OSDOE - OSEP Project Directors’ Meeting

1. OSDOE - OSEPProject Directors’ Meeting Washington, D.C. - July 19-21, 2010 William F. McInerney Laurie A. Dinnebeil University of Toledo Judith Herb College of Ed

2. Research and Development Support Margie Spino, M.A. Doctoral Student - U. Toledo

3. Research Evidence to Support the Consultation Model in Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services

4. Distributed Instruction vs. Massed Instruction… The Spacing Effect and Embedded Instruction What It Is and Why It Should Matter to Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Professionals

5. Consultation vs. One-to-One and Small Group Instruction in Itinerant ECSE Services: Which is More Efficient ? • The adoption of a consultation model as the primary mode of intervention in IECSE services must be based on the the effectiveness of instruction vs. traditional patterns of practice

6. Rationale for Consultation / Coaching in IECSE Services If periodic or episodic intervention (usually 60-90 minutes per week in traditional IECSE service delivery) is as efficient as distributed or spaced instruction (or practice), then there is no need to adopt a consultation model as the primary mode of intervention • However….. if distributed or spaced instruction or practice is a more efficient model of learning, thenadoption of a consultation approach to IECSE intervention is warranted

7. Rationale for Consultation / Coaching in IECSE Services • If consultation is to be considered as a preferred alternative to 60-90 minute, one-to-one or teacher-directed small group instruction, then the research base related to efficiency of child learning must be examined

8. Research Support: Distributed Instruction and Practice Adults • Ebbinghaus, 1885/1964 • Donovan & Radosevich, 1999, meta-analysis • Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted & Rohrer, 2006, meta-analysis Children -ages 3 months to 8 years old • Childers & Tomasello, 2002 (word learning) • Rea & Modigliani, 1985 (spelling, math) • Rovee-Collier, 1995 (visual recognition) • Seabrook, Brown, & Solity, 2005 (phonics)

9. Massed vs. Distributed Practice Distributed Practice • Child practices with same or different materials, multiple times, with breaks between instruction/ practice • EXAMPLE: Practice identifying basic shapes for 10 mins. during sessions scheduled several times per week + Massed Practice • Child instructed with same materials, multiple times in single session, without a break • EXAMPLE: Identifying basic shapes for 20 minutes in one day

10. Research with Children Rea and Modigliani,1985 • 3rd graders (8.5 years) taught spelling words and math facts • Students ranked as Level 1 (top half of class) or Level 2 (bottom half of class) • Results: • Better results on spelling and math tests with spaced instruction rather than massed instructions • Spaced instruction was better for both Level 1 and 2 students (ability level of children didn’t matter)

11. Seabrook, Brown & Solity, 2005 • Experiment • Task: 34 children (mean age 5 years, 6 mos.) taught phonics over 2 weeks • Schedule: • Clustered = one, 6-minute session per day within a regular classroom setting. • Distributed = three, 2-minute sessions per day within a regular classroom setting • Results: Children in distributed condition had test scores 6 times higher than children in clustered condition

12. Childers and Tomasello, 2002 • How many times (and how many days) does a 2-yr old need to hear a word to learn it? • In 2 experiments, 2 yr olds were taught ‘silly’ nouns and verbs (words they had never seen) over the course of a month in sessions lasting 5 - 10 min

13. Childers and Tomasello, 2002 Results: • Best learning occurred when teaching was distributed • The more days that children heard the words, the better able they were to learn the words • Best = 4 days, 3 days • Worst = 1 day, 2 days • Children learned words better if they heard the words 1x/day for 4 days rather than 8x/day for I day

14. Major Findings • Spacing (distributing) instruction benefitted children and adults whether the tasks were physical or cognitive. • Spacing instruction within the day (e.g., three 2-min sessions/day) or across days (e.g., 1x/day for 4 days) helped children learn.

15. Implications for Education Practice • Current laws state that educational practice needs to be research-based (NCLB; IDEIA, 2004) • How should we schedule instruction for young children? • Massed vs Spaced ? Research supports Spaced • How should we schedule the Itinerant ECSE teacher’s time? • Direct instruction vs. Consultation / Coaching ? Research suggests Consultation/Coaching

17. EMBEDDED INTERVENTION Weaving Teaching and Intervention into Routine Activities

18. Recipe for Embedding Instruction for Children with Special Needs • Functional learning goals and objectives • Opportunities for children to learn and practice functional skills or behaviors across the curriculum and across daily activities • Developmentally appropriate routines and activities

19. A “Routines-Based” or “Activity-Based” Model for Intervention: Embedded Instruction - Focuses on a child’s daily routines or activities like snack, playtime, circle time, dramatic play as a context for learning and OPPORTUNITY for EMBEDDING - Teachers give children opportunities to practice targeted IEP or IFSP goals or activities during these daily routines or activities instead of creating special instructional time.

20. Daily Routines and Activities Provide Opportunities for Learning for Young Children

21. Why does a “routines-based” approach help young children learn? • Children learn best when they’re interested and motivated. • Children learn best when opportunities to learn and practice skills occur throughout the day, instead of just during one period of time. • It’s difficult for busy early childhood teachers to take time out of the classroom schedule to provide special instruction to meet children’s learning needs.

22. How do I use a “Routines-Based” approach? • Find good times to help children learn about and practice new skills or behaviors. Good times are times when children usually use certain skills. For example, • Taking turns during a board game • Using names of objects when playing in the housekeeping area • Requesting things during a meal

23. Using a “routines-based” approach: • Know what children are interested in, what gets their attention or what motivates them • Favorite activities…going down the slide, being read to, playing with blocks • Favorite foods…apple juice, graham crackers, pizza • Favorite people…Ms. Susan, friend Tommy, next door neighbor Mr. Gray.

24. Planning for Ashley • Ashley is 4 and has a language delay and problems in communication that often cause her to have difficulty interacting with other children. Her IEP includes the following objectives: • Engage in conversations with other children • Use words to describe common objects • Take turns playing with toys and materials

25. How would you help Ashley? • Using Ashley’s matrix, identify ways that her teacher can give her help with her IEP objectives during the activities or routines marked with an “X”.

26. Ashley’s Activity Matrix

27. Robert Will Walk Unassisted for10 Feet • Set up furnishings in the classroom so that it’s easy to mark 10 feet—from the snack table to the bookcase. • During daily classroom activities, Robert’s teacher can easily keep track of how far he walked (e.g., halfway from the snack table to the book case—about 5 feet). • Remember that Robert’s teacher has to make sure that he has opportunities to walk unassisted and a good reason to go from one place to another.

31. Project DIRECT Web Site http://www.utoledo.edu/education/direct/ Web Site Includes: • Training Modules related to Itinerant ECSE Services • Articles and Links to Resources • Professional Development Tool (P.I.E.C.E.S.) • Information re: Training Sessions

32. Contact Information: Laurie Dinnebeil, Ph.D. – laurie.dinnebeil@utoledo.edu Bill McInerney, Ph.D. – william.mcinerney@utoledo.edu Margie Spino, M.A. – margie.spino@utoledo.edu Judith Herb College of Education - MS 954 The University of Toledo 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo, OH 43606