Critical-thinking development can enhance students' reasoning and thinking abilities, but the extent to which additional critical-thinking instruction can enhance academic performance remains unclear. Therefore, there is a need to investigate whether providing additional critical-thinking instruction can improve academic performance. This study…

In this study researchers examined a teacher's use of simultaneous prompting (SP) procedure in a fourth-grade special education classroom setting. Using an ABAB single subject design, the effects of a SP procedure on an increased rate of delivering questions with a small group of students identified with emotional behavior disorders were examined.…

Children's externalizing and off-task behaviors are deemed a major concern for elementary teachers and interfere with the classroom learning environment (Abidin & Robinson, 2002; Shillingford-Butler & Theodore, 2013). Children with these behaviors are at risk of falling behind academically and experiencing ongoing behavioral problems…

We compared the effects of a token economy intervention that either did or did not include the perseverative interests of a 7-year-old boy with autism. An alternating treatment design revealed that the perseverative interest-based tokens were more effective at decreasing challenging behavior and increasing on-task behavior than tokens absent the…

This study examined the effectiveness of function-based interventions with students who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). The participants were 3 elementary-aged males attending a center school for the deaf who exhibited chronic off-task behaviors throughout the school day. This study was conducted across 2 phases: (a) a descriptive functional…

A withdrawal design was used to investigate how physical activity affects on-task behavior of young children with significant developmental delays in a special education preschool classroom. Five preschool age children with significant developmental delays engaged in either physical activity or seated center activities for 20 min prior to a 15-min…

Children with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) struggle to achieve social and academic outcomes. Many studies have demonstrated self-management interventions to be effective at reducing problem behavior and increasing positive social and academic behaviors. Functional behavior assessment (FBA) information may be used in designing…

REL Midwest conducted a systematic review of research on interventions that may improve academic outcomes for Black students. The review entailed a search for studies that provide evidence at Tier I (strong evidence), Tier II (moderate evidence), or Tier III (promising evidence) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act, and explicitly mention…

Four middle school students with autism spectrum disorders participated in a brief functional analysis and a video Social Stories[TM] intervention to remediate attention-seeking and task-avoidance behaviors. Results indicated that matching video Social Stories[TM] to specific functions of behaviors increased task-engagement behaviors in the…

This study examined the use of the Apple iPad for learning by children with developmental disabilities (DD), including those on the autism spectrum. A single case design was used to record the participation of four students with DD when taught with their standard computer at baseline, followed by the introduction of the iPad. A six-component…

This study examined the effects of self-monitoring on the on-task behavior of three fifth and sixth grade boys with autism and other disabilities. While completing math assignments independently, the students wore an electronic device called a MotivAider[R] that vibrated at pre-set time schedules prompting the students to self-record whether or…

A ten year-old boy exhibiting frequent off-task and disruptive behavior during small group math instruction was taught to use an iPod Touch for video modeling and self-monitoring purposes. A single-subject changing conditions (A-B-BC) design was used to investigate the differential effects of video modeling versus a combination of video modeling…

This study addresses the call for increased research on common public school practices and progress monitoring by public school teachers. An alternating treatment design was implemented by a preschool teacher to evaluate the effect of sensory-integration based activities compared with an attention control on the on task behavior of three…

Children are diagnosed with AD/HD more often than any other disorder and interventions are needed in schools to increase on-task behavior. Most studies examining on-task behavior are conducted in special education classrooms or clinical laboratories. Previous studies have not combined video self-modeling and self-monitoring as an intervention to…

Research has shown a positive correlation between time spent on homework and learning. However, students often engage in off-task behaviors to escape the demands of homework. Youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are especially likely to engage in off-task behaviors. Effective interventions to increase on-task behavior during homework…