The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of supplemental word recognition strategies o... more The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of supplemental word recognition strategies on students receiving intensive (Tier III) remedial reading instruction. Two-hundred and thirteen middle school students with reading difficulties received an intensive reading intervention (i.e., Corrective Reading Decoding strand) delivered by trained school staff (n = 21) at three middle schools. The 213 fifth through eighth grade students (121 males, 92 females) enrolled in three northwestern school districts (two rural and one urban). Of the 213 students, one-hundred and seven also received supplemental word recognition instruction using Reading Excellence: Word Attack and Rate Development Strategies (REWARDS). Using a pre-post quasi-experimental design, the effects of the Corrective Reading Decoding (CRD) program was compared to CRD combined with the REWARDS program. The REWARDS program produced statistically and educationally significant changes in the basic reading skills of students over and above Corrective Reading Decoding alone. Students in the REWARDS condition demonstrated statistically significant mean changes on the WJ-III Basic Reading Skills cluster and associated subtests and the DIBELS ORF probe compared to those in the comparison condition. Results, implications, and limitations are discussed.
The findings of a meta-analysis of the effect of reading instruction on the reading skills of stu... more The findings of a meta-analysis of the effect of reading instruction on the reading skills of students with or at risk of behavioral disorders (BD) are reported. The goal of the synthesis was to extend the work of Coleman and Vaughn by (a) detailing independent variables and outcome measures for each study, (b) including studies sampling from students with or at risk of BD, (c) analyzing study outcomes using average effect size estimates as a common metric, and (d) summarizing literature on reading interventions conducted with students with or at risk of BD over nearly four decades (from 1970 to present). Results of the review suggest that effective literacy instruction has a positive effect on the reading skills of students with or at risk of BD. Limitations and future directions are presented.
In our previous research (Benner, Nelson, Sanders, & Ralston, 2012), elementary schools were rand... more In our previous research (Benner, Nelson, Sanders, & Ralston, 2012), elementary schools were randomly assigned to either a primary-level behavior intervention directed at externalizing behavior (treatment, n = 7 schools) or to business-as-usual condition (control, n = 6 schools). A screening procedure was used to identify K through 3-grade students who exhibited externalizing behavior. The results showed that treatment students (n = 44) exhibited lower levels of problem behavior (ES = -0.99) and higher rates of on-task behavior (ES = 0.61) compared to controls (n = 26). The results also suggested that individual baseline behavior and school context as measured by free and reduced-priced meal rates moderated the findings. Given this latter finding, our interest in the current study was to test whether individual and school aggregate baseline behavior levels moderate students’ response to two years of the behavior intervention. Schools originally assigned to treatment continued to imp...
This article examined the efficacy of a primary-level, standard-protocol behavior intervention fo... more This article examined the efficacy of a primary-level, standard-protocol behavior intervention for students with externalizing behavioral disorders. Elementary schools were randomly assigned to treatment (behavior intervention) or control (business as usual) conditions, and K-3 students were screened for externalizing behavior risk status. The final sample included 7 treatment schools ( n = 44 students) and 6 control schools ( n = 26 students). Results of multilevel models showed that students with externalizing behavior in the treatment schools had significantly lower levels of problem behavior than those in the control schools. A positive but statistically nonsignificant treatment trend was observed for increased on-task behavior. No effects were observed for academic skills. The positive effects of the behavior intervention were smaller in schools serving higher proportions of students with low socioeconomic status and for students who had higher baseline levels of externalizing ...
The Journal of Behavior Analysis of Offender and Victim Treatment and Prevention, 2010
The primary purpose of this research was to identify the most robust set of factors contributing ... more The primary purpose of this research was to identify the most robust set of factors contributing to the recidivism of juvenile detainees; including demographic, court history, mental health, substance abuse, and maltreatment variables. Recidivism in this paper is defined as having received more than one status offense or non-status offense. Status offenses are incurred because of the prohibition of various acts due to the offender's status as a juvenile (e.g., alcohol consumption, violation of curfew, or truancy). Non-status offenses (i.e., delinquency) are incurred because of violation of the law and commitment of a crime. The study population included 761 juvenile offenders in the Northwest. Juveniles who had a history of childhood maltreatment, above average use of alcohol/drugs, and experienced traumatic experiences were four times (4.22 odds ratio) more likely to have repeated juvenile status offenses. Further, sex and suicide ideation increased the likelihood of committed repeated non-status offenses by 6.5 times. Findings, limitations, and implications are discussed.
Journal of Behavior Assessment and Intervention in Children, 2010
The two purposes of the pre-post naturalistic research design were to: 1) Investigate the impact ... more The two purposes of the pre-post naturalistic research design were to: 1) Investigate the impact of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) on the behavioral functioning of students with emotional disturbance (ED) (N = 37) served in self-contained settings; and 2) examine the extent to which teacher fidelity of PBIS implementation influenced student changes in behavioral functioning over the course of a school year. Results revealed significant reductions in externalizing and total problem behaviors for the students. Additionally, teacher fidelity to PBIS played a large and statistically significant role in improving the behavior of students with emotional disturbance. Limitations of the design and implications of the findings are discussed.
This study investigated the representativeness of office discipline referrals for disruptive clas... more This study investigated the representativeness of office discipline referrals for disruptive classroom behaviors within a positive behavior support implementation over 17 weeks. In-class reporting and office discipline referrals were gathered across three schools. Twelve teachers took in-class data on 20 students receiving secondary-or tertiary-level interventions in School 1. Ten teachers took in-class data on 14 students receiving secondary-or tertiary-level interventions in School 2. Eight teachers took in-class data on 11 students receiving secondary-or tertiary-level interventions in School 3. Results of this study indicated that office discipline referrals were not representative of teacher recordings of classroom behavior. Implications and areas of future research will be discussed.
The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which two specific elements of fidelity of ... more The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which two specific elements of fidelity of implementation (i.e., adherence and quality of delivery) enhanced or constrained the effects of a reading intervention for middle school students experiencing reading difficulties. A total of 281 middle school students with reading difficulties received an intensive reading intervention (i.e., Corrective Reading Decoding strand) delivered by trained school staff ( n = 21) at three middle schools. Although students receiving the Corrective Reading Decoding strand made statistically significant ( p < .001) improvements in their basic reading skills and passage comprehension overall, variations in student gains were found. Overall fidelity of implementation accounted for 22% and 18% of the variance in the gains in basic reading skills and passage comprehension of middle school students with reading difficulties, respectively ( p < .05). Two teacher actions, following the lesson format...
Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 2013
ABSTRACT The authors report findings of a best-evidence synthesis of the effects of mathematics i... more ABSTRACT The authors report findings of a best-evidence synthesis of the effects of mathematics instruction on the mathematics skills of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The goal of the synthesis was to extend previous research by (a) detailing independent variables, instructional components, and outcome measures for each study; (b) analyzing study outcomes using improvement rate difference and percentage of nonoverlapping data; and (c) summarizing literature on mathematics interventions conducted with students with emotional and behavioral disorders over four decades (from 1968 to present). Highly effective mathematics intervention studies conducted with students with emotional and behavioral disorders, limitations, and future research directions are presented and discussed.
Abstract: We sought to extend instrument validation research for the Systematic Screening for Beh... more Abstract: We sought to extend instrument validation research for the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD)(Walker & Severson, 1990) using convergent validation techniques. Associations between Critical Events, Adaptive Behavior, and Maladaptive ...
The Development and Validation of a Diagnostic Assessment of Algebraic Thinking Skills for Studen... more The Development and Validation of a Diagnostic Assessment of Algebraic Thinking Skills for Students in the Elementary Grades Nicole C. Ralston Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. Min Li Educational Psychology: Measurement, Statistics, & Research Design Elementary school students often exhibit a wide variety of different conceptions associated with algebraic thinking that their teachers fail to recognize or understand (Smith, diSessa, & Roschelle, 1994). It is crucial that elementary school teachers possess knowledge of the variety of different student conceptions and also boast abilities to address alternative conceptions, as students who are not provided with opportunities to think algebraically may continue to struggle with algebra throughout school (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000; Smith et al., 1994). The purpose of this research, therefore, is to create and validate a diagnostic assessment tool for the elementary grades that can be used to help teac...
Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice
The purpose of this research project was to explore doctoral student learning and development as ... more The purpose of this research project was to explore doctoral student learning and development as scholarly practitioners through one innovative method: a course-based self-study. This self-study empowered doctoral candidates in three key forms of data collection: 1) two project-based course assignments; 2) a survey on course-based student learning; and 3) a self-reflection on learning in the self-study. Results indicate positive impacts in addressing real-life problems and in connecting students to cohort members. The application of skills and knowledge in a course-embedded self-study connects to the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) principles of creating scholarly practitioners and also developing activist leaders who build coalitions and focus on researching real life social justice issues. This study can serve as an exemplar for similar EdD programs who are developing scholarly practitioners.
This qualitative case study examines the impact of a workshop on culturally responsive teaching o... more This qualitative case study examines the impact of a workshop on culturally responsive teaching on preservice elementary teacher candidates’ ability to conceptualize and apply culturally responsive instruction. The Rethinking Columbus workshop teaches students to read critically as text detectives, asking questions such as, “Whose voices are being heard, and whose are not, and what are the hidden messages in the text and illustrations?” Overall, it appears that preservice teachers who participated in the workshop were able to generate numerous culturally relevant instructional strategies that directly aligned with the conceptual framework presented in the workshop. Students were also able to extend their learning by creating new and innovative strategies to engage elementary students in learning that were not discussed during the workshop. This paper describes the workshop model for teaching preservice teachers to be culturally responsive educators and includes numerous participant-...
This longitudinal qualitative study investigated the impact on teacher participants of using a un... more This longitudinal qualitative study investigated the impact on teacher participants of using a unique laboratory approach to professional development: the Team Teaching and Learning (TTL) framework, which integrates five traits from Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon’s (2001) empirical research on teacher professional learning, including content knowledge, active learning, coherence, collective participant, and duration. Participants included 24 teachers in one high-poverty school district in the Northwest United States who participated in a three-week summer professional learning experience. Results indicated seemingly high implementation of professional development content, which also appeared to be sustained over the two-year time frame of the study. This pilot study of TTL contributes to literature on collaborative teacher learning and provides school leaders with numerous recommendation strategies that make implementation successful. The TTL framework is founded in empir...
This research investigates teacher implementation of the Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD... more This research investigates teacher implementation of the Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) model over time and after teachers received a unique combination of additional GLAD training, coaching, and collaboration. Teachers who took part in this in this study had previously received an initial full-week, intensive GLAD training; however, they struggled to implement GLAD accurately. This study, therefore, investigates the effects of implementing a new model of supplemental professional learning for teaching GLAD within an existing threeweek summer school program. Teams of teachers instructed English Learners in the morning and then had planning, reflection, and professional development time each afternoon. Although this experience was designed to both teach teachers about GLAD and instruct students, this particular research study focuses on the experience of the teachers. This two-part qualitative research study includes observations and interviews during the summer, in additi...
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of supplemental word recognition strategies o... more The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of supplemental word recognition strategies on students receiving intensive (Tier III) remedial reading instruction. Two-hundred and thirteen middle school students with reading difficulties received an intensive reading intervention (i.e., Corrective Reading Decoding strand) delivered by trained school staff (n = 21) at three middle schools. The 213 fifth through eighth grade students (121 males, 92 females) enrolled in three northwestern school districts (two rural and one urban). Of the 213 students, one-hundred and seven also received supplemental word recognition instruction using Reading Excellence: Word Attack and Rate Development Strategies (REWARDS). Using a pre-post quasi-experimental design, the effects of the Corrective Reading Decoding (CRD) program was compared to CRD combined with the REWARDS program. The REWARDS program produced statistically and educationally significant changes in the basic reading skills of students over and above Corrective Reading Decoding alone. Students in the REWARDS condition demonstrated statistically significant mean changes on the WJ-III Basic Reading Skills cluster and associated subtests and the DIBELS ORF probe compared to those in the comparison condition. Results, implications, and limitations are discussed.
The findings of a meta-analysis of the effect of reading instruction on the reading skills of stu... more The findings of a meta-analysis of the effect of reading instruction on the reading skills of students with or at risk of behavioral disorders (BD) are reported. The goal of the synthesis was to extend the work of Coleman and Vaughn by (a) detailing independent variables and outcome measures for each study, (b) including studies sampling from students with or at risk of BD, (c) analyzing study outcomes using average effect size estimates as a common metric, and (d) summarizing literature on reading interventions conducted with students with or at risk of BD over nearly four decades (from 1970 to present). Results of the review suggest that effective literacy instruction has a positive effect on the reading skills of students with or at risk of BD. Limitations and future directions are presented.
In our previous research (Benner, Nelson, Sanders, & Ralston, 2012), elementary schools were rand... more In our previous research (Benner, Nelson, Sanders, & Ralston, 2012), elementary schools were randomly assigned to either a primary-level behavior intervention directed at externalizing behavior (treatment, n = 7 schools) or to business-as-usual condition (control, n = 6 schools). A screening procedure was used to identify K through 3-grade students who exhibited externalizing behavior. The results showed that treatment students (n = 44) exhibited lower levels of problem behavior (ES = -0.99) and higher rates of on-task behavior (ES = 0.61) compared to controls (n = 26). The results also suggested that individual baseline behavior and school context as measured by free and reduced-priced meal rates moderated the findings. Given this latter finding, our interest in the current study was to test whether individual and school aggregate baseline behavior levels moderate students’ response to two years of the behavior intervention. Schools originally assigned to treatment continued to imp...
This article examined the efficacy of a primary-level, standard-protocol behavior intervention fo... more This article examined the efficacy of a primary-level, standard-protocol behavior intervention for students with externalizing behavioral disorders. Elementary schools were randomly assigned to treatment (behavior intervention) or control (business as usual) conditions, and K-3 students were screened for externalizing behavior risk status. The final sample included 7 treatment schools ( n = 44 students) and 6 control schools ( n = 26 students). Results of multilevel models showed that students with externalizing behavior in the treatment schools had significantly lower levels of problem behavior than those in the control schools. A positive but statistically nonsignificant treatment trend was observed for increased on-task behavior. No effects were observed for academic skills. The positive effects of the behavior intervention were smaller in schools serving higher proportions of students with low socioeconomic status and for students who had higher baseline levels of externalizing ...
The Journal of Behavior Analysis of Offender and Victim Treatment and Prevention, 2010
The primary purpose of this research was to identify the most robust set of factors contributing ... more The primary purpose of this research was to identify the most robust set of factors contributing to the recidivism of juvenile detainees; including demographic, court history, mental health, substance abuse, and maltreatment variables. Recidivism in this paper is defined as having received more than one status offense or non-status offense. Status offenses are incurred because of the prohibition of various acts due to the offender's status as a juvenile (e.g., alcohol consumption, violation of curfew, or truancy). Non-status offenses (i.e., delinquency) are incurred because of violation of the law and commitment of a crime. The study population included 761 juvenile offenders in the Northwest. Juveniles who had a history of childhood maltreatment, above average use of alcohol/drugs, and experienced traumatic experiences were four times (4.22 odds ratio) more likely to have repeated juvenile status offenses. Further, sex and suicide ideation increased the likelihood of committed repeated non-status offenses by 6.5 times. Findings, limitations, and implications are discussed.
Journal of Behavior Assessment and Intervention in Children, 2010
The two purposes of the pre-post naturalistic research design were to: 1) Investigate the impact ... more The two purposes of the pre-post naturalistic research design were to: 1) Investigate the impact of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) on the behavioral functioning of students with emotional disturbance (ED) (N = 37) served in self-contained settings; and 2) examine the extent to which teacher fidelity of PBIS implementation influenced student changes in behavioral functioning over the course of a school year. Results revealed significant reductions in externalizing and total problem behaviors for the students. Additionally, teacher fidelity to PBIS played a large and statistically significant role in improving the behavior of students with emotional disturbance. Limitations of the design and implications of the findings are discussed.
This study investigated the representativeness of office discipline referrals for disruptive clas... more This study investigated the representativeness of office discipline referrals for disruptive classroom behaviors within a positive behavior support implementation over 17 weeks. In-class reporting and office discipline referrals were gathered across three schools. Twelve teachers took in-class data on 20 students receiving secondary-or tertiary-level interventions in School 1. Ten teachers took in-class data on 14 students receiving secondary-or tertiary-level interventions in School 2. Eight teachers took in-class data on 11 students receiving secondary-or tertiary-level interventions in School 3. Results of this study indicated that office discipline referrals were not representative of teacher recordings of classroom behavior. Implications and areas of future research will be discussed.
The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which two specific elements of fidelity of ... more The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which two specific elements of fidelity of implementation (i.e., adherence and quality of delivery) enhanced or constrained the effects of a reading intervention for middle school students experiencing reading difficulties. A total of 281 middle school students with reading difficulties received an intensive reading intervention (i.e., Corrective Reading Decoding strand) delivered by trained school staff ( n = 21) at three middle schools. Although students receiving the Corrective Reading Decoding strand made statistically significant ( p < .001) improvements in their basic reading skills and passage comprehension overall, variations in student gains were found. Overall fidelity of implementation accounted for 22% and 18% of the variance in the gains in basic reading skills and passage comprehension of middle school students with reading difficulties, respectively ( p < .05). Two teacher actions, following the lesson format...
Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 2013
ABSTRACT The authors report findings of a best-evidence synthesis of the effects of mathematics i... more ABSTRACT The authors report findings of a best-evidence synthesis of the effects of mathematics instruction on the mathematics skills of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The goal of the synthesis was to extend previous research by (a) detailing independent variables, instructional components, and outcome measures for each study; (b) analyzing study outcomes using improvement rate difference and percentage of nonoverlapping data; and (c) summarizing literature on mathematics interventions conducted with students with emotional and behavioral disorders over four decades (from 1968 to present). Highly effective mathematics intervention studies conducted with students with emotional and behavioral disorders, limitations, and future research directions are presented and discussed.
Abstract: We sought to extend instrument validation research for the Systematic Screening for Beh... more Abstract: We sought to extend instrument validation research for the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD)(Walker & Severson, 1990) using convergent validation techniques. Associations between Critical Events, Adaptive Behavior, and Maladaptive ...
The Development and Validation of a Diagnostic Assessment of Algebraic Thinking Skills for Studen... more The Development and Validation of a Diagnostic Assessment of Algebraic Thinking Skills for Students in the Elementary Grades Nicole C. Ralston Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. Min Li Educational Psychology: Measurement, Statistics, & Research Design Elementary school students often exhibit a wide variety of different conceptions associated with algebraic thinking that their teachers fail to recognize or understand (Smith, diSessa, & Roschelle, 1994). It is crucial that elementary school teachers possess knowledge of the variety of different student conceptions and also boast abilities to address alternative conceptions, as students who are not provided with opportunities to think algebraically may continue to struggle with algebra throughout school (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000; Smith et al., 1994). The purpose of this research, therefore, is to create and validate a diagnostic assessment tool for the elementary grades that can be used to help teac...
Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice
The purpose of this research project was to explore doctoral student learning and development as ... more The purpose of this research project was to explore doctoral student learning and development as scholarly practitioners through one innovative method: a course-based self-study. This self-study empowered doctoral candidates in three key forms of data collection: 1) two project-based course assignments; 2) a survey on course-based student learning; and 3) a self-reflection on learning in the self-study. Results indicate positive impacts in addressing real-life problems and in connecting students to cohort members. The application of skills and knowledge in a course-embedded self-study connects to the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) principles of creating scholarly practitioners and also developing activist leaders who build coalitions and focus on researching real life social justice issues. This study can serve as an exemplar for similar EdD programs who are developing scholarly practitioners.
This qualitative case study examines the impact of a workshop on culturally responsive teaching o... more This qualitative case study examines the impact of a workshop on culturally responsive teaching on preservice elementary teacher candidates’ ability to conceptualize and apply culturally responsive instruction. The Rethinking Columbus workshop teaches students to read critically as text detectives, asking questions such as, “Whose voices are being heard, and whose are not, and what are the hidden messages in the text and illustrations?” Overall, it appears that preservice teachers who participated in the workshop were able to generate numerous culturally relevant instructional strategies that directly aligned with the conceptual framework presented in the workshop. Students were also able to extend their learning by creating new and innovative strategies to engage elementary students in learning that were not discussed during the workshop. This paper describes the workshop model for teaching preservice teachers to be culturally responsive educators and includes numerous participant-...
This longitudinal qualitative study investigated the impact on teacher participants of using a un... more This longitudinal qualitative study investigated the impact on teacher participants of using a unique laboratory approach to professional development: the Team Teaching and Learning (TTL) framework, which integrates five traits from Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon’s (2001) empirical research on teacher professional learning, including content knowledge, active learning, coherence, collective participant, and duration. Participants included 24 teachers in one high-poverty school district in the Northwest United States who participated in a three-week summer professional learning experience. Results indicated seemingly high implementation of professional development content, which also appeared to be sustained over the two-year time frame of the study. This pilot study of TTL contributes to literature on collaborative teacher learning and provides school leaders with numerous recommendation strategies that make implementation successful. The TTL framework is founded in empir...
This research investigates teacher implementation of the Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD... more This research investigates teacher implementation of the Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) model over time and after teachers received a unique combination of additional GLAD training, coaching, and collaboration. Teachers who took part in this in this study had previously received an initial full-week, intensive GLAD training; however, they struggled to implement GLAD accurately. This study, therefore, investigates the effects of implementing a new model of supplemental professional learning for teaching GLAD within an existing threeweek summer school program. Teams of teachers instructed English Learners in the morning and then had planning, reflection, and professional development time each afternoon. Although this experience was designed to both teach teachers about GLAD and instruct students, this particular research study focuses on the experience of the teachers. This two-part qualitative research study includes observations and interviews during the summer, in additi...
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