FUNCTIONAL CONTENT & CORE CONTENT INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS WITH MODERATE DISABILITIES: A DISCUSSIONCarly Roberts4/22/11

Reviewed Article

Collins, B. C., Hagar, K. L., & Galloway, C. C. (2011). Addition of functional content during core content instruction with students with moderate disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Development Disabilities, 46, 22-39.

Pause for discussion…

What does “access to the general curriculum” mean?

What does it look like in practice? What should be the focus of instruction

for adolescents with significant cognitive disabilities?

What does “meaningful” instruction mean? What does it look like?

Research Questions

Will middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities acquire both core content and a functional application through direct instruction?

Will the students generalize that content across probe trials using novel materials and activities?

Student Participants

3 middle school students identified with moderate to severe disabilities who participate in alternate assessments

Jason 14 year old male included 50-60% of the day IQ 55 and adaptive behavior score of 56

Morgan 14 year old male with autism included 40% of the day IQ 47

Rena 15 year old female with Down Syndrome included

40% of the day IQ 41

Teacher Participants

Special education teacher 3 years of teaching experience Previously worked as a paraprofessional Working on her master’s degree

Paraprofessional took over when the teacher went on maternity leave Experienced Had participated in a previous study Trained by the teacher

Goals

Teacher chose content standards to work on and then created a academic content goal as well as a functional goal for that standard

Chose content standards in language arts, science, and math

Reading Goals

Content Standard Goal: Identify meanings of words/phrases from a grade level passage newspaper

Functional Goal: functional application of the grade level words

Specific Reading Goals

Student Content Standard Goal

Functional Goal

Jason Orally read the words president, representative, and governor

Identify each verbally

Morgan Read and receptively identify mayor, county, and district

Point to the correct sight word identifying each when presented with an array of three

Rena Read and receptively identify (by pointing to) the words, country, state, and city

Point to the correct sight word identifying each when presented with an array of three

Science Goals

Content Standard Goal: Identify chemical and physical properties of elements and compounds for the basic properties of (a) gas, (b) liquid, and (c) solid.

Functional Goal: Identify change in properties for weather and cooking

Specific Science Goals

Student Content Standard Goal

Functional Goal

Jason Verbally state the properties of presented real items

State ways to change the properties of the real items used to cook breakfast

Morgan Point to pictures of elements of the weather that were solid, liquid, or neither when presented with three choices.

When given three choices, correctly identify appropriate clothing needed in each type of weather.

Rena Point to pictures of elements of the weather that were solid, liquid, or neither when presented with three choices.

Point to pictures of elements of the weather that were solid, liquid, gas, or neither when presented with three choices.

Math Goals

Content Standard Goal: Apply order of operations using addition and multiplication.

Functional Goal: Use the order of operations for computing sales tax.

Specific Math GoalsStudent Content Standard

GoalFunctional Goal

Jason Use a task-analysis to apply the order of operations using addition and multiplication to compute sales tax

Use the task analysis, paper and pen, and calculator, to compute sales tax for real items found in a newspaper ad

Morgan Use a task-analysis to apply the order of operations using addition and multiplication to compute sales tax

Use the task analysis, and a calculator to compute sales tax for real items found in a newspaper ad and then select the correct answer using a Bingo dabber

Rena Use a task-analysis to apply the order of operations using addition and multiplication to compute sales tax

Use the task analysis, and a calculator to compute sales tax for real items found in a newspaper ad and then select the correct answer using a Bingo dabber

Teaching Procedures

Setting: self-contained special education class

Duration: 1 hour each day in the morning from September-April.

Procedure: The teacher used constant time delay (CTD) to instruct and conduct one trial per stimulus per session. Each subject was taught to 100% criterion before beginning the next subject. The order was: (a) language arts, (b) science, and (c) math

Pause for discussion…

What is the best setting to teach academic content area goals in—an inclusive setting or a self-contained setting?

Is there time to do both?

Design

Multiple probe design across behaviors (reading, science, and math tasks) replicated across participants

Baseline: Students did not begin instruction in next subject

area goals until they reached 100% criterion in previous subject.

Baseline sessions consisted of three probe trials for functional and three probe trials for core content.

Given task direction and tasks and waited 3 seconds for student response (no prompting, no CTD).

Design Continued…

Instruction Constant time delay (first session 0 delay,

subsequent sessions 3 second delay) Prompts were verbal models or verbal models paired

with gestures Praise for correct responses and a model for incorrect

responses Generalization

Alternate assessment trials Same standard addressed using different materials

or applications Maintenance

After they reached mastery (100% for 3 sessions) in each subject only intermittent probes were conducted

Jason’s Results

Morgan’s Results

Rena’s Results

Conclusions

Academic instruction of core content and functional instruction can be combined, although time constraints make it difficult.

It improved the students’ ability to answer generalization probes based on the alternate assessment.

Combining core content and functional content and basing the functional content off of grade level standards can help make instruction more meaningful.

Limitations

They ran out of time! We don’t know if the students would have had more success if they started earlier in the year.

Instructional time was limited (approximately five minutes per student per day)

Instruction was in a self-contained class. Can it work in an inclusive classroom?

Discussion questions…

Can academic core content and functional content be taught together? Does it make instruction more meaningful?

Can this strategy improve student scores on the alternate assessment?

Is it okay to prioritize instruction for subjects (i.e. wait to focus on math standards until prior subjects mastered)?

Additional thoughts…

Thank You!