition to selection criteria and common seminar ex- periences, certain other attempts were made to equalize the compe- tencies of all the I.Tls. All were given a common orientation to the project and the ARITM prior to commencement of the project period. All I.Tus were instructed in and evaluated on having achieved mini- mum acceptable skills for implementing basic assessment and training instruments and procedures. This was done during the month Of September before the I.T.s ‘ had any contact with the subjects. All I.T.s were required to make visitations to all participant programs. Discussion groups were established as ongoing procedures. In these discussion groups, I.T.s shared their experiences regarding develop- ment and application of assessment and training procedures, as well as matters concerning dynamics germane to the I.T./subject relation- ship. 26 Assignment of In-serviceFTrainers The I.T.S‘were assigned to districts in the following manner. The largest district (Jackson) with the most geographically separated programs had three I.T.s assigned to it for the purpose of providing in-service training. To the smallest district (Hillsdale), one I.T. was assigned. The remaining district (Lenawee) was the middle size district and had two I.T.s assigned to it. Within the respective district Of assignment, each I.T. was assigned to seven or eight staff members. It became that I.T.‘s sole or shared (with another I.T.) responsibility to provide in-service training to the respective staff members. These assignments were made in a non-random fashion. I.T. and district characteristics were considered when at- tempting to make assignments. Careful assignment of the particular I.T. to the specific district was undertaken to best facilitate a good working relationship among the individuals interacting. Table 1 depicts the assignment of I.T.s to the various programs and staff members included in the project. The column headed "Number of Staff Served" totals 45 staff members. This study considers only 37 staff members (subjects). The discrepancy is due to staff dropouts, replacements and additions. Also reflected, but not explicitly, in the table are assignments where interns shared responsibilities for a few staff members. 27 Table 1. Assignment of Each.of the Six In-service Trainers (I.T.) to Their Respective School Districts, Staff Members (Sub- jects) and Programs. I.T. District (Subjects) Served Program Assignment 1 Jackson 8 Multicap Program and Primary Trainable Class 2 Jackson 7 Day-training Center and Primary and Intermediate Trainable Classes 3 Jackson 7 Day-training Center and Inter- mediate and Adult Trainable Classes 4 Lenawee 8 Day-training Center and Primary, Intermediate and Adult Train- able Classes 5 Lenawee 8 Day-training Center and Inter- mediate and Adult Trainable Classes 6 Hillsdale 7 Day-training Center Combined Age Trainable Center and Work- shop for Adult Trainable Selection of Participant School Districts The Michigan Department of Education-Special Education Services Area had indicated a desire to explore the feasibility of providing an alternative form of in-service training which would focus upon the needs of trainable and day-training program personnel. The Michigan State University Department of Elementary and Special Educa- tion was interested in and currently prepared to provide such in- service training as part of a total program of Special Education graduate level teacher training. 28 The three intermediate school districts of Jackson, Hillsdale and Lenawee were requested to participate in the in—service training project. These three intermediate school districts were specifically requested to participate for the following reasons. Each district supported ongoing programs for moderately (trainable) and severely (day-training) retarded children. Each district was within commuting distance from the university, but not so proximal that the districts were inundated by university training and field service activities. Together, the three districts represented a range of characteristics from urban to rural, and from a heavy concentration of specialized classroom support personnel to limited access to these types of sup- port personnel. The Special Education Directors in each district had expressed a desire to receive in-service training which might be considered non-traditional in format. All three districts had a history Of cooperation with one another. SETEEETER The selection of subjects participating in the project was a function Of their employment in focal programs in one of the three districts selected. Only classroom instructional personnel were eligible for participation. This included only classroom teachers and aides. All general and specialized teacher support personnel were ineligible. Also ineligible were all supervisory and administrative personnel. 29 As per a prior agreement, all qualifying staff personnel were to receive the same in-service training experiences. No control groups or alternative treatment groups were permitted. The separate administrations Of the three participating districts did, however, assure project personnel that no other in-service training programs would be planned during the project period. These were stipulations set by the districts that agreed to participate. The opportunity for any eligible staff member to exempt himself from participation existed; however, this option was only implicitly communicated to the subjects by the school administrations. Under those circumstances, it is difficult to accurately determine the extent to which the participant population was comprised of voluntary subjects. Subject Characteristics Thirty nine (39) subjects participated in the project. This population consisted of 15 teachers and 24 aides. Teaching ex- periences with handicapped children ranged from no prior experience to nine years of experience. Thirty three (33) subjects were female and six were male. Two subjects dropped out of the project and were replaced by the end of the fourth month of the project period. No post data were collected on the subjects who dropped out, andino pre data were collected on the replacements. The total population, for purposes of this study, was 37 subjects. Table 2 reflects the dis- position of the subjects throughout the school districts. Each subject remained in their original school program with no significant change in assignment during the project period. Most 30 Table 2. Disposition of Subjects According to Position, School District and Program Assignment. Teachers Aides School District Program 0 2 Hillsdale Day-training Program 1 l Hillsdale Trainable Program 1 O Hillsdale Adult-Training Workshop 1 4 Lenawee Day-Training Program 5 5 Lenawee Trainable Program 1 7 Jackson Day-Training Program 5 4 Jackson Trainable Program trainable program assignments were characterized by the placement of one teacher and one aide per classroom. Day-training programs were organized in a program rather than on a classroom basis. One head teacher provided the program leadership, supervision and teaching model for several aides who were directly responsible to that head teacher. Although no formal attempts were made to compare the sub- jects, students or program organization in this study with other populations engaged in instruction with similar students, the litera- ture and opinions of experts in the field recognize the afore described characteristics as being typical across the nation. The findings of Harris (1972), in her study of day-training programs in Michigan, show that the characteristics inherent in the subjects, students and programs participating in this project are similar to other programs of this type throughout Michigan. 31 t e I Using the six steps of the ARITM, each in-service trainer (I.T.) under the supervision of the Project Coordinator provided nine months of in-service training to the designated staff members (sub- jects) in his school district~program of assignment. The in-service training was provided according to the following schedule. Each in-service trainer (I.T.) spent one day per week during the first one-third (1/3) of the project period with assigned subjects. During the other two-thirds (2/3), each I.T. spent an average of two and one-half (2-1/2) days per week with assigned subjects. During these periods of contact, each I.T. worked with the subjects accord- ing to the way they naturally clustered when instructing their students; individually, dyads, triads, or larger groups. An effort was made by each I.T. to divide the periods of contact in such a manner as to provide equal time with each subject. Throughout the project period, the I.T.s worked with the subjects according to the ARITM. EVALUATION PROCEDURES Overview of the Four Dimensions of the Study Only certain aspects of the efficacy of the ARITM were evaluated by McBride (1972) when this method was used to provide in- service training for ward attendants in a state residential institution for the retarded. Burke (1972) expanded its use to the public school sector, but no formal evaluation effort had been undertaken to ascer- tain its effectiveness in this sector. This present study represents 32 such an endeavor. This study had two major goals. The first goal was to provide a profile of subject behavior change during this project period. This profile of Change included four dimensions or areas of potential change. The second goal was to provide a body Of evaluative feedback to be used in a formative process for the modification of the ARITM for future use. This latter information is not formally reported in this study. The four dimensions Of interest mentioned under goal one above are as follows: 1. The opinion dimension concerned itself with the subject's expressed feelings about his or her strengths as a teacher of retarded children, his or her feelings about the ARITM as an in-service training method, and his or her feelings concerning certain concepts and methodologies used in instruction (e.g., behavior modification, prescriptive teach- ing and behavioral objectives). 2. The verbal expression dimension viewed the subject's ability to express varbally an understanding of the process of pre- scriptive teaching and the technical language of instruction. 3. The skill dimension considered the subject's ability to apply appropriately the techniques of behavior modification. 4. The intent dimension investigated the subject's intent to incorporate the new skills into the everyday instructional activities of his or her Classroom. Instrumentation Opinion Dimension A 40 item opinion survey (Appendix A) was constructed for administration to the subjects. The data derived through this survey constituted the bulk of the information used in the consideration Of this dimension. This survey was piloted on 46 teachers and aides 33 working in various trainable and day training programs in Michigan. The purpose of the pilot studies was to arrive at an acceptable level of statement clarity and to address major areas of objections to survey content. These results although not stated explicity are represented in the survey. Adhering to a five point scale, the subjects are asked to agree or disagree with the statements included in the survey. The statements fall roughly into three categories. The first category contained those statements which had primary im- portance for the main concerns of this study. Those statements are Numbers 4, 5, 6, l5, l6, l8, 29,and 40. The second category contained statements which provided information of contextual and formative importance. As such, they had no direct reference to formal aspects of this study. Examples of such statements are Numbers 10, ll, 20, 22, 23, 26, 30,and 33. The third category included those statements which were used to mask statements which had a more direct bearing on the main purposes of the study. 'Examples of these are Numbers 17, 21, 24, 31, and 36. This survey was administered on a pre and post basis, and subject opinions were analyzed for Change over the project period. A more detailed statement of the procedure will follow in a later section of this chapter when the process of the total evaluation is discussed. The following is the rationale used for the selection of the specific statements identified above as being of main importance. Each statement will be considered singularly. 34 Statement Number 4: "I am satisfied with the in-service training program that now exists in my school system." It was generally understood that there was a lack of ap- propriate in-service training for trainable and day-training instruc- tional personnel. This, if factual, should be reflected in subject responses to this statement. It was also desirable to find out if the ARITM project might exercise some influence on the post treatment responses. Statement Number 5: "I find that little of the new information I obtain at in-service experiences I apply directly in the classroom." One often voiced complaint of in-service content is inap- plicability. Applicability of the ARITM is assumed, as all instruc- tional objectives are derived from Observation of classroom needs and directly applied as part of the in-service procedure. Since the ARITM is such a radical departure from the traditional, this statement was included to see if there was any identification of the ARITM as a recognized in-service model. Statement Number 8: “A very important component of an in-service training model should be providing release time from the classroom to participate in the program." From an administrative standpoint, one of the positive aspects of the ARITM is the elimination of the necessity to release teachers for in-service and the hiring of substitutes. From a train- ing standpoint, staff development can be ongoing and training can be undertaken in an environment close to the everyday problems of staff. 35 The lessening of the felt need for release time would have implications when planning future in-service training formats. Statement Number 15: "Prescriptive teaching is an important technique in the education of retarded children." Although gaining in overall popularity in education, pre- scriptive teaching (assessment-based teaching) in programs for train- able and day-training students remains largely unused. Most likely, the lack of available diagnostic instruments for this population has contributed much to the lack in implementating prescriptive procedures. The ARITM employs a prescriptive approach and Statement Number 15 was included to access the subjects' opinions about such an approach. Statement Number 16: "Behavior modification has much to contrib- ute to the education of the whole child." Behavior modification techniques have long been an important tool in teaching skills to difficult subjects, yet they are negatively criticized when considered generally in education and further in the context of the I'whole child." Assessment of subject Opinion on this issue was thought to be of some importance as the ARITM employs be- havior modification techniques extensively. Statement Number 18: "Behavioral objectives are important tools for educators Of the retarded Child." It was stressed earlier that attendants within institutions tend to view their role as one of caretaker rather than instructor. To a certain extent, the caretaking function is evident in public school programs for the severely retarded. Use of behavioral Objec- tives would appear to negate the caretaking function, and it is therefore assumed that stronger agreement with Statement Number 18 36 would indicate more of a tendency to instruct than to simply care for the student. Statement Number 29: Statement 29 is divided into nine component statements each addressing a skill or knowledge that might be present in the profile Of a competent instructor of handicapped children. For purposes of this study, it was felt that the subject's perception of his strength in these areas was as important as actual skill because a large percentage of the subjects were not trained as teachers and, therefore, might not perceive themselves to be instructors. McBride found this to be true in his evaluation of the Burke/Rowland method in the institutions. In his consideration of the reasons behind the lack of significant gains, he attributed to this factor some mitigating in- fluence. It was, therefore, decided to include some measure that might identify the existence or absence of such a role factor in the public school population and simultaneously test for any growth in this factor if it existed. Statement Number 40: "I feel positive about participation in this year's in-service training program." This was simply an attempt to assess pre and post feelings about the total ARITM experience. Intent Dimension This dimension dealt with McBride's concern about the in- tent to teach and any subsequent assumptions that might be made pertaining to the actual incorporation of the new skills into the instructional program. It is assumed that the mark of an effective 37 program is the extent to which it effects teacher behavior beyond the training period. One underlying assumption Of prescriptive or assess- ment-based teaching is that instruction should be "individualized." It is considered desirable to individualize as much as possible. Two frequently stated reasons for lack of individualization in the class- room are lack Of time and lack of the necessary skill. This investi- gator felt that once a subject gained skill in this area it would manifest itself in the nature of subject/student interaction, and being desirable, would continue to exist beyond the in-service train- ing project period. This dimension, therefore, considers the change to an individualized form of instructional interaction over the project period as an index of intent to incorporate. Whole Class School Day Program Schedule:--At the beginning of the project period, before any in-service training occurred, each I.T. was asked to survey the nature of the instructional interaction that occurred in the assigned classroom. The I.T. was not informed of the evaluative purpose Of this survey. He was simply told that he was to get, via subject interview, an accurate picture of what was occurring between the staff members and the student. This same exercise was undertaken by the I.T. at the termination of the in— service training project. Each I.T. was instructed to talk to the subjects in their respective classrooms. The conversation was to center around what activities might occur in the classroom on a typi- cal day. The I.T. then asked the subject to classify these activities according to five modes of subject/student interaction (See Appendix B). These interaction modes were ordered according to the degree of 38 individualization inherent in the interaction. It was earlier stated that the greatest degree of individualization possible is desirable. The order in which these modes were placed might, therefore, be a point of contention. It is difficult to argue that “small group same activity" is less desirable than "whole group individual." This argument was, therefore, abandoned in favor of simply stating that "small group same activity“ is less individualized than "whole class individual.“ To support this argument, five graduate students in special education were selected at random from a group of ten possible selections. These five students were asked to rank the modes as to which they felt indicated a greater degree of individualization of instruction. All students gave identical ranks to the five modes. The interactive modes in rank order were: 1. "Individual" (one staff to one student). 2. "Small Group Individual" (staff member working with small group, but gearing the general activity to individual per- formance levels). 3. "Whole Class Individual" (the same as #2, but involving the whole Class). 4. "Small Group Same Activity" (staff works with a small group with all students expected to perform at the same level). 5. "Whole Class Same Activity" (staff works with the entire class expecting all children to perform at the same level). In anticipation of the tendency for individual subjects to give socially acceptable responses, two precautions were employed. Each I.T. was instructed to be as precise and standard as possible when interviewing the subject and to refrain from judgmental reactions. A second precaution was taken by instructing the I.T. to wait two 39 weeks and then, on the basis of his firsthand familiarity with the classroom activities, re-examine the schedules to judge how well they actually represented what occurred in the classroom. Any major dis- crepancies were to be noted on the schedules. Some discrepancies did occur, however, they all involved the interaction mode that occurred during free play and beginning of the day activities (e.g., attendance and flag salute activities). Both of these activities were classified by several subjects as being "whole Class individual" or "individual." A decision by the investigator was made to reclassify these activities as "whole class same activity." This decision was applied in both the pre and the post interviews and the rationale for the decision was as follows: The decision concerning the beginning day activities was obvious as there was no individual consideration of the child's level Of functioning during this period. Although the free play rationale was less obvious, it was decided that during any activity where there is no subject/student instructional interaction of an active nature directed toward given students, this activity was con- sidered "whole group same activity." The instructions for completing these schedules can be seen in Appendix C. The subject responses during the interview concerning typical activities for the class were recorded on the "Whole Class - School Day Program Schedule" (Appendix B). In column one, the time segment was noted for the corresponding activity described in column two. The interaction type was then designated by placing a check in one of the five remaining columns. 40 Scoring the schedule responses for subsequent evaluation was done by adding the number of Checks in individual columns, thus giving the total number of interactions for each interactive type. These column totals were then added to yield a grand total (the total inter- actions of all types occurring during a typical day). The column totals were then each divided by the grand total to show the percent- age of interactions taking place according to the respective inter- active types. These percentages were then compared on a pre/post basis. All checkmarks were treated as equal regardless of the duration or quality Of the particular activity being Classified. The following considerations were addressed when developing a scoring procedure for the schedules: 1. An attempt was made to assign weights to various checkmarks according to the judged instructional value of a particular activity. However, when considering the severe deficiencies in cognitive, affective and psychomotor functioning of train- able and day—training students, it appeared improper to judge that any one given activity was of more value than another; for example, the roll call and flag salute activities versus a body parts identification exercise. 2. It was equally difficult to justify weighting any given checkmark according to the duration of the respective activity when one considered the problems of attention span and interest of the students. The decision to equate all checkmarks appeared to be the fairer method, as it assumed that any injustices would be distributed fairly aCross all schedule activities and would therefore not bias a pre/post comparison. 41 Verbal Expression Dimension The Verbal Expression Dimension considers the staff's ability to verbally express an understanding of the process of prescriptive teaching and to use technical language of instruction. Prescriptive teaching according to Peter (1965, p. l) is: . a method of utilizing diagnostic information for the modi- fication Of educational programs for children with problems. It accomplishes this purpose by determining the educational rele- vance of the child's disability and devising teaching procedures to yield desirable changes in the child's academic progress, emotional condition and social adjustment. Peter considers the concept of prescriptive teaching in a wider sense than is necessary for the purposes of this investigation. Essentially for the present purposes, "prescriptive teaching:" and "assessment-based teaching" are used as synonymous and have these all-important aspects in common. 1. All instruction is preceded by an assessment of diagnosis of an educationally relevant problem. 2. A problem is defined in terms that can facilitate the under- standing Of instructional needs. 3. An instructional intervention is planned which is based on the child as a developing individual who learns in ways that are unique to him (individualized instruction). 4. A precise delineation of instructional activities and an understanding of the role each activity plays in the overall instructional process. 5. The delineation of measurable Objectives and goals the child should reach. 6. The evaluation Of the child's progress toward attaining these goals. The subjects' use of technical language was also assessed in this dimension. "Technical Language" was left undefined for purposes 42 of this analysis, as it is impossible to delineate all the possible technical terms that could be used in a verbal expression. As inclu- sion of some terms and omission of others might have a biasing effect on the analysis, it was decided to attempt no delineation at all. Teaching Sample:--In September, immediately prior to com- mencement of the actual in-service training, each subject was asked to engage in an instructional activity with a student of his/her choice. The subject was to teach the student something that the subject felt the student needed to learn but had not yet mastered. This activity was to be five minutes in duration, and it was to be recorded on video tape. (The purpose of the video taping will be explained when considering the skill dimension.) Each subject was given the same set of instructions (Appendix 0). Each subject was asked to choose one of four curriculum areas and to instruct in that chosen area (self care, language, motor skills, arithmetic skills). It was felt that no matter what was taught, it wOuld have to fall in these four general areas. The intent of this investigator was to provide identical directions and explanations to each subject. Each subject, however, exhibited different reactions to the idea of being video taped; some were hesitant, some were unthreatened. The investigator, therefore, found it necessary to take varying amounts of time and engage in varied conversations with each subject. In an attempt to provide some standardization across subjects, the investigator adopted three rules: 43 1. Each subject would be assured that no judgments as to "good or bad teacher" would be made or indeed could validly be made by watching a five minute tape. Furthermore, no one from his school district or who knew him would ever see the tape. 2. No information as to the actual interaction variables of interest would be passed on to the subject. 3. The investigator would talk with each subject until the sub- ject felt sufficiently calm and ready to participate. The subject would indicate his readiness. Prior to engaging in the teaching sample, each subject was presented with a box containing items that could be used during the instructional activity. The subject was told that he could use mate- rials he wanted. These included anything in the box, as well as anything he had available to him in his school. The box contained three types of items: 1. Standardized instruments used for assessment (Cain-Levine, Balthazar Scales, P.A.C.). 2. Teaching aids used during the instructional process (clothing, :egdenand plastic colored Objects, combs and brushes, dolls, 3. Reinforcers (candies, potato chips, fruits, etc.). NO pursuasion was used to encourage the subject to look at the contents of the box and no assistance was rendered for determining what, if any, of the contents might be useful. The subject was told that he had up to 20 minutes to decide what he wanted to teach and which student he would like to work with. During this time, he was to select whatever materials he needed. When the subject indicated he was ready. the subject and his student were ushered into a confer- ence room. The room contained the video taping equipment, chairs and tables. The subject was informed that he would be alone with his 44 student for a period of five minutes. The time would begin when the investigator left the room and would end as signaled by a knock on the door. The subject was informed that the knock on the door only signaled the end of the five minutes, but that he could continue to instruct the student to reach closure rather than interrupt what he was doing. The five minutes of interest could be located on the tape as that segment of tape between the sound of the door clicking and the knock signaling the end of the period. VTR Response Sheet:--After completing the teaching sample, the student was sent back to his room and the subject was asked to remain for a minute. The subject was then asked to do two things. He was asked to complete the opinion survey described in the opinion dimension. He was asked to answer four questions on the VTR Response Sheet (Appendix E). The VTR Response Sheet related to the video taped teaching sample that the subject had just completed. As was mentioned above the concept of assessment-based teaching addresses several aspects. These four questions focused upon four of these aspects. A similar form asking three questions had been used on prior occasion by Burke in some of his earlier (1970-1971) in-service training. Burke's purpose, unlike the present purpose, was to pro- vide a description upon which he could base his training of the staff member. The questions formulated for this present study represent a departure from Burke's form and are resultant from several discussions and two field tests. An answer to the first question, "What activity or groups Of activities did you teach?", provides three pieces of information: 1) it identifies the activities for later use in the 45 evaluation; 2) it demonstrates the subject's ability to select activi- ties appropriate to the curricular area in which the subject chose to work; and 3) it manifests the subject's ability to describe each con- crete activity and show the subject's understanding of the role this activity plays in the total instructional process. For example, a subject could have said: "We were bouncing a ball," or he could have said, "We were bouncing a ball to work on eye-hand coordination, fine and gross motor skills." The second question, "How did you de- termine that these activities needed to be taught?", focused upon the subject's awareness and use of assessment data as a basis for deter- mining appropriate instructional activities. The third question, "Why did you teach the student the way you did?", asked the subject to elaborate on his senSitivity to the role individual differences play in determining appropriate instruction. The fourth question, "Why did you think it was important to teach this activity or groups of activities?", focused upon the subject's awareness of the importance of having Objectives and goals toward which he could work. This entire process; involving the teaching sample and answering four questions was repeated at the termination of the in- service training project. All procedures were identical from pre to post. The subject, however, was free to select the same or a differ- ent curriculum area for instruction and the same or a different student. These options were allowed for two reasons: 1) the particular vari- ables of interest were not dependent upon the subject matter content of the interaction; 2) the focus of the evaluation is on subject growth and not on student progress. 46 Evaluation of the VTR Response Sheet:--The following pro- cedure was used to evaluate the quality of each subject's answers to the four questions. Each subject's response sheets were coded. Each subject was randomly assigned two code numbers. One code number represented a pre-test code and the other represented the post-test code. The subject responses were handwritten, so each statement was retyped on a new response sheet under the appropriate question. All responses were transcribed exactly as written by the subject. No corrections or modifications were made during this transcription. After transcription, the investigator inspected each response for statements that might have revealed when the responses were made. For example, all statements Of a temporal or seasonal nature, all state- ments referring to the MSU in-service trainer or aspects of the in- service training were masked with black felt tip pen. Statements were blacked out as opposed to deleted in transcription because the deletion appeared to be more detrimental to understanding the response than did the masking. More blacked-out references appeared in the post responses than in the pre responses. To eliminate the potential for bias, the investigator added statements to pre response sheets and subsequently masked them out. The typed response sheets were than photocopied to eliminate any possibility of the statements show- ing through the masking. It was the intent of the investigator to use four qualified independent judges to evaluate the responses. This was impossible, as the time of year (late spring) and other responsibilities made most qualified individuals unavailable. A qualified person was one 47 who 1) understood the concepts of assessment-based or prescriptive teaching; 2) was experienced in observing instruction; 3) had docu- mented teaching skills; and 4) had no direct knowledge of the subjects involved or had not visited or worked in the in-service training pro- ject. Two individuals were found who fit the qualifications. One of these judges was eliminated because she found two subject responses which the investigator had failed to mask. The appropriate corrections were made before the second judge was asked to evaluate the responses. Judgment Form:--The judge was presented with a packet con- taining 37 manila file folders. Each folder contained the pre and post responses for one subject. The two response sheets were placed in the folder in random order. A coin was flipped to decide which sheet (pre or post) would be placed in what position in the folder. Included in each folder was a judgment form (See Appendix F) upon which the judge was to record his evaluations. Written instructions for the judge were included with the packet (Appendix G and H). In addition, oral instructions were given to the judge by the investi- gator. At that time, it was confirmed that the judge was aware of the procedure and the importance of judging the responses in light of the particular aspects Of the prescriptive teaching concept. It was also confirmed that the judge was aware of the purpose behind asking each of the four questions. The judge was told to take as much time as was needed to complete the 37 folders. The procedure for completing the judgment form (Appendix F) was, first to indicate which response was the better by placing an "X" in the appropriate box. As can be seen on the judgment form, 48 subsections “A” and "C" contain boxes. On the lines following each box was the code number for the respective response sheet. The "X" was to be placed in the box preceding the code number to which the judge was referring when indicating which was the better response. After having indicated which response was the better one, the judge was asked to indicate how difficult it was to make this decision. This was done by completing subsections "8" and "D" on the judgment form. In this way, the investigator could get a crude estimate of the amount of change that had taken place over the period of the in- service training as well as the direction of that change. The judge was to complete each judgment form progressing from subsections-"A“ to "D" in a linear fashion. Given these data from this judgment form it was possible to determine the number of subjects who showed improvement from pre to post on both their ability to verbally express an understanding of prescriptive teaching and to use technical language. The degree of difficulty described in making the decision was then translated as being roughly equivalent to the amount of difference manifested by the subject between pre and post responses. This was then taken to represent growth in a positive direction if the post description was judged better than the pre, negative change (no growth) if the pre was judged better than the post description. Skill Dimension This dimension considers the subject's ability to apply ap- propriately the techniques of behavior modification . TO assess this dimension, the contents of the video taped instructional sessions 49 between the subject and the student were analyzed. An observation in- strument was developed to measure subject application of various components of an instructional cycle as defined by a behavior modifi- cation framework. The instrument was developed expressly for this study because no existing instrument could satisfy the requirements of the observation procedure. A survey of 79 Observation instruments (Simon and Boyer, 1970) contained no applicable instrument. Ashbaugh (1971) in his study on teaching ward attendants to use behavior modification, developed an Observation instrument. How- ever, this instrument was not appropriate for the present study as it focused on gross attendant and resident behaviors which were not of interest to this investigator. Ashbaugh's instrument depended upon a combination of the observer's recollections and attendant's verbal reports on hypothetical situations, as well as direct recording of Observations. Gardner (1970) developed a Training Proficiency Scale for measuring attendant's ability to apply behavior modification techniques. Although Gardner's instrument analyzed the behavior modification cycle into components of general use in this study, three major character- istics rendered the instrument of little use to this investigator: 1) the manual was vague in explaining use; 2) proper use of the in- strument required making immediate judgments about the sufficiency of the instruction; 3) rating sufficiency on a five point scale for each task scale appears to be cumbersome even though Gardner reports high reliability scores between this and overall judgments: and 4) the method of recording Observations requires too much writing. 50 McBride (1972), in his study Of some of Burke's and Rowland's earlier work, developed an observation instrument for measuring at- tendant's ability to apply appropriate behavior modification techniques. For the following reasons, McBride's instrument was not used in the present study. McBride observed attendants whose traditional duties did not include instruction. A major portion of McBride's instrument focused on the attendant's "intent to teach.“ In the present study, it is assumed that teachers and teacher aides do intend to teach. McBride was interested in an attendant's ability to apply a particular technique. If the attendant applied the technique once, it was assumed that he had the skill. In the present study, consistency of applica- tion was of concern to the investigator. McBride's instrument was developed for use in highly structured teaching situations. The present study dealt with a wider variety Of informal teaching situations. Instructional Behavior Observation Check List:--The Instruc- tional Behavior Observation Check List (IBOCL) (Appendix I) was de- signed to be used in a video tape play-back situation. This allowed the Observer to record auditory and visual interaction and to replay the interaction as often as necessary to be totally accurate in recording observable behaviors. The IBOCL drew from the experience and the crucial observa- tion areas of Gardner, McBride and earlier works of Burke and Rowland, and was developed in cooperation with Rowland, who acted as the project coordinator in this present study. Development of the final version of the IBOCL was the culmination of modifications piloted over the 51 entire project period. The major modifications occurred because of inability to reliably classify given behaviors which varied slightly across subjects. The greatest insufficiencies in the instrument ap- peared in the areas of defining “task change" and discerning the difference between a "stimulus presentation“ and a "prompt," The final resolution Of the "stimulus presentation" v. "prompt" problem can be seen in the IBOCL code key (Appendix J). It was impossible to discern a task change by observing the subject/student interaction. TO allow for the ability to note Off task behavior on the part of the subject, the description of the instructional objectives of the inter- action was written at the top Of the IBOCL in the area designated ”task description." The description was an actual transcription, in the subject's own words, Of what was supposed to be transpiring during the interaction. Using the description as a guide, the observer could then judge off task behavior. An example of Off task behavior follows: (Subject Description) "I was working on receptive labeling of shapes." (Actual Interaction) a "Mike, show me the square." Mike points to triangle. "No, the square, Mike.“ Mike points to square. "That's right, the square, good boy!" b {:PMike, what is this?" Teacher points to Circle. Mike says, "Circle." "Good boy!" Part "a" of this interaction is an example of receptive labeling as Mike is required only to indicate his understanding of the object. Part "b" is an example of "expressive" labeling because the student must not only understand the label, he must also express 52 the label. In this case, the observer would indicate a task change because nowhere in the task description did the teacher indicate that he was working on expressive labeling. In some cases, the subject's description of task was of little assistance in determining task Change; however, with few ex- ceptions, the instruction was so poorly managed in these cases that task Changes were Obvious and no descriptions were necessary. Another significant change in the IBOCL over the project period appears in the format of the instrument itself. The check list first appeared as columns of cells under column heads of crucial components of the instructional cycle. The observers were expected to memorize codes for given Observations and write the correct code in the appropriate cell when that behavior appeared in the interaction. Some of these codes contain three letters. It was discovered that during the amount of time it took to look away from the TV screen, locate the appropriate cell, write the code and look back, several discrete and crucial pieces of behavior had occurred. The observer would then have to stop the video tape, rewind and view the interaction missed during the recording time. This caused frustration and fatigue on the part of the observer and decreased reliability and validity Of the coding. To eliminate this problem, all possible appropriate codes were printed in the cells. After minimal practice, the observers rarely had to look away from the TV to make the appropriate recording. An additional aid for maintaining proper orientation on the check list was instituted. The columns headed "Stimulus Presentation," "Response," and "Reinforcement" were color coded yellow. This sped up the act of locating the proper column. 53 The IBOCL comprises ten columns. In all columns, the observer is asked to do two things. First, he must classify the behavior and mark the appropriate code, and then he must indicate a judgment as to the appropriateness of the classified behavior. The judgment aspect was not to be recorded at the same time as the classification unless the behavior was so gross that immediate judgment was called for. Instead, the Observer was to continue clas- sifying behaviors until later contextual clues made judgment more certain. Examples might be the continued failure Of the student to make a correct response or continuation of a subject's behavior which appeared to be acting in detriment to achieving the desired instruc- tional outcomes. The first column numbered the trials that took place during the interaction. Two check lists were stapled together to insure enough trial rows were available to record all trials that took place during the interaction. The next three columns comprise that section of the instruc- tional cycle characterized as the "Stimulus Format." The stimulus format is made up Of "Task Change," "Attention," and "Stimulus Pre- sentation." The next two columns are collectively labeled "Response Format" because they both involve some responding to the stimulus on the part of the student. These two columns are respectively labeled' "Prompts," and "Response." The "Consequence Format" is comprised of three columns: "Feedback," "Reinforcement," and "Aversive." Although it can be argued 54 that all feedback is some form of reinforcement, not making a distinc- tion for Observation and recording purposes led to confusion on the part of the Observer. Judgments were made and recorded by the Observer because overall estimates of change over the project period could not be made without them. It still appeared impossible to make totally objective judgments about the adequacy of instruction if these judgments were based solely on the presence or absence of an observable behavior. It seems that there remains unmeasurable some aspects of an interaction that can only be evaluated by the abstract professional eye as it views the gestalt of the interaction. Judgments were reserved until the observer could be reason- ably certain that an Observed act had some negative effect on the student's ability to respond correctly. All judgments (the + or - codes) except in the "Task Change" column were negative judgments or judgments against the subject's ability to apply behavior modification techniques correctly. Although some students of behavior modification feel that any task change is inappropriate, this investigator feels otherwise. There are certain situations in which a task change is needed to release tension or reduce boredom. In these cases, a perceptive teacher might well facilitate the instruction by introducing a brief task change. If the observer judged this to be the case, the "A" was checked indicating an appropriate task change. In-service Trainers as Observer§:--The observers were the six I.T.s who participated in the study. Four formal training sessions 55 in the use of the instrument were conducted. Each session averaged two hours. During these training periods, the I.T.s practiced by observing instructional interactions video taped in programs that were not part of this study. During these training sessions, video tapes were stopped frequently, classification problems were argued out, and final instrument modifications were made. The I.T.s had. additional practice with the instrument as each was instructed to use it when Observing the subjects during the ongoing treatment periods. The I.T.s were used as observers instead of another inde- pendent group because it was impossible to find other evaluators who had all the requisite skills for observing teaching behavior, coding behavior according to a behavior modification format, and using the IBOCL. The investigator felt that precautions could be taken to eliminate bias. The investigator felt that this was the best course to take because the complexity of the instrument and the little amount of time available to train Observers would greatly reduce reliability if Observers independent of the project were used. Instrument Reliability:--Two forms of interrater reliability checks were implemented. One form measured interrater reliability in assigning negative judgments. One formed assessed interrater reli- ability against models of prejudged quality. Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance was applied to the former yielding a reliability rating of .86. No statistical test was applied to the latter form. A more- detailed explanation of the reliability check procedure can be seen in Appendix K. 56 Evaluation of Teaching,$amples:--Each subject's pre and post teaching samples were given separate numerical codes. Codes were assigned to each segment in a random fashion. After coding each segment, the middle three minutes were edited. After pairing each subject's pre and post segments, a coin was flipped to decide in which order each segment of the pair would be placed on a video tape. After having each subject's segment randomly paired, it became necessary to decide which subjects were to be viewed by which I.T. No I.T. was allowed to view a subject to which he had provided in-service training, or with whom he had had any contact during the project period. Within the above limitations, subjects were assigned randomly to a tape. The position each subject's paired segments ap- peared on the tape was also randomly decided. Six tapes were constructed in the manner described above (one tape for each I.T.). Five of these tapes each contained six subject's pre/post pairs. The sixth tape contained seven pairs. A total of 37 subjects were assigned to a total of six tapes. Seventy four (74) three-minute segments were observed in total. No I.T. ob - served more than 14 segments. The decision as to which I.T. would be assigned the longest tape was made in a random fashion. The tape Observation procedure was completed over a period of two days. Three I.T.s observed. tapes on one morning and three I.T.s Observed tapes on the following morning. To the investigator's knowledge and as per instructions, no relevant conversation was had between the two groups of I.T.s dUring the evaluation. 57 Each I.T. was taken to a separate room and left alone with a video tape recorder, the video tape, pencils and an information package. The information package contained general directions (See Appendix L), a list of coded segments (See Appendix M), and individual folders (one for each pair of segments on the tape). Each of the individual folders contained a verbal description of the interactions, IBOCL forms coded for the segments appropriate to the folder, an In- structional Behavior Analysis Sheet (IBAS), and directions for pro- ceeding. The contents of each folder was explained to the I.T. and step-bybstep'directions were given. The I.T.s were to view each segment and complete an IBOCL for each. They were told to stop and review the tape as Often as necessary. As the I.T.s were. isolated from one another, no conver- sation between them was possible. They were permitted to take rest breaks as needed and could ask the investigator any questions relating to procedure, but none relating to tape content. After completing the IBOCL on a given pair of segments and before proceeding to the next pair, the I.T.s completed an IBAS for the pair of segments just viewed (Appendix N). Instructional Behavior Analysis Sheet (IBAS):--The IBAS is actually a compilation of eleven different sheets of paper. Each sheet asked the I.T. to make a judgment about some aspect of the paired segments he just viewed. Sheet #1 - asked the I.T. to indicate which segment better reflected the effect of in-service training. The subject was asked to Check the box beside the ap- propriate segment code. L L‘,’ ~. 58 Sheet #2 - the I.T. was asked to indicate on a five point scale the ease with which.he was able to make the decision requested on Sheet #1. Sheet #3 - gave directions for completing Sheets #4 through 10. Sheets #4 - each of these sheets asked the I.T. to make a through #9 judgment about one of the components of the instruc- tional cycle. The components correspond to the column heads on the IBOCL. Considering only the better segment, the I.T. is asked to rate the sub- ject's strength in each of the components. Rating is on a five point scale from poor to excellent. Sheet #10 - asks the I.T. to judge on a five point scale the subject's overall control of the situation viewed on the better segment. Sheet #11 - tells the I.T. to go back and indicate which of the components showed growth from pre to post treatment. This procedure was followed for each pair of segments until all segments were completed. SUNMARY of the DIMENSIONS of the STUDY The following table summarizes the four dimensions of this study and lists the measures used to assess subject change in the respective dimensions. It also recalls for the reader the main pur- pose or motivation for considering a four dimension evaluation for the study. TREATMENT of DATA This study was undertaken to provide a clinical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the ARITM. Because it was intended as an exploratory evaluation rather than a controlled experimental hypotheses testing effort, no statistical inference procedures were applied to the data. 59 Table 3. Summary of Study's Four Dimensions with Respect to Measures and Instruments and the Objectives Relevant to Each Dimension. DIMENSIONS INSTRUMENTS OBJECTIVES OPINION DIMENSION A FORTY (40) OPINION TO MEASURE CHANGE IN OPINIONS SURVEY. SELECTED CONCERNING: STATEMENTS USED. a. Opinion about general in- INTERVIEW AND CONVER- service SATIONS WITH PARTICI- b. Opinion about ARITM PANTS. NO FORMAL c. Opinions about their own HYPOTHESIS RELATION- strengths SHIP. d. Opinions about prescrip— tive teaching and operant conditioning SKILL INSTRUCTIONAL BEHAVIOR TO MEASURE CHANGE IN STAFF SKILL DIMENSION OBSERVATION CHECK LIST. IN APPLICATION OF OPERANT TECH- NIQUES AND SUBCOMPONENTS OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL BEHAVIOR CYCLE: ANALYSIS SHEET' a. Proper stimulus presentation b. Prompting c. Shaping d. Reinforcement e. Overall application of skill VERBAL FOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED TO MEASURE CHANGE IN THE TEACHER'S EXPRESSION BY STAFF ON THE VTR ABILITY TO TALK ABOUT INSTRUCTION DIMENSION RESPONSE SHEET AFTER AND INSTRUCTING CHILDREN. UNDER- SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE STANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF: TEACHING SAMPLE. a. Assessment b. Prescription and individuali- zation c. Objective Setting d. Evaluation AND THE ACQUISITION OF A TECHNICAL LANGUAGE INTENT WHOLE CLASS SCHOOL TO ASSESS INTENT TO PRACTICE DIMENSION DAY PROGRAM SCHEDULE LEARNED SKILLS BY MEASURING CHANGE IN THE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTIONAL INTERACTION STYLE OF THE INSTRUC- TOR: a. Individualizing instructional delivery system 60 Certain methodological aspects of the ARITM would appear to render a rigid experimental design impractical. To properly implement the ARITM the subjects must be free to interact naturally within their environment. Subject independence and equal subgroup size could not be assured unless the natural school environment were disrupted. Changing this environment would be a basic contradiction of the ARITM. An agreement to provide in-service training via the ARITM to all staff members eliminated any possibility of maintaining control groups. Because of the above, this investigator felt that a descrip- tive report would best serve the purposes of the study by reporting trends and tendencies in subject behavior change. By this procedure, the investigator could provide the formative data needed for modifi- cation of the ARITM if the subject gains warranted continuation of this method as a viable model for in-serVice training. CHAPTER III RESULTS STUDY OVERVIEW General Purposes Of the Study The general purpose of this study was to indicate the vari- ous areas of learning or improvement one might expect if one were to employ the Active Response In-service Training Method (ARITM) as a model for in-service training in trainable and day-training programs. Through this knowledge, one might best employ the ARITM to teach to areas not reached by the more traditionally employed methods for in- service training. The second consideration or reason for conducting the study was to identify, if existing, any subgroups within the population that showed a differential improvement in areas addressed by the ARITM. In this manner, one might select a population where the greater benefit would be realized. The third or last general purpose of the study was to provide formative evaluation for the further refinement of the ARITM. Objectives and Assumptions The objectives of the study were to be accomplished by building a profile of the types of behavior change exhibited by the subjects over the period of the in-service training year. It was 61 62 assumed that the subjects would change in their opinions concerning 1) the value of invservice training in their district, 2) their strengths as teachers of handicapped children, and 3) the advisability of employing certain methods and techniques in teaching. It was also felt that the subjects would exhibit greater skill in applying behavior modification techniques and in verbally expressing the processes and language of instruction. Finally, it was assumed that the subjects would indicate their intent to incorporate what they had learned into their everyday instruction by showing a change in their instructional delivery when. working with children. By providing profiles on the whole population and sub- populations and collecting additional data provided by solicited but unstructured criticism from both trainers and trainees, the first evaluation of the ARITM's use as an in-service training model in pubr lic school programs for trainable and severely retarded children would be accomplished. Dimensions of the Study For purposes of reporting the results of this study, the findings of each of the four dimensions of the study will be reported separately. The reader will recall those dimensions to be: 1) the Skill Dimension involving subject's change in his applying behavior modification techniques; 2) the Verbal Expression Dimension involving change in the ability to verbally express an understanding of pre- scriptive teaching and to use technical langUage; 3) the Intent rfi\ . 63 Dimension involving the intent to incorporate learned skills as meas- ured by the extent to which the method of classroom instruction shifts from whole group instruction to individualized instruction; and 4) the Opinion Dimension involving change in subjects' opinions in re- gard to their general opinion about the value of in-service, their opinion about participation in the ARITM project and their Opinion about their own strength as teachers and about employing certain methodologies. Composition of Subgroups When studying the subgroups within certain dimensions, some regrouping was necessary. When regrouping was necessary for discussion purposes, the specific regrouping will be outlined prior to a discussion of results for the respective dimension. Unless otherwise specified, for all other dimensions of the study, subgroup analyses will comprise subjects as classified by the administration of the host school systems. Day-training teachers were eliminated from subgroup consideration as their backgrounds and administrative classification rendered them too atypical to be included within another subgroup and their number, two in all, made comparison mean- ingless. When reporting results of the entire group (N = 37), the day training teachers were included in the results. The following table shows the subjects and the subgroups to which they belonged as designated by school administrations. --.. cwfi.. J 64 Table 4. Distribution of All Subjects With Respect to Their Instruc- tional Subgroup Affiliation by Position and Program. Position Arainable Program Day Training Total Teacher 12 I 2 W . l4 Aide 10 13 23 TOTAL 22 15 37 RESULTS FOR EACH DIMENSIONI Skill Dimension Overall Performance This dimension dealt with the subjects' ability to apply behavior modification techniques. Each subject's performance on their manifested ability to apply behavior modification techniques in an instructional situation was judged on a pre/post basis. Sub— jects whose post-treatment performance was judged as the better performance were said to have exhibited positive change (or growth) in ability to apply behavior modification techniques. Subjects whose pre-treatment performance was judged to have been better were said to have exhibited negative change or no growth. Table 5 is a sum- mary of the subjects' change in this dimension. An analysis of the subjects showing positive change (34) is shown in Table 6 which gives the relative subgroup affiliation for the subjects.‘ 65 Table 5. Number and Respective Percentage of Subjects Showing Both Positive Change (Growth) and Negative Change (No Growth) in the Ability to Apply Behavior Modification Techniques. ‘17 V“ Direction I Number of I ParCentage of Change Subjects of Group Positive Change 34 92% (Growth) Ne ative Change 3 8% ?NO Growth) TOTAL 37 100% Table 6. Distribution of Subjects Showing Positive Change in Ability to Apply Behavior Modification Techniques According to Their Subgroup Affiliation by Program (Trainable or Day Training) and by Position (Teacher or Aide) and Giving the Representative Percentage for Each Group. j—v—v— v‘jfi— fi— Program POSitIOn DTrainable Day Training Teacher 10 (88%) 2 (100%) Aide 10 (100%) 12 (92%) 66 Of the three subjects showing negative change, one subject was a day-training aide and two subjects were trainable teachers. Amount of Positive Change in Skill Having determined which subjects showed positive change in application of behavior modification techniques from pre to post, an examination of the performances Of those 34 subjects followed. A comparison of the pre/post performances for each subject was made to estimate the amount of change manifested over the treatment period. The difference was rated on a five point scale from "one," little difference, to “five," vast difference. See Appendix N, Page 2, for complete explanation of point values. Table 7 summarizes the magni- tude of change for these subjects. Table 7. Distribution of Subjects Showing Positive Change in Appli- cation of Behavior Modification Techniques According to the Magnitude of Change and Subgroup Classification by Program and Position Magnitude of Positive Change Mean Program Position ’1' 2 3’ 4’ 5 Change 5; Teachers 2 2 1 4 l 3.0 g N = 10 1; Aides l 2 3 4 3.0 .5 N = 10 8' '2 Teachers 1 l 3.5 ;g N = 2 ;’ Aides l l 4 6 4.3 ég N = 12 TOTAL 34 3 6 5 12 8 3.5 67 Each subject's score was given a value equivalent to that score as measured on the five point scale. These scores were then summed and divided by the number of subjects to yield a mean positive change score for all 34 subjects and for subjects within given sub- groups. These scores are shown in the far right column in Table 7. Of those subjects showing negative change, the two trainable teachers each had a score of one and the day-training aide had a score of three. 0f the 92 percent showing positive change, 84 percent showed sufficient positive change (a magnitude of two or better) to satisfy the evaluators that their judgment was based on the qualitative dif- ference between the performances and not on guess work. Table 7 shows the mean positive change score for the entire group to be 3.5. In comparing the teachers and aides group, there was no difference in the amount of positive change, each group having a mean score of 3.0, .5 Of one point below the mean score for the entire group. In comparing the trainable and day-training groups, one finds the day-training group mean score to be 4.3 or a magnitude of 1.3 greater than the trainable group and .8 greater than the mean for the entire group. Table 8 compares the two subgroups (teachers and aides) and shows in percentage form the number of subjects within the respective subgroups who manifested various magnitudes of positive change. Table 9 makes similar comparisons for the two other subgroups (trainable program and day-training program) of interest. An examination of Table 8 comparing the positive change with aides shows that 70 percent of the aide subgroup obtained scores of a yl 'T. 68 Table 8. Comparison of Percentage Breakdown According to Magnitude of Positive Change Between the Two Subgroups: Teachers and Aides* (Trainable Teachers and Trainable Aides Dyads) f Percentage of Subjects According to Magnitude of Positive Change ag. M69. ‘Mag. wMag. Mag. 3 4 5 Subgroup l 2 Trainable Teachers 17% 17% 8% 33% 8% (N = 10) Trainable Aides 10% 20% 30% 40% (N = 10) Table 9. Comparison of Percentage Breakdown According to Magnitude of Positive Change Between the Two Subgroups: Trainable Program and Day-Training Program (Trainable Program Aides and Day-Training Program Aides). T Percentage Of Subjects According to Magnitude of Positive Change Mag. Mag. Mag. Mag. Mag. 3 4 5 Subgroup l 2 Trainable Aides 10% 20% 30% 40% (N = 10) Day-Training Aides 8% 8% 31% 46% (N = 12) 69 magnitude Of three or greater as compared to 49 percent of the teacher subgroup which obtained a score of three or better. All aides showed some positive change Of some magnitude, but two teachers showed nega- tive change from pre-treatment to post-treatment. Table 9, comparing trainable program subjects with day- training subjects, shows that 85 percent of the day-training staff showed positive change in skill to a magnitude of three or greater, compared to 70 percent of the trainable subgroup subjects scoring three or greater. Furthermore, 46 percent of the day-training sub- jects showed positive change, the highest magnitude (5). No trainable subjects showed positive change to that extent. All trainable sub- jects showed positive change, but one day-training staff member showed negative change. Positive Change in the Six Factors of the Instruction Cycle The observers' judgments as to the direction and amount of change were over all judgments based upon the observers' cumulative judgments of the subject's performance over a number of instructional trials. As can be seen in Appendix I, each trial contained six fac- tors or separate actions under the control of the subject. These factors were "task change," "attention," "stimulus presentation," "prompting," "feedback," and "reinforcement" and are defined in Ap- pendix J. Each subject received training in proper execution of each of these factors. Because the overall performance evaluation was contingent upon performance in each of these factors, an evaluation Ill .1311 ill.l.llrllllx .r. . .. . r. . c I . . II {A D . i — . l. grit . e . . s . . y! T a T 4 .. T T I . . T . . u e < .I D ‘ 3 . . .4. 1 r..i , r v .. . A A I A (O I A, .. .- . .. u . . . . . Ti . 5‘ .« v I 4| . , . . I o t 4 . I 7 T H n . . . . . 70 of each subject's performance on each factor was undertaken. These factors and the number of subjects who showed positive change in each factor is summarized in Table 10. The subgroups of interest and their performances in the respective factors are also summarized in Table 10. Table 10. Number of Subjects Showing Positive Change in the Six Specific Factors Considered in the Instructional Trials According to the Instructional Behavior Observation Check List (IBOCL) Subjects Showing Positive Change in 77 Each of the Six Comaonent Factors * - II. Group Factor Factor Factor ' Factor Factor 1 Factor 2 3 4 5 6 Whole Group 19 10 24 ll 6 22 (N = 34) Trainable Teachers 6 3 8 3 3 7 (N = 10) Trainable Aides 5 O 5 3 l 5 (N = 10) Day-Training Aides 7 7 10 4 . l 8 (N = 12) 1 1 *Factor 1 = task change Factor 4 = prompting Factor 2 = attention Factor 5 = feedback Factor 3 = stimulus presentation Factor 6 = reinforcement If it can be assumed that the number of subjects that show positive change in a given factor bears some relationship to the de- gree to which theSe factors are sensitive to instruction via the ARITM or to the receptivity of a given subgroup, then the ranking of . these factors may be of some value. 71 As indicated in Table 11, the greatest number of subjects for the whole group showed positive change in "Stimulus Presentation" or the proper and concise presentation of the task required by the student. "Reinforcement" ranked second and "Task Change," or confin- ing instructional activity to the presentation Of one concept or task within a given instructional period, ranking third. The remaining three factors had so few subjects showing positive change that it made distinguishing differences in rank order meaningless. As can be seen in Table 11, ranking across subgroups was identical for factors 1 (stimulus presentation), 2 (reinforcement) and 3 (task change). Table 11. Rank Order of the Six Factors for Each Subgroup According to the Number of Subjects in Each Subgroup Showing Posi— tive Change in the Various Factors. Whole Trainable Trainable Day-Training Rank Group Teachers Aides Aides l Stimulus Stimulus Stimulus Stimulus Presentation Presentation Presentation Presentation 2 Reinforcement Reinforcement Reinforcement Reinforcement 3 Task Change Task Change Task Change Task Change 4 Prompting Prompting Prompting Attention 5 Attention Attention Feedback Prompting 6 Feedback Feedback .Attention Feedback 72 Verbal Expression Dimension This dimension assesses the verbal conceptual component of the study and analyzes the subjects' change in ability to conceptual- ize and verbally express the processes appropriate to prescriptive teaching and in ability to use technical language of instruction. Using the same procedure as was used in judging application of behavior modification techniques, each subject was judged on his verbal ability in two areas. The first area considered the subject's ability to verbalize an understanding of the process of prescriptive teaching. The second area considered the subject's tendency to use the technical language Of instruction. Regrouping:of Subjects Two of the 37 subjects were dropped from this dimension of the study. Although both subjects completed the response form, both forms were lost in the mail. It was decided to eliminate these sub— jects from further consideration rather than ask for a restatement as the value of the response depended upon its completion immediately following the video taped teaching sample. The remaining subjects were distributed as follows: Table 12. Distribution of Subjects Responding to the Verbal Expres- sion Dimension Teachers Aides Total Trainable ll 10 21 Day-Training 2 12 14 TOTAL 13 22 35 73 Changes in gnderstandinfi Prescriptive eac _ng an se 0 ec nicalTLanggage_ Of the 35 subjects responding, 21 subjects showed a positive change from pre to post. For both areas of the verbal expression di- mension, these results are identical. Table 13 summarizes these results for both areas of this dimension. Table 13. Summary of Group Performance in the Two Areas of the Verbal Expression Dimension. —~—v V —r VERBAL EXPRESSION DIMENSION Understanding Of Prescrip- Higher Use of Technical tive Teaching Process Language of Instruction _L .24... _R_ ’ _A. Positive Change 21 60% 21 60% Negative Change 14 40% 14 40% TOTAL 35 100% 35 100% The distribution of subject responses by subgroup affilia— tion follows in Table 14. Since pre and post treatment results for verbal expression of the understanding of the prescriptive teaching process were the same as the results for change in the frequency of using technical language, Table 14 represents a summary for both areas in this dimension. Inspection of Table 13 shows that 60 percent of the entire group manifested positive change as compared with 40 percent showing negative change. This would appear to be little better than chance occurrence and might indicate that the procedures employed during treatment had little or no effect upon the subject's verbal conceptual 74 ability. This analysis, when applied to Table 14, also indicates that the effect was similarly non-conclusive when looking at the differen- tial effectiveness for the teacher and aide groups. However, when comparing the gains across programs, some differences become apparent. In comparing the results of the Trainable aide group with the Day- training aide group, one sees that the trainable group was split; one half showing positive change and one half showing negative change. Seventy five perCent of the Day-training group showed positive change. It would, therefore, appear that although overall, the ARITM did not have a great effect on the Vergal Expression Dimension for all subjects on a whole group basis, the day-training aides did show some improve— ment as a subgroup. Table 14. Distribution Of Subjects in Verbal Expression Dimension According to Direction of Change and Subgroup Affiliation by Program and Position. DIRECTION OF CHANGE, Positive Negative Teachers Aides Teachers Aides Trainable Program 5 5 6 5 Day-Training Program 2 9 O 3 75 Intent Dimension The Intent Dimension of this study dealt with the subject's intent to use the new skills and techniques after the study had term- inated. Because no follow-up study could be undertaken as part of this investigator's study, a measurement of intent to incorporate was undertaken during the treatment period. The index of "intent" was the change in the pre to post-treatment nature of the instructional interaction between subject and student. The ARITM assumes "individ- ualized inStruction" to be the desirable mode of student instruction. It was thus assumed that an "intent to incorporate" might be measured by an increase in the amount of individualized instruction that took place in the subject's daily instructional routine. Since individual- ized instruction is not only considered desirable from a methodological standpoint, but also considered to be a palatable procedure by most teachers, it was further assumed that once acquiring these skills, the subjects would tend to continue using them beyond the period of this study. A five point scale of instructional interaction ranging from individualized instruction to large group instruction with no attempt to individualize content or techniques was used to measure and code the interactions. The unit of analysis was the type of in— teraction that was employed by the subject to teach a concept, skill or lesson to his students during identified and discrete periods with- in the typical classroom day. The index of change was the change in frequency of use of the various types of interaction during the day. A more detailed explanation may be found in Chapter II. 76 Regroupingof Subjects The trainable teacher/aide dyads composed the group studied for this dimension of the study. There were two factors about the day-training group that necessitated their exclusion from the formal group to be studied. The severe motor and communications dysfunctions in the day-training student population dictates that any instruction, regardless of quality, place emphasis on individualization to a greater extent than might be the case in a trainable program. Secondly, the program structure in day-training situations made impossible, for purposes of this study, the isolation of discrete instructional units, teams of interacting pairs and isolation of classroom units. Nine trainable teacher/aide dyads were used because they met all qualifications: 1) each dyad worked as a team, 2) each team was isolated because they were classroom based, 3) instructional days were roughly equivalent in time, 4) discrete subject matter oriented instructional segments could be isolated and 5) student dysfunctions were mild enough to allow the possibility for a greater range of in- structional interaction types. Since type of interaction was the unit of analysis and not subject, there was some concern that a few subjects might contribute an inequitable amount to any Change in overall group shifts in in- structional style. The data in Appendix 0 are reported to speak to some of these concerns. Appendix 0 gives information concerning various factors of interest in equating the characteristics of each subject dyad before treatment. Appendix P gives similar information after treatment. 77 Shifts in Instructional Interaction Types The analysis of the shift in usage of various instructional types from pre to post for the group of eight teacher/aide dyads (subjects) was undertaken by totaling all recorded interaction units of specific type. In this manner, the actual number of units per type and their respective percentage Of the total number of interaction units for all types was identified. By comparing these data on a pre/ post basis, any shift in the frequency of use for the various types of instructional interaction was identified. Table 15 shows the pre and post comparisons of instructional interaction type usage for the group of subjects used in this dimension of the study. Table 15. Pre and Post Treatment Comparisons Of the Trainable Pro- gram Dyads' Use of the Various Instructional Interaction ypes. INSTRUCTIONAL INTERACTION UNITS* Instructional PFe:Treatment ""Post-Treatment ChangeFMeasured Interaction in Percent Type # of % of # of % of Difference Units All Units ' Units All Units From Pre to Post Individual 2 3% 6 8% + 5% Small Group 5 7% ll 14% + 7% Individual Whole Class 6 8% 11 14% + 6% Individual Small Group 14 19% 13 16% - 3% Same Activity Whole Class 46 63% 38 48% -15% Same Activity *73 instructional interaction units were recorded during the pre- treatment period and 79 units were recorded during the post-treatment period. 78 Table 15 shows that the two least desirable interaction types (types 4 and 5) decreased in frequency of use while the more desirable types (types 1, 2 and 3) increased. Although the modal in- teraction remained "whole group same activity," decline in this cate- gory was substantial and coupled with the decline of 3 percent in Type 5, accounted for an overall 18 percent increase in the frequency of use of the three more desirable types of instructional interaction. It would appear that the change in frequency of all types in the desired direction would lend some credibility to beyond chance occurrence. Since the Day-training subgroup was excluded from the above analysis for prior stated reasons and teacher/aide dyads were used, it is impossible to compare these two subgroups to note any differen- tial effectiveness. It might, however, be of some value to the reader to see the pre and post-treatment profiles of instructional interaction for the Day-training group. As mentioned previously, the staff (sub- jects) grouping in these programs was informal. Although given teams of dyads and triads remained relatively consistent throughout the treatment period, regrouping of teams during the year was not uncommon. Because this condition existed, information similar to that found in Appendices O and P will not be given; only summary information for the group similar to that found in Table 16 will be related. One subject in the Day-training subgroup was eliminated as schedule and time de- mands did not permit post-treatment data collection. The total number of subjects considered in this subgroup is fourteen (14). 79 ' Table 16. Pre and Post-Treatment Comparisons of the Day-Training Program Staffs' Use of Various Instructional Interaction Types. INSTRUCTIONAL INTERACTION UNITS* Instructional PreeTFeatment PostJTreatment Change Measured Interaction in Percent Type # of % of # of % of Difference Units All Units Units All Units From Pre to Post Individual 12 16% 21 28% +12% Small Group 6 8% 13 17% + 9% Individual Whole Class 8 10% 10 13% + 3% Individual Small Group 11 14% ll 15% + 1% Same Activity Whole Class 40 52% 20 27% -25% Same Activity *77 instructional interaction units were recorded during the pre- treatment.period and 75 instructional interaction units were recorded during the post-treatment period. As shown in Table 16, the two largest areas of change were a decline Of 25 percent in the least desirable type (whole class same activity) and an increase of 12 percent in totally individualized instruction. Although no comparisons between the Day-training sub- group and the trainable subgroup can be drawn, comparison of Tables 15 and 16 suggests that both subgroups moved in the desirable direc- tion. If the assumptions about the measurement index being a valid index of intent to incorporate the newly learned skills into routine Classroom procedures are sound, then it might also be assumed that these skills will be carried on beyond the project period. 80 Opinion Dimension The opinion dimension explores subject responses to 16 preselected items contained in a 40 item opinion survey. Pre and post-treatment responses were compared for information on change of opinion over the treatment period. Subgroup comparisons were made to determine any differential changes over this period. Subject Grouping The clustering of subgroup subjects was similar to those undertaken for other evaluative dimensions in this study. The whole group comprised all 37 subjects. The Teacher subgroup (N = 9) con- tained only those trainable teachers working one-to-one in a teacher/ aide dyad. The Aide subgroup included those trainable program sub- jects working as aides in the teacher/aide dyad (N = 9). The Train- able subgroup was composed of all trainable aides (N = 10). The Day- training subgroup comprised aides working in day-training programs (N = 13). Five subjects included in the I'Whole group“ but not accounted for in the various subgroups for prior stated reasons con- sisted of two day-training teachers and three trainable teachers. Statement Analysis and Response Format No statistical analysis for significance of any change was undertaken: therefore, no definite statements of change can be made. The intent is to report the results of the survey and to highlight any suspected tendency toward change over the treatment period. As mentioned in the description of this dimension in Chapter II, the 81 statements were constructed to require response on a five point scale ranging from strongly agree with a score value of "one" to strongly disagree with a score value of "five." For all subsections of State- ment Number 29 which asked for subject's perceived strength in certain skills or knowledge, the words "very strong" and "very weak" were substituted as opposites on the scale. Each statement had a maximum desirable score value assigned to it. Movement toward this maximum desirable value indicated a tendency to change from pre to post. All scores represent mean scores for various subgroups. Pre and post- treatment mean scores are given. Mean scores were calculated by multiplying the scale value for responses by the number of responses of that value. For each group, these weighted responses were summed and divided by the number of subjects within the given subgroup. A pre/post mean score difference of .5 or greater was accepted as an indication of a true tendency to change opinion. Although this as- sumption might seem rather arbitrary, it was reasoned that any mean shift equal to or greater than half an interval on a five point scale should be sufficient to justify a statement on "tendency" toward opinion Change. Analysis of Responses to Specific Statements In Table 17, the maximum desirable score values are given for statements used. The left column gives the statement number and the right column identifies the maximum desirable score value toward which the mean scores should move. 82 Table 17. Opinion Survey Statement Numbers Used and the Maximum De- sirable Score Values Assigned to Each. Maximum Desirable Statement Number Score Value 15 16 18 29-A 29-B 29-C 29-D 29-E 29-F 29-G 29-H 29-I 4O A summary of the mean scores for each of the statments is given in Table 18. The rows isolate the statement numbers. The columns give for each subgroup the pre and post treatment mean scores, and an indication of tendency to change from pre to post. A plus (+) indicates tendency to change in a desirable direction; a minus (-) in a non-desirable direction. These indications were given only when a difference between pre/post means was equal to or greater than .5 83 .noFuumnFu anmcmevunon a nF Fm..wu mmnnnu cu munmnnmu m mmpmannF Fuv emanse a .noFuumcFv anmnmeu a nF Fm..Mu mmnnno cu Aunmunmu a mmumuFunF F+u eszme we u.F u.F T m.~ u.F . u.~ o.~ . u.~ o.m . F.~ u.F . ¢.~ u.F on F + ~.F o.~ + m.~ u.~ + N.~ ~.m ~.~ m.m + m.~ ¢.~ + F.~ F.~ Fumu F u.~ ¢.~ + ~.~ F.~ + ¢.~ m.~ + ¢.~ o.m m.~ u.~ e.~ F.N =-m~ F - ~.~ ¢.F F.~ m.~ + ¢.~ m.~ + ¢.~ m.~ ~.~ ~.~ e.~ e.N unmm F ~.F ¢.F ~.~ m.F ~.~ ¢.~ ~.~ e.~ m.F o.~ o.~ o.~ unmm F o.~ e.~ + u.~ ~.m + m.~ ~.m + u.~ ~.m + F.~ m.~ + e.~ o.m mumm F m.~ u.~ u.~ ~.m ¢.m m.m ¢.m u.m ~.m u.m F.m ¢.m mumm F . ¢.N e.F . e.~ u.F + m.~ ~.m + u.~ m.m ¢.N u.~ u.~ u.~ uumm F + N.~ m.~ + m.~ o.m + o.m m.m + o.m u.m e.~ F.~ u.~ o.m mumm F ¢.F u.F ~.~ ¢.~ + ¢.N o.m + ¢.~ o.m F.~ ~.~ F.N e.~ 1. A. = a Task Change that is introduced because the teacher saw its introduction as being productive or necessary to the overall attainment of the instructional goals. Includes: "Fold your hands", "Sit still", "Blow your nose". Token exchange. Does not include commands for attention, "Look at this", "Look at me". .7 --% 2. - = a Task Change that is non-productive or destructive to the stated objective. Includes: Any changing of the subject or the nature of the interaction that is not specifi- cally intended to expedite the child's learn- ing or to manage the child s behavior. Switching from receptive labeling tasks to expressive labeling tasks with a non-verbal child. Introducing humour when tension release is not necessary. a trial is a discreet segment of instructional interaction which represents one of a series of similar segments directed toward the completion of the specific task. Each trial begins with a stimulus presentation and ends with whatever instructional interaction that takes place immediately before the next stimulus presentation. A trial may contain a) Stimulus Presentation, b) prompting, c) child response, and d) some staff behavior contingent upon the child's response. refers to any activity on the part of the trainer used to gain/regain control of the child's focus on the task: and does not include hand folding commands. The symbol used in recording Attention 141 (V/, G, -, or +) represents the stimulus presentation, any prompts, the response and any consequence needed to get Atten- tion, and therefore recording this process is done when you mark one of these symbols. C --9 l” V”: Attention had to be evoked and was before stimulus presentation (S.P.) 2. G = refers to general instructions or explanatory statements given to direct the child's attention to the task at hand. Includes explaining the rules of a game before giving the stimulus presentation. J ‘--) 3. - = Attention was absent at the time of S.P. and remained in an absent state. 4. + = Attention was present at the time of S.P. and was unnecessarily evoked by the staff member: includes Attention getting that is too complex or repetitious. 5. = Attention was present and not evoked. Stimulus is the use of vocal, gestural, tactual and/or demonstrative Presentation presentation of the desired task for the purpose of commanding a response on the part of the child. f1. V = Vocal command 2. S = a visual command or a command that is intended C'-+> 1' to cue by Sight only (non-verbal) 3. D = a Demonstration of the desired activity by the instructor, or walking the child through the activity. “4. O = implicit command; one that is understood by the child without having it explained in any explicit form. For example; displaying of Pro ts 6. VSD= L8-+ 142 object; pointing to or touching the specific object. a simultaneous combination of Vocal and Sight. a simultaneous combination of Vocal, Sight and Demonstrative less than sufficient or absent stimulus presentation (usually absence of vocal com- ponent) Includes child initiated action. a stimulus presentation that is too complex, too frequent, unnecessary or inconsistent. cues given to the subject at some time after the completion of the stimulus presentation but before the completion of a correct, an approximation or incorrect response. Includes physical assis- tance, imitative l. \/ c 2. - J 3. + 4. prompting, encouragement to complete a response,etc. appropriate prompt absent when should have been present over prompting - unnecessarily high frequency of prompts per trial or a type of over prompting (other than frequency) which means that the prompt offered more help than was necessary e.g. too many media used or complete prompt used when partial would have sufficed. no prompt was given and was not needed a prompt can be distinquished from the reintroduction of a pre- ceeding stimulus presentation according to the degree to which the two resemble one another. -a stimulus repetition would be worded very closely to the stimulus as it was initially presented. 143 e.g. SP 8 What is this? (staff holding a cup) SP - John, what is this? SP - What am I holding? -a prompt would be worded differently from the stimulus and may reflect a slightly different but related intent. e.g. SP - What is this? (staff holding a cup) P - Is this a cup? P - Say cup. P - CUPa Response refers to the type of response emitted by the child as a direct result of the trial attempts l. - = incorrect response C-——) 2. +~= correct response 3. (+)= an approximation of the desired response 4. O = no response Consequence the action taken by the instructor as a means of providing information to the subject concerning the nature of his response A. Feed Back C -—9 l.V" correct feedback for correct or incorrect child response 2. - = incorrect insufficient feedback or no feedback .I-——* where there should have been 3. + ' feedback that is too complex, too frequent, unnecessary or inconsistent. B. Reinforcement - feedback of a rewarding nature Pl. S = Social reinforcement (includes gestural, vocal or tactual) 2. T = includes Emngible reinforcers: such as toys. C'-—€D food, or tokens 3. S.T.= a combination of Social and Tangible reinforcements J‘-€} 144 no reinforcement for correct response, or consequence was not reinforcing. too much or too extravagent reinforcement or reinforcement for inappropriate response or reinforcement for an approximation when child can make a better response. C. Aversive and/or extinction procedures- R: T: VP = PP = Removal of Reinforcers given for prior performance Time out Verbal Punishment (harsh reprimands) Physical Punishment Absence of aversive or extinction procedures when there should have been. Unnecessary or too frequent use of aversive and/or extinction procedures. APPENDIX K APPENDIX K IBOCL RELIABILITY CHECK Three types of reliability checks were originally planned. A-test retest. an interrater, and a rating against models were attempted. The last formal training period occurred eight days before the check list was to be used for evaluating the subjects. The last twenty [fl minutes of this period was scheduled for the first of the test retest E } reliability checks. ‘However. a technical problem with the video tape ?‘j recorder necessitated cancellation of the session. There was not ' enough time to arrange another session, so there are no test retest data. The reliability check session preceded in the following l-‘imanner. Seven teaching samples were chosen from a bank of tapes de- veloped at other facilities. These seven were chosen on the basis of similarity to project interactions. Of these seven, three were ran- domly selected for use in the reliability check. The middle three minutes of each interaction were edited from each of the three tapes selected. These three-minute segments were ordered A, B, and C. Two duplicate tapes were then made of these interactions. The six observers were then divided into two groups of three observers in each group. Each group was housed separately with a video tape recorder for each group. Within each group, the observers were seated around a large table. Enough distance between each observer was allowed to reduce distraction and encourage independence in evaluation. .All observers in each group faced a large (21“) TV monitor. The ob- servers were told that, unlike the training session, no conversation 145 . . . s a t . C s I {I \ I: I . I I. ... . . . I s.- .1 I.‘ . L . l . - .. . .«.. s. I. . . I I 1.3! r . e ~ .I I . I I V I . h . . u . I. . 'v' u ‘ I a n a u . v . , . e I . I . I . I I J . . _ . . . . s . I As a I AI . . I I \ .. . I . A ~’ I p I . .I f . . v . .. . l. . . . , . . .ou. 146 would be allowed and no comments could be made during the observation periods. The only comments permitted were requests to stop the tape. This request could be made as often as needed by any of the observers. Only that observer who made the request to stop the tape could request that it be started again. The investigator handled the video tape recorder for one group. and the project coordinator handled it for the other group. IBOCL forms were given to each observer in sufficient quantity to allow recording all trials in all three interaction segments. Each IBOCL contained a description of the instructional segment that the intern would be observing. After each segment was completed, the IBOCL's for that seg- ment were collected and marked with an A, B, or C, depending upon which segment was scored. After all segments were scored, the observers were asked to rate all three segments as to which segment showed the "best," the "middle," or the "poorest" application of behavior modification techniques. Upon completion of this task. the observers were dismissed. Prior to the reliability check session. the investigator and the project coordinator viewed the three taped segments. This obser- vation was made according to the IBOCL format. After observing the tapes. each independently rated the segments as to "best," "middle," or "poorest." There was perfect agreement between the two raters. This rating then constituted the model against which the reliability of the observers' judgments would be measured. Interrater reliability was measured by taking each I.T.‘s IBOCL for each segment. For a given segment column, totals of negative 147 judgments were. calculated. Each observer's column totals for a seg- ment were compared. Data can be seen at the end of this Appendix. Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance was applied to the data to yield an interrater reliability of .86. In comparing the observer's rating of the three segments against the model constructed by the investigator, five (5) out of six (6) of the observers had perfect agreement. One of the observers gave a middle rating to the model segment rated best. That observer also rated as "best" that segment that was rated "middle" according to the model. No formal analysis for reliability was made of this "against model" reliability check, as it was assumed to be equal to or better than the .86 obtained in the interrater reliability check. RELIABILITY CHECK RAW DATA Col. Evaluator Tot. for Neg. Judgments Ranking of Tapes (I.T.) Tape t.c. atn. s.p. prm. f.b. rnf. Top Middle Poorest 1 A 4 2 3 0 O 0 X B O 2 3 4 O 3 X C 0 1 1 O O O X 2 A 5 1 2 O 0 O X B O 1 1 O 0 0 X C O 1 3 O O 3 X 3 A 5 2 3 0 O 0 X B O 1 0 O 0 O X C O 0 2 O 0 2 X 4 A 4 l 3 2 1 O X B O 1 1 0 0 0 X C O 0 2 O O 3 X 5 A 4 1 2 0 0 O X B O 1 1 O O O X C 0 O 2 O 0 3 X 6 A 4 O 2 0 O O X B O 1 1 0 O O X C 0 O 2 O O 3 X 148 APPENDIX L APPENDIX L GENERAL DIRECTIONS EACH FOLDER CONTAINS A PAIR OF SEGMENTS. AFTER COMPLETING THE REQUIRED OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION, PLACE THE FORMS BACK INTO THE APPROPRIATE FOLDER AND GO TO THE NEXT FOLDER. AFTER COM- PLETING ALL FOLDERS, MAKE SURE THAT EACH CONTAINS ONLY THE THINGS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE TO THAT FOLDER. iPL YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL THE MATERIALS YOU NEED. FEEL FREE TO ASK FOR ANYTHING YOU NEED OR FOR ANY INFORMATION YOU REQUIRE ON THE PROCEDURE THAT I HAVE ASKED YOU TO GO THROUGH. I CANNOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE ON THE TAPE. READ THE TASK DESCRIPTIONS YOU HAVE FOR EACH INTERACTION YOU ARE TO VIEW. DO THIS PRIOR TO VIEWING THE TAPE. 149 APPENDIX M APPENDIX M LIST OF CODED SEGMENTS TO: The numbers that appear on this sheet are code numbers that have been assigned to the segments of tape you will view. Under "I", the codes are listed in a straight line. This tells you that they will appear in that order on the tape you are about to watch. Under "11" you will see the same list of code numbers giving further information according to the way that they are paired. This means that the two paired num- bers belong to the same staff member and one of the numbers represents the pre tape and one of the numbers represents the post segment. A coin was flipped to decide which one of the two segments would be men- tioned first in the pair so their order has no bearing on when they were taken. I. Codes in order of appearance 49-33-13-17-71-39-64-47-2-44-41-67 II. Codes in order of appearance and coupled to staff member's pairs 49 -- 33 13 -- 17 71 -- 39 64 -- 47 2 -- 44 41 -- 67 150 APPENDIX N 151 APPENDIX N INSTRUCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS SHEET Please answer the following items to the best of your recollection. You may refer to the Instructional Behavior Check Lists you have completed on the two video tape segments you have just viewed. Do not replay the two segments during this process. I. Of the two segments you have just viewed, which one do you feel reflected the effect of the inservice training. In other words which segment was the better one. The segments.are listed with the code number in the order viewed by you. Place an "X" in the box preceding your choice. /:—/ was the better segment /:/ was the better segment 152 II. Place an "X" in the box preceding the statement which most appropriately reflects your feelings as you decided which segment to choose as the better one. /::7 The two segments were so nearly equal that I could just as well have flipped a coin to decide. /::7 The decision was extremely difficult, but my decision was definitely made based on the quality of the con- tent of the segment. /::7 Although the quality of some aspects of the segment caused me concern, generally the decision posed little difficulty. /::7 Although the overall difference in the two segments was not vast, I had no trouble deciding which was the best. /::7 The difference was like night and day. III. 153 NOW. CONSIDER ONLY THAT SEGMENT WHICH YOU CHOSE AS THE BETTER ONE. On each of the.fo|lowing pages (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) one dimen- sion or aspect of interest will be addressed concerning the content of the better segment. Attempt to give your estimate of the staff member's strength in each of the following dimensions. Place an "X" in the box which best describes your estimate of that person's strength as reflected by the performance in the segment. Boxes l, 3 and 5 on the line have descriptions underneath them to help you in deciding the meaning attached to that respective choice. Place an "X" in box 2 or 4 if your estimate lies somewhere in between. The choices with the written description mark one box only. You must make some .judgment' on each dimension. 154 l. Sticking to the described.TASKs or making only task changes which were essential to achieving the instructional objective. _l- .2._-_ Si- L. §~ /,/ // // / / // I I I Extremely Adequate Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit 2. 155 Holding or efficiently regaining the child's ATTENTION during instruction. .1: 2.... a. 4_-_ _5_._ /J / / j / Ll J / I I I Extremely Adequate Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit 3. 156 Clear concise STIMULUS PRESENTATION. _l- 2... a_- 4_- a /j IL // / // I I 1 Extremely Adequate Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit 157 4. Appropriate use of PROMPTING. _l 2.... a. I... .5... I] // // I I I Extremely Adequate Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit V F— 5. 158 Reinforcing appropriate approximations (SHAPING). _l- .2... a. I... :5; IL L/ 1! 1L /J I I I Extremely Adequate Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit 159 6. Appropriate application of REINFORCEMENT and FEEDBACK. L. .2... .32. 9;. 5.5; // / // 1] /g/ I I I Extremely Adequate _ Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit A s u .a \ . II! t. 1'. ...: 7. 160 Overall CONTROL of.the situation (use any cues that impress you to determine if ou feel the teacher was generally in good command of the situation . .1. .2... 3:. _L. i. [l j/ /J [L // I I I Extremely Adequate Excellent skill- poor-lack an outstanding of skill characteristic of stands out the segment as a deficit 161 Now, please consider those dimensions you have just marked. Go back and consider.each.one separately. Circle the number in front of only those dimensions which you feel have shown_growth. To do this you must mentally.compare the two tape segments you have just viewed and note the differences between the two. GROWTH WILL BE DEFINED AS THE DIFFERENCE IN PERFORMANCE.BETWEEN THE TAPE SEGMENT YOU REJECTED AND THE TAPE SEGMENT YOU CHOSE AS THE BETTER OF THE TWO. Hill.‘ I- tlllil .7 IL APPENDIX 0 APPENDIX 0 PRE TREATMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT AS THEY RELATE TO THE RESPECTIVE SUBJECT DYADS Characteristics of - Pre Treatment SUbJeCt Dyads Instructional Environment 1 2 l 3 k 4 5 ‘ 6 7 ‘ 8 Length of Instructional Day in Hours 5 5.25 4.5 4.5 5.6 6 5.6 5.75 Number of Discrete Instructional Inter- action Units 11 9 9 7 ll 9 8 9 Range of Time in 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 Minutes Taken For . to to to to to to to to Instructional Units 50 6O 45 60 60 60 90 90 Average Time in Minutes Taken 27 35 30 39 29.5 40 35 38 Per‘Unit Modal Type of Instructional Inter— action on 5 Point 5 4 5 2 5 5 5 5 Scale ‘ Range of Instructional l 1 4 2 3 3 2 3 Interaction Types to to to to to to to to Using 5 Point Scale 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ' 7 i No. of Units Recorded 7 5 7 3 8 6 6 7 for Modal Interaction . 162 APPENDIX P APPENDIX P POST TREATMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT AS THEY RELATE TO THE RESPECTIVE SUBJECT DYADS Characteristics of ' . Post Treatment Subjecttoads Instructional Environment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 . 8 Length of Instructional Day in Hours’ 5 5 5 6 5.25 5.25 5.25 5.25 Number of Discrete Instructional Inter- action Units 10 ll 10 10 9 8 10 11 Range of Time in 15 15 15 10 15 30 15 15 Minutes Taken for to to to to to to to to Instructional Units 50 60 '60 100 75 50 75 75 Average Time in Minutes Taken Per Unit 30 37.5 30 35 38 38 37.5 31 Modal Type of Instructional Inter- action on 5 Point 5 2 5 5 5 5 5 5 Scale Range of Instructional 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 Interaction Types to to to to to to to to Using 5 Point Scale 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 No. of Units Recorded 5 4 6 6 6 4 ‘ 6 3 for Modal Interaction 163 REFERENCES REFERENCES Ashbaugh, L. L. An evaluation of an attendant training program based on principles of behavior modification. Unpublished dectoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, 1971. Barnett, C. D. and G. J. Bensberg. Behavior Management of the Insti- tutionalized Mentally Retarded. Mental Retardation, 1965, §, 7-ll. Bensberg, G. J.; C. D. Barnett; and W. P. Hurder. Training of Attend- ant Personnel in Residential Facilities for the Mentally Retarded. Mental Retardation, June, 1964. Burke, D. and M. Rowland. An In-service Technique to Teach Ward Attendants How to Give Language Development Training to In— stitutionalized Retardates. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting, Michigan Speech and Hearing Association, Lansing, Michigan, October, 1971. Chappell, F. Consultant for Trainable and Day Training Programs, Michigan Department of Education, Special Education Services Areas. Personal Communication, 1972. Cortazzo, A. D.; L. M. Bradtke; W. J. Kirkpatrick, Jr.; K. P. Rosenblatt. Innovations to Improve Care in an Institution for the Mentally Retarded. Children. July - August, 1971. Gardner, J. M.; D. J. Burst; and L. S. Watson. A Scale to Measure Skill in Applying Behavior Modification Techniques to the Mentally Retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1970, zg_(5). 633-636. Gardner. J. M. Training the Trainers: A Review of Research on Teaching Behavior Modification. In C. M. Franks and R. Rubin (eds.) Progrgss in Behavior Therapy, 1971, New York: Academic Press, 1972. Goldstein. H. Population Trends in U.S. Public Institutions for the Mentally Deficient. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1959. §§, 599-604. 164 165 Harris, G. A. Day Training Programs for the Severely Retarded in Michigan. Report of Regional Leadership Project under Title I. P.L. 89-313. Administered by Wayne County Intermediate School District. 1972. MacIntyre, R. B. In-service Training Through Short Term Conferences. Exceptional Children, January, 1972. McBride, H. J. The differential effectiveness of two methods of training institutional attendants in the technique of be- H” havior modificatidn. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, E The Michigan State University. 1972. 3 Michigan Department of Education. Proposed Rules and Regulations for 1 Implementation of Special Education Programs Under Mandatory Special Education P.A. 198. In preparation, October 20, 1972. Michigan Department of Education. Report of the Michigan Special 51 Education Committee on Certification of Teachers of the Handicapped. gune l, 1970. Michigan Department of EdUCation. Guidelines for Special Education Programs and Services in Michigan. 1974. Michigan Department of Health. Public Health Statutes. Community Mental Health Acts of 1963. National Commission for Teacher Education and Professional Standards. Current Practices in In-service Education, Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1965. Cited by MacIntyre, Exceptional Children. Parker, G. O. Attendant-nurses for the Mentally Deficient: some evidence. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1951, 55, 326-336. Peter. L. J. Prescriptive Teachigg, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, l965. Roselle. E. N. The Need for Employee Training. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1950, 51, 183-186. Saettler, H. Students in Training Programs in the Education of Handi- capped Children and Youth 1968-69. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, U.S. Office of Education, Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, Division of Training Programs. July. 1970. Simon. A. and E. G. Boyer (Eds.). Mirrors for Behavior II: an anthol- o of observation instruments. Communication Materials enter, Wyncote, Pennsylvania, 1974. 166 State of Michigan. General School laws. Legislative Service Bureau LSB—P No. 34-3.66. 1966. Wilson, 8. J. A Proposed Training Program for Special Education Teacher Aides in Virginia as a Basis for Behavioral Objec- tives. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, George Washington University, 1972. Wolfensberger, W. The Origin and Nature of our Institutional Models. In R. Kugel and W. Wolfensberger (Eds.). New patterns of residential services for the mentally retarded. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969. Typed and Printed in the U.S.A. Professional Thesis Preparation Cliff and Paula Haughey ,_ 144 Maplewood Drive ' '7 East Lansing, Michigan 48823 3' Telephone (617) 337-1 527 23 fl 8“ I'll Y1| T" I“ 517 1 1| VII 0 111111 31 11111111