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

Research and Development Support

Margie Spino, M.A.

Doctoral Student - U. Toledo

Research Evidence to Support the

Consultation Model in Itinerant Early

Childhood Special Education Services

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

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

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, then adoption of a consultation approach to IECSE intervention is warranted

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

Research Support: Distributed Instruction and Practice

AdultsEbbinghaus, 1885/1964Donovan & Radosevich, 1999, meta-analysisCepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted & Rohrer, 2006, meta-analysis

Children - ages 3 months to 8 years oldChilders & Tomasello, 2002 (word learning)

Rea & Modigliani, 1985 (spelling, math)Rovee-Collier, 1995 (visual recognition)Seabrook, Brown, & Solity, 2005 (phonics)

Massed vs. Distributed Practice

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

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

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)

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

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

Childers and Tomasello, 2002Results:

• 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

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.

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

EMBEDDED INTERVENTION

Weaving Teaching and Intervention into Routine Activities

Recipe for Embedding Instruction for Children with Special Needs

Functional learning goals and objectivesOpportunities for children to learn and

practice functional skills or behaviors across the curriculum and across daily activities

Developmentally appropriate routines and activities

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.

Daily Routines and Activities Provide Opportunities for Learning for Young Children

Play time! Blocks, dramatic play, outside play, manipulatives, art materials

Reading! Reading alone or being read to individually or in groups

Singing songs! Participating in group songs or fingerplays

Eating! Breakfast, snack, lunch or dinner

Resting! Napping, sleeping, spending quiet time alone

Taking care of oneself! Bathroom, washing, getting dressed

Transitioning! Coming to school and going home, changing activities during the day

Others?? Are there other routines or daily activities that occupy the time of children you know?

Why does a “routines-based” approach help young children learn?

1. Children learn best when they’re interested and motivated.

2. Children learn best when opportunities to learn and practice skills occur throughout the day, instead of just during one period of time.

3. 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.

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

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.

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

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”.

Ashley’s Activity Matrix

IEP Objectives Free Play

Snack Outside Bathroom Circle

Engage in conversations with other children

x x

Use words to describe common objects

x x x

Take turns playing with toys and materials

x x

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.

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

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 954The University of Toledo2801 W. Bancroft St.,Toledo, OH 43606