Maximizing Effectiveness Using Positive Behavior Support Methods in the Classroom: Instructional Adaptations

1. Maximizing Effectiveness Using Positive Behavior Support Methods in the Classroom:Instructional Adaptations

2. Objectives • Identify 3 main types of classroom adaptations • Identify 2 broad ways of adapting instruction • Recognize both group and individual adaptations • Make adaptations to instructional presentation • Make adaptations to student output/response

3. Three types of Adaptations Adaptations Curriculum Adapt what is taught Instructional Adapt how it is taught and how learning is demonstrated Ecological Adapt the setting – where, when, and with whom

4. Approaches to Instruction

5. Instructional Adaptations • Instructional adaptations involve changing the way in which material is presented and/or the way the student practices or demonstrates learning.

6. Instructional Adaptations Two types of instructional adaptations Student Responses or Output ModalityFormat/Material Instructional Presentation AlternationModalityFormat/MaterialsTask DivisionChoices

7. Instructional Adaptations • Adapting the presentation • The information provided during a lesson or the directions (i.e. difficulty level). • The manner in which the information is provided (i.e. brief lectures, cues/prompts), and • The materials provided for a student during a practice or evaluation activity.

8. Adapting the Presentation • Task Alternation • Intersperse activities • Novel with familiar • Preferred with non-preferred • Teacher directed with independent • Lecture with interactive activities

9. Task Alternation – Group Example • Typical - When teaching a new math skill, Mr. Jones spent half of the class period demonstrating the process while the students observed. (Students were often off-task, talking to each other, playing in their desks) During the second half of the class, students practiced the skill on their own, asking questions when they arose. (Students had many questions since they had not attended to the demonstration)

10. Task Alternation – Group Example • Adapted – Mr. Jones handed out guided practice worksheets at the beginning of class. He demonstrated the new skill in steps. After each step of the problem, students practiced on their own paper, asking questions as they arose. (Students were engaged in the activities during the entire lesson)

11. Task Alternation – Individual Example • Student Snapshot • Sallyis a 7-year old diagnosed with autism and severe mental retardation. She is non-verbal, has poor attending skills and exhibits repetitive behaviors (e.g. rocking). During attempts to teach Sally simple signs, she becomes disengaged and increasingly upset to the point of terminating the activity. • Hypothesis – When Sally is engaged in frustrating learning activities, she becomes off-task and disruptive to avoid participating in the task. • Curriculum adaptations –Instruction of new signs was presented intermittently with directions to engage in previously mastered skills such as hand-clapping and pointing to familiar items upon request.

12. Adapting the Presentation • Modality • Read text aloud to students • Accompany oral information with overheads, graphic organizers, visual pictures, maps, or outlines • Provide audio-or videotapes to accompany textbooks • Provide models or demonstrations

13. Modality – Group Example • Typical – When starting a new unit in American History, Ms. Lopez usually gave the students and overview of the unit orally, then had the students read the relevant section in the text, then had the students answer questions from the information in the text.

14. Modality – Group Example • Adapted – When starting a new unit, Ms. Lopez provided an outline to the students that illustrated the points to be covered, central concepts, and a time-line containing the events of this period. Students used the outline as a guide during her lecture and subsequent text readings.

15. Modality – Individual Example • Student Snapshot • Emily is a 14-year old high school student with learning disabilities who is served in regular education classes. • Hypothesis – When assigned written activities in Geography, Emily becomes disruptive and leaves her area, to avoid completing the task. • Curriculum adaptations -When possible, given the content of the activity, Ms. O’Malley allowed Emily to demonstrate her knowledge of geography by drawing pictures with simple labeling. After adaptations, Ms. O’Malley was able to recognize Emily’s gains in geographic knowledge.

16. Adapting the Presentation • Format/Materials • Conduct demonstrations and role plays • Highlight a content area textbook (yellow for vocabulary words, blue for definitions • Provide large-print materials • Provide answer boxes or more room to write on test and worksheets • Add pictures and/or symbols to text

17. Format/materials – Group Example • Typical– In math, students take notes in their notebooks during demonstrations of new skills. The students’ practice items come from the text; they copy the problems on a separate sheet of paper and complete, or they are given a worksheet to complete. If students have difficulty working problems, they can use examples in the text, or get out their notebook and review their notes from class. Most students find this cumbersome and leave the item blank or put an incorrect answer to avoid accessing their notes.

18. Format/materials – Group Example • Adapted – Students notebooks were adapted so that they took notes on new skills on the back side of a sheet in the their notebooks. The facing page was used to work on practice items, allowing the student to view their notes as they worked items for the first time. Practice items on the facing page either came from the text (student copied them down) or worksheets (stapled or glued to the page).

19. Format/materials -Individual Example • Student Snapshot • Susan is a middle school student diagnosed with severe learning disabilities including dyslexia & ADHD served in typical classes. During social studies activities involving the use of the textbook, Susan is frequently off-task and disruptive. During social studies discussion activities, Susan is frequently engaged. • Hypothesis – When Susan is presented with new content reading materials at her instructional level or above, she becomes disruptive to avoid the task. • Curriculum adaptations - Social studies text was copied in a large font with increased space between the lines. This text was assigned as homework on the day before the class would cover it in the text. Susan was able to “save face” by using the same text as others, yet felt more confident with the content because she had reviewed it in a format that was more comfortable for her.

20. Adapting the Presentation • Task Division • Break up the task into smaller units • Example: math worksheet • Cut worksheet rows into separate strips • Hand student one strip at a time • Provide feedback after each strip • Repeat

21. Task Division –Group Example • Typical – Mr. Ide noticed in math that when completing lengthy practice assignments (assignments over 15 items), his students were productive for about 15 minutes, then became increasingly off-task and disruptive.

22. Task Division –Group Example • Adapted – Mr. Ide assigned practice items in the following fashion: • Initially, each student was to complete 7 problems, • After the first group of 7 was completed, students could check their answers at the “checking station” at the front of the room. • If all answers were correct, they would only be required to do the final set of 5 items. • If 2 or more answers were not correct, Mr. Ide re-taught the concept to the student individually and the student was to complete the final set of 5 items. • After completing the final set of 5 items, students once again checked their accuracy. • Students who miss 2 or more on the final set of 5 items would be given remedial activities for homework.

23. Task Division – Individual Example • Student Snapshot • Josh is an elementary age student in a classroom for students with mild mental retardation. During math skills practice he would refuse to comply with teacher instructions and would often destroy worksheets. • Hypothesis – When Josh is presented with a full page of math problems to complete, he refuses to comply with instructions and destroys his materials to avoid the task. • Curriculum adaptations – Considering Josh’s comments such as “it’s too much,” his teacher cut his worksheet into strips by row. Strips were then presented one at a time with feedback after each completion. After adaptations, Josh generally completed all problems.

24. Adapting the Presentation • Present Choices • Choose tasks • Choose response method • Choose who to work with • Choose where to complete task

25. Choice – Group Example • Ms. Fritz’s students were frequently off-task and disruptive during spelling. She considered her typical assignment schedule: • Monday - write them 3 times each • Tuesday – write them in ABC order • Wednesday – write them in a sentence • Thursday – practice with the Language Master • Friday – test • Ms. Fritz also noticed that some students enjoyed one or two of those tasks, but others did not, and vice versa.

26. Choice – Group Example • Ms. Fritz decided to offer the students a menu of spelling activities (made up from typical and newly created activities) and allow them to choose a different activity each day. • Write 3 times each • Language Master • Spelling into tape recorder • Use in a story • Make a word search • Write in ABC order

27. Choice – Individual Example • Student Snapshot • James is an animated 11 year old student with severe mental retardation. When presented with tasks using manipulatives, he often throws them across the room. During free-time, James often chose those same items to play with. • Hypothesis – When James is assigned learning activities requiring manipulatives by the teacher, he becomes disruptive to avoid doing the assigned task. • Curriculum adaptations – James was allowed to choose from 3-4 activity alternatives which met the teacher’s learning objective. James selected and was engaged.

28. Instructional Adaptations Two types of instructional adaptations Student Responses or Output ModalityFormat/Material Instructional Presentation AlternationModalityFormat/MaterialsTask DivisionChoices

29. Adapting Student Response • Adapting the student response • The student response, or output is the behavior that is required by the student. • Student responses might include; listening to a lecture, reading a resource book, taking notes, organizing and writing information, multiple choice format

30. Adapting Student Response • Modality • Listen to someone else read a test aloud rather than reading it silently • Give oral rather than written directions • Use the computer to answer questions to a test verses paper/pencil task • Communicate spelling words orally rather than writing them

31. Modality – Group Example • Typical – Mr. Meck liked to use essay tests to assess how well his students understood and applied the concepts he taught in his high school sociology class. Many of the students had difficulty expressing themselves in writing and argued that they understood the material, but couldn’t get their points across. He confirmed their responses by having them further explain their answers to him.

32. Modality – Group Example • Adapted – Mr. Meck offered his students the opportunity to substitute an oral exam for the essay portions of the test. • Note: When Mr. Meck was overwhelmed with requests to do oral examinations, he had students record their responses on a tape recorder so that he could grade them when he had time.

33. Modality – Individual Example • Student Snapshot • Rylee, a 6-year old kindergarten student in a classroom for students identified with severe emotional disturbance, was frequently off-task and disruptive during math activities using a worksheet to practice counting. • Hypothesis – During paper-pencil math activities, Rylee engages in off-task and disruptive behavior to avoid completing the assigned activity. • Curriculum adaptations – After identifying Rylee’s interest in Lego’s the worksheet counting activity was replaced with counting Lego’s as she constructed objects.

34. Adapting Student Response • Format/Material • Solve functional math problems rather than practicing isolated skills (count money rather than using plastic counters) • Complete a chart, map, or outline instead of writing an essay about a novel or story • Computer rather than pencil/paper

35. Format/material – Group Example • Typical – Ms. Marsee noticed that several of her students did poorly on her geography exams which were a mixture of multiple choice, diagram identification, True and False and short answer. However, their participation in class discussion and hands-on activities seemed to indicate that they understood the material. Those students were becoming frustrated with their test grades and their efforts seemed to be waning.

36. Format/material – Group Example • Adapted – Ms. Marsee decided to include more use of diagrams and physical models in her lessons. She included this type of format in her testing by having students generate their down diagrams and maps to demonstrate their knowledge.

37. Format/material – Individual Example • Student Snapshot • Amyis an 6-year old child diagnosed with autism. During her daily letter tracing assignments, using a pencil and paper, she frequently became disruptive; yelling and throwing her materials. • Hypothesis –When Amy is presented with paper/pencil tasks, she becomes disruptive to avoid the task. • Curriculum adaptations – Amy’s teacher noticed that during free-time, Amy often chose to use the dry erase board. She obtained a small dry-erase board for Amy to use in her handwriting practice. (In the future, the teacher plans to begin alternating the dry-erase assignment with pencil paper)