Education Resources , ABA , DI Method, and Curriculum Implementation
Curriculum Enhancement for Individuals with ASD/PDD
Controversy regarding ABA, (applied behavioral analysis), between strict behaviorists and the strict autism-acceptance movement, is very prominent (see Autism & PDD page for links expressing perspectives), however, we see the value of both perspectives ; the applicable value of the ABA technique AND the applicable value of recognizing the beauty of how the autistic mind naturally operates without absolute necessity to modify all aspects of that operation/behavior. Big Sky programs are ultimately geared to the comfort level of the individual and his/her interest in functioning to his/her personally chosen potential ; The Path of Education and advocacy must be ultimately directed by the individual and his/her family without imposed judgement one way or another.
ABA Educational Resources, LTD. is a FREE resource for parents and educators - We highly recommend you visit their site and collect valuable insight and printable resources at http://www.abaresources.com
http://www.janbrett.com is an entirely FREE storehouse of thousands of printable, kind to the eye, activity and academic reinforcement materials for the elementary cognitive level individual.
**NOTE: We use multiple methods beyond ABA and DI at Big Sky - the following is offered as a complimentary primer to understanding DI and how to employ it at the basic level.
The following is a summary of Direct Instruction method:
Direct Instruction is a highly-structured, fast-paced teaching method that has produced exceptional results in training basic skills to at-risk children. Direct Instruction can be called a "fluency-based" method, since material is trained to the point where correct answers are reliably given immediately. Siegfried Engelmann was the initiator of the Direct Instruction method.
With its roots in the Distar program that performed so well in Project Follow Through in the 1960s, Direct Instruction is characterized by tightly scripted lesson plans. The curriculum is field-tested with children until it is executed with a minimum of errors. The teacher is in control of the pacing and direction of instruction, often asking in excess of 300 questions per day.
What Direct Instruction Is and Is Not
1. Direct Instruction has the same goals as other approaches that call themselves "constructivist," "holistic," or "child centered." These goals include teaching students to love and be skilled at reading, writing and math; to love and be skilled at understanding what they read and how math works; and to use skills at reading, writing math and comprehending to achieve objectives in other subjects (e.g., history and science) and activities.
2. Direct Instruction is holistic. For example, Direct Instruction reading teaches everything that is meant by "literacy":
a. Pre-reading skills.
b. Decoding.
c. Comprehension.
d. Spelling.
e. Writing, reading and editing stories.
3. Direct Instruction Uses Authentic Literature. The Reading Mastery curriculum uses writings in poetry, fiction, history, plays, women's literature, multicultural literature, math, astronomy, geography, anatomy, physics, and zoology.
4. Direct Instruction Integrates Smaller Learnings Into Meaningful Wholes. Direct Instruction does not teach basic or simpler skills (parts) in isolation from meaningful contexts (e.g., activities, problems). In the beginning (first 15 minutes) of early lessons in Reading Mastery, the students work on sounds. However, this is done in the context of an activity that is meaningful for students--namely, a quick-paced, small group activity in which all of the students know they are working together to learn a new task, and successfully meet a new challenge
5. Direct Instruction Is Developmentally Appropriate. The features of DI are consistent with what we know about developmental appropriateness.
a. DI is in small groups.
b. DI is quick-paced.
c. DI helps students to be and to feel successful.
d. Interaction with teachers is warm and supportive. Students are never singled out when they make errors.
e. DI lessons are arranged so that students are slightly challenged with each new task.
f. DI teaches moral principles relevant to students; e.g., to help other students and not tease; to show respect for the group process; to try hard.
6. Direct Instruction Is Not Drill and Kill. At most, the teacher has students practice an action a few times until they are "firm." "Try that again. One more time. Great!" Additional practice--to assure fluency, generalization, retention, and independence (mastery)--is given later, when the skill is integrated with other skills in larger tasks.
7. Direct Instruction Is Not Rote Learning. All knowledge systems involve some rote learning--sheer memorization, because there are basic (irreducible) concepts that have nothing to do with reasoning; In English, "z" says "zzz." In math, 2 and "two" mean //. However, Direct Instruction has less rote learning and more higher-order cognitive learning than most other curricula. For example, in Direct Instruction math, students do not learn "Two plus two equals four" (rote). Instead, they learn a cognitive strategy for solving equations that have 2's and 4's in them.
2 + __ = 4 and 4 - __ = 2.
When students learn how to solve these problems, they automatically know that 2 + 2 = 4.
8. Direct Instruction Is Not Basic Skills Only. In fact, DI focuses much more on higher-order cognitive learning. Half of the Corrective Reading curriculum is on complex forms of comprehension. And in Reading Mastery, students learn to write and analyze stories as soon as they can read.
9. Direct Instruction Is Not Boring and Alienating. In fact, students love it because there is so much individual attention (small groups); it moves quickly (which is great for students with attention problems); they are challenged continually; they are virtually always successful; and each child's success contributes to the group.
10. Direct Instruction is Not All Teacher Directed. There is much teacher direction in early lessons, especially the first part of lessons--when students are learning new material. But after 20 or so minutes, students work independently (e.g., reading and writing stories). Then they may return to the group to read and discuss each other's stories.
What's Direct About Direct Instruction?
1. The teacher knows exactly what she wants students to learn (be able to do) after each task (2-3 minutes) in lessons (15-30 minutes).
2. The teacher tells students what they will be learning before each task. This gives students a sense of predictability and control. They are joined with the teacher. The teacher also tells students what they have learned after they have learned it. This helps students to focus on their own actions so that they can learn to direct themselves.
3. The teacher focuses her attention and students' attention on the task at hand.
4. The teacher tells, demonstrates, re-states, and helps students to state and re-state rules and cognitive strategies. For example, "You calculate what you will owe by adding the dollar amounts that are close to the values on the price tags. If the price says, .10, you add .00. If the price says .95, you add .00."
In other words, knowledge is made explicit and overt; and students are taught to use this knowledge (how to figure a total cost) in their activities. With practice, this knowledge becomes covert (internalized). It now belongs to the students. This is important for students' cognitive development.
5. The curriculum is arranged so that students are taught ahead of time what they need to know in order to understand what the teacher is talking about or demonstrating, and so they can figure out how to do the next task or solve the next problem.
6. Nothing is inert. Students are not taught useless facts and concepts. Whatever they are taught now, they use now and later.
7. Instructional interaction is formatted. The general format is as follows.
a. Statement of objective, expectation, or task at hand. "You know the sounds for these letters. But these letters have names. I'll tell you the names of these letters. Listen."
b. Model. Teacher touches each letter in her presentation book (a, e, i, o, u) and says the name. The teacher models a few times if students seem to need it. "Listen again."
c. Lead. The teacher does the task with the students. "Say the names with me. Remember the names are what you said when these letters had lines over them." (Note the explicit rule.) Teacher touches each letter and says the names with the students.
d. Test. Students now do the task without help. This is understood not as a test of the students, but rather as information on the teacher's effectiveness and an opportunity for the children to "show off" what they've learned. "All by yourselves. Say the names." Teacher points to each letter. The whole group responds until firm. Then she calls on individual students.
e. Re-test. Earlier material is reviewed later. This gives more practice and aids retention.
f. Error correction. In the stage of acquisition (when students are first learning a skill), the teacher corrects all errors. Why? Because otherwise, students with low self- esteem will have lower self-esteem; inattentive students will become more inattentive; and errors will show up as weaknesses in more complex activities (making students have an even harder time learning).
8. Much of the interaction follows a script, which teachers eventually memorize, just as actors "become" Hamlet and Ophelia. Why scripted? Because no one on earth could create curricula as faultless in their logic and as comprehensive in scope as DI curricula.
After they have used their Teacher Presentation Books for a month or so, and have seen how fast their children are learning and how effectively they are teaching, most teachers realize the beautiful partnership that they have with the curriulum developers and researchers. The genius of the curriculum developers helps teachers to perfect their craft. And the energy and skills of the teacher make the genius of the curriculum come alive. Each person--teacher and curriculum developer--makes the other's skill and energy work in the service of students.
Guidelines for Effective Curricula and Instruction
1. "Curriculum" is what is to be taught and the sequence for teaching. What to be taught is sometimes called "content." Content is knowledge. There are different kinds or forms of knowledge. Therefore, a curriculum is likely to teach different forms of knowledge. Different forms of knowledge are concepts; propositions, or "joining forms" (Engelmann & Carnine, 1991); cognitive strategies; and operations.
a. Concepts. Concepts are categories (classes) of events that have something in common that defines them as members (examples) of the class. Color, red, male, society, going, faster, tangible--these are all concepts--categories that contain examples that have some specific feature(s) in common. Concepts are given names or labels. These names enable us to communicate about the concept. For example, "The block (concept) is red (concept)."
There are several kinds of concepts: comparatives and noncomparatives.
(1) "Noncomparatives." This means that one example signifies the meaning of the label (word) for the concept. "Red," "block," "democracy," and "exponent" are names for concepts that are noncomparatives. One red thing signifies all things that are included in the concept "red." You do not have to show another thing in order to show red. {But you will have to show many red things and not red things in order to teach red = "red."]
One way to teach noncomparative concepts is to juxtapose positive examples that "have" a wide range of "redness" and label them all "red," with nonexamples (no redness) that otherwise look like the red ones. E.g., bright red toy car ("This is red.") /bright blue car ("This is not red."); pale red truck ("This is red.")/pale green truck ("This is not red."). Then, "test" by showing new examples and nonexamples of red, and ask, "Is this red?" for each one.
(2) Other concepts are "comparatives. " This means that an example must be compared with other examples to signify the meaning of the label (word) for the concept shown in any example. For example, the concept faster cannot be shown in one example of a car racing dcown the road. One car's speed has to be compared with another car's speed in order to show faster or slower in either one. Other examples of comparatives are steeper, accelerating, hotter, freer, more democratic, and wider.
Comparatives may be taught by juxtaposing examples using a method called "continuous conversion" (Engelmann & Carnine, 1991). Here, everything is held constant from example to example except the one feature (the basis for comparison between examples) that makes the difference in labeling the example as, for instance, wider or not wider.
Juxtaposed
Examples
|_____________| "Watch the space."
|_____________| "It didn't get wider."
|__________| "It didn't get wider."
|______________| "It got wider."
|_________________| "It got wider."
|____________________| "It got wider."
|____________________| "Did it get wider?"
|_______________________| "Did it get wider?"
|_________________| "Did it get wider?"
(From Engelmann & Carnine, 1991: p. 41.)
b. Propositions (another form of knowledge) are statements of relationships among concepts. Another term for propositions is "joining forms." These statements join other forms of knowledge, such as concepts. Here are examples of propositions.
(1) "If it is under, it is below." This proposition links things in the category (concept) under with things in the concept (category) below. It asserts that things that are under are also in the category below.
(2) "As pressure increases, temperature increases." This proposition asserts that change in one variable is followed by change in another variable.
(3) "Always firm up students' responses on one task before going on to the next task." This proposition is a rule.
When teaching specific joining forms (e.g., how increasing technology results in job obsolescence), make sure to state the proposition. Then, when you ask follow up questions, make sure that students state the proposition. "Here's a rule. As pressure increases, temperature increases. Again, as pressure increases, temperature increases. Pressure is 500 lbs/square inch and temperature is 190 degrees. If pressure increases to 700 lbs/square inch, will temperature go above 190 degrees or go below 190 degrees? How do you know?" (Means, what's the rule about temperature as a function of pressure?) If pressure decreases from 500 lbs/square inch to 400 lbs/square inch, will temperature go above 190 degrees or go below 190 degrees? How do you know?" [Notice that the question examples went in both directions--increase and decrease.]
c. Cognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are "complex forms" (Engelmann & Carnine, 1991). Cognitive strategies are arrangements of concepts and propositions in steps that accomplish something. Two cognitive strategies are: (1) problem solving routines, and (2) communications about events. Solving math problems and editing a paper for grammar and spelling are problem solving routines. Writing a paper that describes an experiment or that summarizes the literature on theories of genocide is an example of communications about events.
d. Operations. Operations are the actual actions performed during instruction or during applications of the first three forms of knowledge: concepts, propositions and cognitive strategies. Operations are sometimes called tool skills. Operations (tool skills) include identifying the main point, writing, answering, turn taking, assembling experimental apparatus, calculating, and stating grammar rules when editing a paper. Riding a bicycle, brushing one's teeth and splitting logs with an axe would also be considered operations.
2. The sequence in a curriculum is the location of instruction on knowledge forms in relation to prior and later instruction on knowledge forms. Effective instruction has a sequence that is cumulative and logically faultless.
a. Cumulative means that students are given prior instruction to mastery on the knowledge they need to learn next units.
b. Logically faultless means that lessons, tasks within lessons, and examples and nonexamples within tasks are selected so that what is learned earlier does not interfere with what is worked on later. Also examples and nonexamples are juxtaposed so that they reveal the essential features to be learned (the defining feature of a concept; a clear example of a rule).
3. Here are rules for effective sequences.
a. Arrange items to be taught (concepts, propositions, strategies, operations) in a logical sequence. For example, students can see that later tasks within a lesson, or later lessons are:
(1) On deductions from earlier taught propositions; or are
(2) Generalizations (same as) or discriminations (different from) earlier taught concepts, propositions or strategies.
Deductions from earlier: For example, first teach that (and why) no form of social organization is permanent (a rule). Then teach deductions (new examples) from this rule/proposition. E.g., examine historical changes in economic systems.
Generalizations: First teach a general strategy for solving math problems with one set of problems. Then give new examples to which the same strategy applies. Make sure that new examples look both similar to and different from the first-taught items. You want students to learn that problems (with certain defining features) are to be treated the same even if they appear different in other ways; e.g., the size of the numbers or the length of the problem are irrelevant.
Discriminations: First teach a general strategy for solving math problems with one set of problems. Then give new examples that look the same as the earlier examples except for one or two features. The students are taught that these features discriminate different sorts of problems and that two different strategies are needed. Then teach the second strategy. Then give arrays of both kinds of problems and walk students through identification of problem type (based on discriminative features) and selection of the proper strategy. "What's the rule for selecting the equation for a line?"
b. Arrange items to be taught (concepts, propositions, strategies, operations) in a sequence that builds elements into compounds. This is called chaining. Sometimes use whole task presentation; e.g., students select a topic; identify the question; collect relevant literature; summarize literature; make an outline; etc. Sometimes, use forward chaining; e.g., work on the first step until it is mastered; then work on the first and second steps together until mastered; then add the third step; etc. And sometimes teach the central operation first (e.g., how to pedal and keep a bike upright) and then add earlier and later steps to the sequence. It is not always a good idea to teach from simpler to harder! Simpler steps may leave students making an erroneous stipulation ("Oh, I see, this is how it is done).
c. Place in close temporal proximity those items (concepts, propositions, strategies, operations) that:
(1) Are necessary for students' effective participation in the next lessons (attention, incentive) and for students' getting the content of the next lessons; and/or
(2) Will strongly facilitate students' effective participation in the next lessons (attention, incentive) and students' getting the content of the next lessons.
d. Place farther apart in a curriculum those items that appear similar but must be treated differently (i.e., are confusing if taught in close proximity). For example, separate instruction on Spanish verbs that look similar but must be conjugated differently. Or, teach b and d at a distance from each other, but teach a, then m, and then s. Or, separate definitions of feudal societies (voluntary servitude) and plantation societies (involuntary servitude) [similar in many ways], but juxtapose democracy and military dictatorship [big difference in how power is attained].
e. If items to be joined are taught far apart in time (i.e., are separated by intervening items), make sure to:
(1) Teach earlier items to mastery (to aid retention).
(2) Return to these earlier items periodically (review, practice) before they are finally joined to the content of later lessons.
(3) Review or practice the earlier items right before introducing the new items to which the older items will be joined.
f. Keep the flow of communication as clean as possible.
(1) No side tracking.
(2) No unneceesary wording.
(3) Use the same wording from question to question and example to example.
"(You) Is this granite? (students) NO. Is this granite? NO. Is this granite? YES. Is this granite? NO."
Or "(You) What form (point to graph)? (students) LINEAR. What form (point)? LINEAR. What form (point)? POSITIVE ACCELERATION. What form (point)? POSITIVE DECELERATION."
Not! "(You) What do you call this kind of mathematical relationship? LINEAR. And, on the other hand, and in distinct contrast, in what family do you suppose this curve is a member? HUH?" [Students will be confused by the words themselves and also may wonder if you are asking for the same sort of answer.]
f. Make sure that students already know the concepts and propositions that are embedded (assumed) in the new definitions and propositions/rules that you are teaching. Before you say anything, ask yourself if students already know what each word or proposition means. If not, pre-teach these. For example,
"Activities in any society are arranged into social institutions."
"Each social institution serves one or more functions for the society. a. The family institution provides new members. b. The economic institution provides technology and goods. c. The educational institution provides secondary socialization into adult roles. d. The political institution provides for the distribution of power."
"Here's a rule. There often are alternative ways to accomplish the same functions. Here's the rule again. There often are alternative ways to accomplish the same functions. For example, you can start a fire with matches or with flint and steel. Likewise, there are alternative ways to provide for the distribution of power. Therefore, there are alternative forms for each social institution. This is because...(students restate the rule)."
"One form of political institution is called democracy. Democracy is a political institution in which power is provided by public election."
[Give examples (Roman republic, Athens under Pericles) and label each as democracy and restate the definition. Give a few more examples. Ask, 'Is this democracy?...How do you know?' (Students state definition.)
Then give nonexamples; e.g., military dictatorship, monarchy. For each one, ask, 'Is this democracy? (students) NO. How do you know?' (Students state definition of democracy.)
Then give an array of examples and nonexamples. For each one, students label as democracy or not democracy, and state definition.
Later, give definitions of military dictatorship and repeat the above steps. Then give an array of example of democracy and military dictatorship.
Engelmann, S., & Carnine, D. (1991). Theory of instruction. Eugene, OR: ADI Press.
Books, Curriculum, Videos, and parent / teacher education materials are available via our Book Store link at left.
Don't Forget to Visit these educational websites for your diagnostic, support, and home-academic and social skills enhancement programs :
And, remember there are other resource links on the Autism / PDD link at left. Thank you.