Digital Commons Network^™

Classroom Applications Of A Trial-Based Functional Analysis In An Early Childhood Education Setting, Jennifer Laura Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Functional analysis has proven to be an effective way of determining the function of problem behaviors. However, this process can consume a great deal of time and resources. Also, the majority of analyses are conducted with subjects greater than six years of age with unfamiliar persons conducting the analysis. Therefore, there is a need to examine a method that will expend less time and resources, and to determine if this new method will be effective with subjects in an early childhood setting. The current study examines the ability of classroom teachers to conduct a trial-based functional analysis within an early …

The Effects Of Teaching Prefix Meaning And A Strategy To Derive Word Meaning On A Prefix Vocabulary Test And Sentence Comprehension Test For Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities, Shannon K. Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous researchers have concluded that there is a need for determining how vocabulary instruction effects vocabulary comprehension and reading comprehension for young learners. Researchers have implemented morphemic strategies in various studies to identify effective methods for vocabulary instruction. In the present study, four prefixes were taught to students with disabilities to extend vocabulary research by using a morphological approach with a focus on prefix instruction. In addition students were taught how to combine the meaning of a prefix to the meaning of a root word. Data patterns indicate an increase in students' ability to provide definitions for prefixed words while …

Correspondence Of Job-Preference And Job-Matching Assessment With Job Performance And Satisfaction Among Youth With Developmental Disabilities, Julie Hall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the effects of job preference and job match on job performance among four 19-to 20-year-old young adults with developmental disabilities placed in community-based job conditions. Prior studies have examined the effects of job preference on community-based job performance without the job-matching component. The researcher identified high-preference, high-match and low-preference, low-match job conditions and tasks using a video web-based assessment program. Each participant was subsequently placed in a randomized sequence of 30-min sessions on one high-preference, high-match job condition performing a preferred task and one low-preference, low-match job performing a non preferred task. Job coaches instructed and prompted …

Using Static And Dynamic Measures To Estimate Reading Difficulty For Hispanic Children, Douglas B. Petersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the validity of measures that were hypothesized to account for significant variance in English reading ability. During kindergarten, 63 bilingual Hispanic children completed letter identification, English and Spanish phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and sentence repetition static assessment tasks. They also completed a dynamic assessment nonsense-word decoding task that yielded pretest to posttest gain score, response to decoding strategy, and temporally related working memory information. One week prior to kindergarten, information was gathered regarding socioeconomic status, preschool attendance, English and Spanish language dominance, and language ability. At the end of first grade, the same children completed word …

The Effects Of Fluency Training On The Fidelity With Which Paraprofessionals Implement A Reading Intervention, Renee Magnusson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In schools, didactic training is a common method for promoting intervention fidelity. Despite its prevalence, however, a number of literature reviews suggest that didactic training alone is not an effective way to promote intervention fidelity. Training seems to be more effective when coupled with daily or weekly performance feedback in applied settings. However, given the level of resources in typical public schools, this amount of performance feedback for all teachers and paraprofessionals may not be feasible. Therefore, there is a need to explore additional means of promoting intervention fidelity. The current study examines the effects of fluency training on intervention …

The Effects Of In-Service Teacher Training On Correct Implementation Of Assessment And Instructional Procedures For Teachers Of Individuals With Profound Multiple Disabilities, Erin L. Horrocks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A multi component training package (live training, video modeling, role playing, and feedback) was used to train teachers to assess and instruct students with profound multiple disabilities. Phase 1 of the study included training seven in-service teachers to conduct assessment in three areas: (a) preference assessment (i.e., potential reinforcing items), (b) controlled body movement assessment (i.e., gross and fin motor skills), and (c) access skill assessment (i.e., assessment of basic skills or prerequisite skills that are necessary for student to master before entering into further instruction). The assessment result yielded the following information for each student participant: (a) a list …

Noncontingent Delivery Of Preferred Stimuli To Treat Problem Behavior In The Classroom, Nicole P. Miles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have very poor long-term outcomes. Non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) has been used to successfully reduce problem behaviors. NCR is frequently used with populations with severe disabilities and in hospital settings using function based reinforcers. Very few studies have applied the use of NCR to EBD populations, and to students whose cognitive scores fall within the normal range. No studies have examined the use of preferred tangible reinforcers delivered non-contingently with participants with EBD or in classroom settings. This study measured the effects of delivering tangible reinforcers selected through preference assessments on the disruptive and …

The Effects Of A Self-Evaluation Package On The Presentation, Praise, And Error Correction Skills Of Special Education Teachers, Patsy Ann Milligan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous research has shown that various forms of self-evaluation improve teachers' instructional skills. Common among all studies reviewed is the importance of explicit pedagogy linked to improved student outcomes and clear instruction on how to self-assess. Both of these appear critical to sustained change in teachers' behaviors. In this study new teachers were provided initial didactic instruction to improve their presentation skills, praise rate, and error corrections. In addition, the effects of self-evaluation of targeted skills were assessed with one teacher. All three teachers mastered the targeted skills. Two teachers mastered the skills immediately following didactic instruction and practice in …

The Impact Of The Physical Environment On The Social Integration Of Individuals With Disabilities In Community, Keith M. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social integration in community is especially important for individuals with disabilities well-being. Although individuals with disabilities reside within the community's physical environment, they are often marginalized in the social environment. This may be the result of individuals with disabilities residing in physical environments that negatively affect opportunities for integration in the social environment. However, there has been little investigation to understand the impact of the physical environment on the social integration of individuals with disabilities in community.

The purpose of this investigation was to (a) examine the current body of evidence concerning the impact of a community's physical environment on …

Examination Of Behavioral Momentum With Staff As Contextual Variables In Applied Settings With Children With Autism, Mark P. Groskreutz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral momentum theory proposes that the persistence of behavior when exposed to disruptors provides an appropriate measure of the strength of behavior. Basic research has consistently demonstrated that behaviors that occurred in a context with higher overall rates of reinforcement (rich contexts) were more persistent than other behaviors that have occurred in a context with relatively lower rates of reinforcement (lean contexts). More surprisingly, behavioral momentum theory goes on to assert that this greater persistence in richer contexts is found even when rate of responding is lower in the rich context, and when the greater richness is due to noncontingent …

Implementing Graphic Organizers In A General Education Earth Systems Classroom, Jennifer P. Slade

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous research has shown that implementing graphic organizers and giving the needed instruction to use and study content information increases academic gain of students with learning disabilities. In the present study students actively engaged in using graphic organizers, which helped them demonstrate their learning on multiple choice questions. On the multiple choice test, the overall mean gain for the experimental group was 45%. The control group's overall mean gain on the multiple choice test was 30%. While the posttest scores for students in the graphic organizer group were significantly higher than posttest scores of students in the control group, few …

The Effects Of Quality And Magnitude Of Reinforcement On Choice Responding, Jessica Erin Frieder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the effects of a concurrent schedules arrangement, in which three dimensions of reinforcement (duration, attention, and stimuli) were manipulated, on choice responding, appropriate behavior, and problem behavior for three participants with disabilities who had escape-maintained problem behavior. Three experiments were conducted in which participants could choose between work, break, or problem behavior. In the first experiment, the choice analysis, three reinforcement dimensions were varied simultaneously for choice responses. In the second experiment, the component choice analysis, reinforcement dimensions were evaluated in isolation. In the third experiment, the effort analysis, increasing task demand requirements and how they …

School Counselors' Referral Practices Of Children With Internalizing Symptoms, Kelly Hughes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project proposed to examine school counselors' knowledge of and experiences with internalizing issues in children. The sample included all elementary and middle/secondary school counselors employed in Utah. The measure used in the present study was a questionnaire adapted from a study by Green, Clopton, and Pope. Analyses revealed that few elementary school counselors would meet with a student struggling with internalizing symptoms, but many would meet with the students' teacher(s) and parents. Overall, fewer secondary school counselors endorsed the presented responses as compared to elementary school counselors. More than half of both elementary and secondary school counselors indicated they …

The Effects Of Self-Monitoring Checklists And Performance Feedback On Study Skills Of College Students With Disabilities, Sherrie Mecham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study utilized a multiple baseline design across two study skills to examine the impact of a self-monitoring checklist and performance feedback on the implementation of study skills for seven college students with disabilities. The accuracy with which students performed study skills was calculated as a percentage based on the number of correct study skill steps completed during a college course divided by the total number of treatment steps. The results show that three of the seven students markedly increased the accurate use of the notetaking and study guide skills immediately when provided with a self-monitoring checklist and performance feedback, …

Concurrent And Construct Validity Of Alternating Verbal Fluency As A Measure Of Executive Function, Gail A. Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alternating verbal fluency is a combination task that was designed to assess the cognitive constructs of verbal fluency and cognitive shifting, presumably for increased efficiency. Researchers and clinicians have hypothesized about the added diagnostic benefits and more sophisticated discriminability of alternating verbal fluency as compared with singular verbal fluency tasks.

To date there are no standardized forms of alternating verbal fluency tests, normed data, or a guide for differentiating patient populations. In addition, there are no published studies addressing the construct or concurrent validity of alternating verbal fluency with other tests of executive function. Thus, the purpose of the present …

The Effectiveness Of Language Intervention With Preschool Handicapped Children: An Integrative Review, Beverly Marie Poirier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Controversies surrounding language intervention for preschool children have primarily focused on specific issues about which approach is better than another. However, most researchers consider language intervention to be effective--even though many studies yield conflicting findings. Previous reviews on language intervention added little to resolving the controversies because of inadequate sampling procedures and insufficiently addressing methodological issues. A more systematic review of prior research was needed to clarify the status of the language intervention literature. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive integrative review of the primary research on language using a meta-analysis approach to determine the relative …

The Generalization Of Treatment Gains Of Mildly Handicapped Adolescents From Special Education To Regular Education Classrooms Using Peer-Mediated Self-Management Procedures, Deborah J. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a self-evaluation procedure paired with a token economy would be effective in reducing the off-task and talk-out behavior of behaviorally disordered and learning disabled high school students in a resource classroom. The study also examined the effects of the self-evaluation procedures when monitored by regular education peers on target students' behavior in their regular education English class. In addition to improving classroom behavior, another purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the self-evaluation procedures when paired with an academic goal-setting component on academic variables in both the …

Expert System Technology And Concept Instruction: Training Educators To Accurately Classify Learning Disabled Students, Mary Anne Prater

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many learning disabled student being served by the public school systems have been inaccurately classified. Training and research efforts are needed to assist members of the multidisciplinary team in making more accurate learning disabilities classification decisions.

CLASS.LD2, a computer-based expert system, was designed to assist multidisciplinary teams by providing second-opinion advice regarding the appropriateness of a learning disabilities classification for individual student cases. The existing expert system, CLASS.LD2, was combined with strategies for effective concept instruction to create an instructional package entitled LO.Trainer.

The purpose of this study was (a) to develop a computer-based instructional package combining expert system technology …

An Expert System To Train Secondary Special Education Teachers In Language Arts Instruction, Elizabeth Shafer Martindale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Writing, a complex organizational process that makes excessive attentional demands, can be frustrating for handicapped students. These students seldom complete a finished written product because t he y are usually trying to master the mechanical aspects of writing . Teaching the secondary-aged student with learning problems to use and unify writing skills into a finished product may be an initial step in helping them acomplish more difficult writing tasks.

The purpose of this Research and Development (R & D) study was (a) to develop and validate an expert system which suggests teaching and management strategies for special education teachers and …

Telephone Crisis Intervention: Empathy And Conceptual Level, Paul J. Seymour

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The telephone crisis intervention service at Utah State University (Help-Line) was evaluated in order to make the training program accountable and to produce recommendations for improvement in volunteer training.

Help-Line training teaches a "non-directive" counseling model and incorporates experiential sensitivity type exercises, didactic discussion, and role playing.

Help-Line volunteers were assessed by two methods. The first was a pretest-posttest control group design. Training was the independent variable and the discrimination of core conditions (as measured by the Crisis Center Discrimination Index) and the communication of empathy (as measured by the Crisis Center Communication Index) were the dependent variables. The Indexes …

A Comparison Of The Academic Achievement And Social Adjustment Of Mentally Retarded Students, C. Thomas Musgrave

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Public awareness of the problem of mental retardation is relatively new. Professional services in this area are less than one hundred and fifty years old in America. In essence, the treatment of the mentally retarded since ancient times has been very harsh. The Spartans from ancient Greece left all defectives exposed to the elements to die. They were treated with aversion and subjected to many indignities.