Field replication of classwide peer tutoring

A Descriptive Analysis of Applied Behavior Analysis Research With Economically Disadvantaged Children

In the United States, approximately 43% of children under age 18 are considered economically disadvantaged. Research suggests that these children are at a greater risk for academic underperformance and dropping out of school than their peers who are not from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. As such, they may need effective educational interventions to improve their academic performance. The purpose of the current article is to describe the degree to which economically disadvantaged children are included in educational research in behavioral journals. Ninety-four studies were analyzed to determine the publication trends between 1968 and 2017. Studies were scored and categorized based on journal; publication year; several demographic characteristics for participants including age, income status, and disability diagnosis; and research designs, interventions, and target behaviors. Results suggest that economically disadvantaged children are increasingly included in behavior-analytic literature. However, there are opportunities for research with English language learners and children with disabilities. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The Comparative Influence of Individual, Peer Tutoring, and Communal Learning Contexts on the Text Recall of African American Children

Peer tutoring strategies tend to use structured peer interactions and group reward contingency. This study was designed to offer a peer learning environment within which the putative communal tendencies of African American youth could be capitalized on to facilitate learning an academic task. There were 72 African American fifth-grade students (36 males, 36 females) randomly assigned to a communal learning, peer tutoring criterion, or an individual criterion context and given a text of prose to learn. Following the learning phase, students individually completed a recall task. A 3 2 between-subject ANOVA revealed that students under the communal learning context recalled significantly more text than students assigned to the peer and individual contexts. Additionally, communal beliefs were correlated with positive attitudes toward task engagement. No such positive relationships were found for individual belief. The discussion focuses on the use of cultural contexts for learning.

Implementation matters: a review of research on the influence of implementation on program outcomes and the factors affecting implementation

The first purpose of this review was to assess the impact of implementation on program outcomes, and the second purpose was to identify factors affecting the implementation process. Results from over quantitative 500 studies offered strong empirical support to the conclusion that the level of implementation affects the outcomes obtained in promotion and prevention programs. Findings from 81 additional reports indicate there are at least 23 contextual factors that influence implementation. The implementation process is affected by variables related to communities, providers and innovations, and aspects of the prevention delivery system (i.e., organizational functioning) and the prevention support system (i.e., training and technical assistance). The collection of implementation data is an essential feature of program evaluations, and more information is needed on which and how various factors influence implementation in different community settings.

Peer tutoring for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: effects on classroom behavior and academic performance

We investigated the effects of classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) on the classroom behavior and academic performance of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Typical instructional activities were contrasted with CWPT for 18 children with ADHD and 10 peer comparison students attending first- through fifth-grade general education classes. CWPT led to increases in active engagement in academic tasks along with reductions in off-task behavior for most participants. Of students with ADHD, 50% exhibited improvements in academic performance in math or spelling during CWPT conditions, as measured by a treatment success index. Participating teachers and students reported a high level of satisfaction with intervention procedures. Our results suggest that peer tutoring appears to be an effective strategy for addressing the academic and behavioral difficulties associated with ADHD in general education settings.

Classwide peer tutoring: an integration strategy to improve reading skills and promote peer interactions among students with autism and general education peers

A multiple baseline design across subjects with a reversal was used to examine the effects of classwide peer tutoring relative to traditional reading instruction on reading skills and social interaction time for 3 high-functioning students with autism and their typical peers in integrated, general education classrooms. Traditional reading instruction consisted largely of teacher-led instruction with individual student participation and seat work. Classwide peer tutoring consisted of 25 to 30 min of well-specified instruction in which tutor-learner pairs worked together on a classwide basis on reading fluency and comprehension skills. All students participated in 15- to 20-min unstructured free-time activities immediately following reading instruction. Results of reading assessments demonstrated that classwide peer tutoring increased reading fluency and correct responses to reading comprehension questions for students with autism and their peers. The procedure further increased the total duration of free-time social interactions for students with autism and typical peers, with individual variation in performance.

Relative effects of whole-word and phonetic-prompt error correction on the acquisition and maintenance of sight words by students with developmental disabilities

We used an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of two procedures for correcting student errors during sight word drills. Each of the 5 participating students with developmental disabilities was provided daily one-to-one instruction on individualized sets of 14 unknown words. Each week's new set of unknown words was divided randomly into two groups of equal size. Student errors during instruction were immediately followed by whole-word error correction (the teacher stated the complete word and the student repeated it) for one group of words and by phonetic-prompt error correction (the teacher provided phonetic prompts) for the other group of words. During instruction, all 5 students read correctly a higher percentage of whole-word corrected words than phonetic-prompt corrected words. Data from same-day tests (immediately following instruction) and next-day tests showed the students learned more words taught with whole-word error correction than they learned with phonetic-prompt error correction.

The classwide peer tutoring program: implementation factors moderating students' achievement

We conducted a study designed to assess implementation of the classwide peer tutoring program and the relationship between implementation variation and student outcome. A clinical replication design was used. Five volunteer elementary teachers were trained to implement the program; their implementation was monitored for 19 consecutive weeks during 1 school year. Overall, the results indicated that specific variations in program implementation were associated with students' responses to treatment. It was also demonstrated that different teachers' applications of the program produced differential levels of student outcome. Implementation factors related to lower spelling achievement were (a) reduced opportunities to receive program sessions, (b) reduced probabilities of students' participation in program opportunities, (c) too many students assigned unchallenging spelling words, and (d) reduced rates of daily point earning reflecting lower levels of spelling practice during tutoring sessions. The implications of these findings and methods of preventing these implementation problems are discussed in the context of quality assurance and social validity.

A multiple baseline analysis of the effect of peer tutoring on the academic performance of a second grade child with learning disabilities

A multiple baseline, single-subject design was employed in the analysis of the academic performance of a second grade girl labeled "learning disabled." Peer tutoring combined with praise led to a significant improvement in solving mathematics problems requiring regrouping, word recognition, and ability to locate specific text pages.

Effects of collateral peer supportive behaviors within the classwide peer tutoring program

A classwide peer tutoring procedure was implemented in an urban elementary school classroom to improve students' spelling performance. Three students combined untrained or collateral tutoring behaviors with the core behaviors initially taught. To explore the function of these natural and spontaneous behaviors, a multielement single-subject experiment with replications was conducted. Results indicated that the additional tutoring behaviors increased (a) the academic response frequencies of 3 tutees and (b) the weekly spelling achievement of 1 target tutee. The remaining class members were successfully taught and continued to use these behaviors over the final 3 weeks of the school year. These findings are discussed with regard to academic instruction, natural communities of peer reinforcement, and the social validation of intervention procedures.