▼ Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of both repeated readings (RR) and listening previewing (LP), alone and in combination, to improve the reading performance of monolingual English speakers. Little research has examined these interventions for English Language Learners, however. Further, it is not yet established whether or not the addition of a live model improves the effects of RR for this population. An alternating treatment design with baseline was used to compare the effects of 2 interventions, RR with and without a live model preview, on the reading fluency and comprehension of practiced reading material for 5 third-grade, native Spanish speakers. Visual analysis revealed that adding a modeling component did not result in greater performance compared to RR alone for any of the participants. Assessments on unpracticed passages revealed generalized gains in reading fluency and/or comprehension for 3 of the 5 participants. Advisors/Committee Members: Hawkins, Renee Oliver.

▼ Using a combined multiple baseline and alternating treatments design across three classrooms, the present study examined the level of teacher support needed to increase student engagement and practice opportunities for academic skills. The study was conducted during circle time at an urban preschool. Teacher support included a sequence of professional development, feedback, and goal setting, and instructional support and intervention implementation for early phonological awareness skills. The instructional support was intensified over three phases. The last stage involved a comparison of two instructional techniques: choral responding and response cards in terms of their relative effects on student engagement and practice opportunities. Due to ceiling effects, data did not indicate any significant differences in the student active engagement corresponding to increases in instruction support or associated with choral responding or response card instructional techniques. Results for the rate of practice opportunities indicated a slight increase in rate across instructional support phases for 2 of the 3 classrooms, demonstrating greater increases in one class. Additionally, rates of practice opportunities remained similar across both choral responding and response card instructional strategies. Advisors/Committee Members: Barnett, David.

▼ Disruptive behaviors in the classroom affect the learning environment by taking time away from academic instruction. This study compared the effects of two types of interdependent group contingencies (nonrandomized and randomized) on classwide engagement and disruptive behavior of 53 students across three first-grade classrooms in a sub-urban Midwestern elementary school. Using a combined multiple baseline across settings and ABCBC design, baseline levels of group disruptive behavior and engagement were compared to intervention levels across different intervention phases in all participating classrooms. Results examine overall effectiveness for each intervention phase. Social validity and future areas of research are discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Hawkins, Renee Oliver.

▼ Organization in the classroom has been shown to be a contributing factor to school success and a variable noticeably deficient in children with ADHD and other disabilities. However, organization skills are often overlooked and not taught to children in primary and secondary schools. This study investigates the effectiveness of two class-wide interventions for students’ desk organization, comparing teacher instruction on desk organization and positive reinforcement with a social script protocol and positive reinforcement with first- and second-grade classrooms in a primary school in a Midwestern city of the United States. Using a combined multiple baseline with a within series component design, baseline levels of desk organization and work completion were compared to intervention levels of performance in three classrooms, as well as for six students identified by their teachers as most in need of an intervention for organization. Results indicate positive changes in student performance for both interventions, with greater improvement as intervention intensity increased to the second intervention package. Social validity, implications, and future areas of research are discussed. Advisors/Committee Members: Hawkins, Renee Oliver.