Increasing Skill Performances of Problem Solving in Students with Disabilities

1. Increasing Skill Performances of Problem Solving in Students with Disabilities Debra Cote, Ph.D. California State University Fullerton

2. Importance of Problem-Solving Competency • Students with disabilities need: • exposure to problem-solving instruction (Agran & Alper, 2000). • problem-solving skills to prepare them for post-school life (Edeh & Hickson, 2002). • opportunities to practice problem-solving skills (Palmer & Wehmeyer, 2003).

3. Purpose of the Research • Measure the application, generalization, and maintenance of problem-solving skills in students with disabilities. • Contribute to the limited research in this area, for this population of students, and provide a systematic approach to teach problem-solving skills that can lead to self-determination.

4. Research Questions • Research Question 1 • What were the effects of problem-solving instruction on the skill performances of problem solving in students with disabilities? • Research Question 2 • To what degree did students with disabilities identify the steps of problem solving?

5. Research Questions • Research Question 3 • To what degree did students generalize their skill performances of problem solving? • Research Question 4 • To what degree did students maintain/retain their skill performances of problem solving?

6. Research Questions • Research Question 5 • What effect did the problem-solving instruction have on students perceptions of their skill performances of problem solving? • Research Question 6 • What were teacher perceptions about implementing the problem-solving strategy to increase skill performances of problem solving in students?

7. Experimental Design • Multiple Probe Design (Horner & Baer, 1978) • Provides an alternative method for establishing baselines. • One baseline and one treatment condition was administered. • Two students were included in the first level of the design.

8. Setting • Setting • The study was conducted in a professional development middle school. • A self-contained classroom used in providing services to 10 students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities.

9. Students • Students • Four middle school age students • Sixth grade African American female student • Sixth grade Hispanic female student • Sixth grade Caucasian female student • Seventh grade Asian (Filipino) male student

10. Student Demographics

11. Problem Situation Baseline Measure • Ann’s teacher wants Ann to practice reading sight words everyday. After school, Ann goes to her grandma’s house. When Ann’s mother picks her up, Ann is too tired to practice, and goes to bed. • What is the problem? • What could you do to fix it? • What else could you do to fix it? • Which solution would work best? • Why would it work?

12. Baseline Mean and Range Percentages

13. Treatment Condition • Fifteen minutes of problem-solving instruction • Criteria • Three days at 80% on three successive occasions • Two students included in the first level of treatment (i.e., Student A and Student C) • Student B and Student D continued in baseline • Student D included in the second level of treatment • Student B continued in baseline • Student B included in the last level of treatment

14. Problem-Solving Story Books

15. Flash Cards

16. Treatment Summary • The number of problem-solving treatment sessions required for each student to reach criterion differed • Student A, 11 sessions • Student B, 3 sessions • Student C, 7 sessions • Student D, 6 sessions

17. Baseline and Treatment Percentages

18. Procedures • Phase Three: Generalization, Maintenance, and Retention • Post-treatment measures • Generalization Measure • Maintenance Measure • Retention Measure • Problem-Solving Step Measure

19. Generalization Mean and Range Percentages

20. Maintenance and Retention Percentages

21. Generalization Retention Baseline Treatment Maintenance

22. Treatment Generalization Maintenance Baseline Retention

23. Baseline Generalization Maintenance Retention Treatment

24. Maintenance Baseline Treatment Generalization Retention

25. Implications • Question One: • Data suggested students learned to identify problems, possible solutions, identify best solutions, and to self-evaluate. • Question Two: • Data suggested three students were able to identify two problem-solving steps.

26. Implications • Question Three: • Data suggested students generalized their skill performances of problem solving. • Question Four: • Data suggested three students maintained their skill performances of problem solving (i.e., Student B, Student C, Student D), and three students retained their skill performances of problem solving (i.e., Student A, Student B, Student C).

27. Implications • Question Five: • Data suggested three students were more assured of their problem-solving abilities post-treatment. • Question Six: • Data suggested the teacher found the strategy easy, effective, useful, and feasible.

28. Current Research • Five ways to teach problem solving to students with learning disabilities (Cote, Higgins, & Pierce, 2010). • Teach Active Problem Solving • Utilize Bibliotheraphy • Incorporate Computer Technology (i.e., http://kidtools.missouri.edu/ • Utilize Explicit Instruction • Use Problem-Solving Conversations

29. Current Research • Increasing skill performances of problem solving in students with intellectual disabilities (Cote, Pierce, Higgins, Miller, Tandy, & Sparks, in press). • Implementing a problem-solving intervention with students with mild and moderate disabilities (Cote, in press).

30. Current Research • Problem-solving research conducted with elementary-age students with intellectual disabilities. • Problem-solving, resiliency, parent alienation, and social skills research conducted with incarcerated adjudicated youth with learning and intellectual disabilities (Brandon, Brown, Cote, Grant, Higgins, Jones, Morgan, & Pierce)

31. Adaptation of PS Questionnaire (Cote, 2009)