Emma stop that, it's my turn now - Comparing Peer Tutoring and Thinking Aloud for Usability-Testing with Children in a school setting

This study assesses three usability evaluation methods (Active Intervention, Peer Tutoring and Cross-Age Tutoring) with children aged 6--8 years old within a school setting, using an interactive, educational multimedia product. Cross-Age Tutoring elicited significantly fewer comments than the other two methods, and 'plan' comments were significantly rarer than 'action' and 'perception and cognition' comments. In terms of the suitability of these evaluation methods for child participants, and context of use in this particular setting, Peer Tutoring appears to have the most potential. Usability evaluation methods need to better reflect children's motivations and the variety of contexts in which they use multimedia products. The implications for HCI practitioners are explored.

Ringeisen, Henderson, and Hoagwood (2003) present a compelling case that: (a) there is a gap between mental health research and the delivery of mental health services in school settings; (b) in order to bridge this gap, mental health professionals must consider contextual factors at the individual, organization, and state/federal policy levels; and (c) research must include key school stakeholders (teachers, administrators) in the development and integration of mental health interventions into school practice. Ringeisen et al. address perhaps the most critical challenge to the delivery of empirically supported mental health services in the schools--namely, the large gap between what researchers have investigated and what practitioners implement. This is a problem that has plagued school psychology and related fields for many years. As such, this is a very timely position paper that should enhance the dialog among the various stakeholders interested in this topic. One of the key points made by Ringeisen et al. (2003) is that school-specific contextual factors at various levels are critically important in designing and implementing interventions that are empirically supported on the one hand and also are feasible and acceptable to consumers on the other hand. Stated differently, our field must use contextual factors as the fabric underlying the building and maintenance of the bridge between research and practice. In this commentary, I elaborate upon and extend this premise by providing examples at each level of school context of how contextual factors can be used to bridge the gap. Individual Child Factors in Designing Interventions As school psychologists, we are most comfortable with consideration of within-child factors (e.g., behavior and academic difficulties) in designing interventions. Yet, child behavior clearly is not exhibited within a vacuum and one must consider the family, school, classroom, and peer context surrounding the behavior of individual children. Functional assessment (FA) is a methodology gaining acceptance within school psychology and special education that promotes an understanding of how context variables influence child behavior. Specifically, FA involves measurement of antecedent, consequent, and sequential contextual events that might trigger or reinforce challenging behavior (Gresham, Watson, & Skinner, 2001). Through interviews and direct observations, the function (e.g., teacher attention, peer attention, escape from tasks) of a problematic behavior within a school or family context can be determined and an intervention can be designed to address the purported function. It is assumed that the intervention would increase the chances that a child would engage in an appropriate behavior to achieve the same function as the target behavior of concern. For example, if a child appears to exhibit disruptive behavior to get peer attention, then an intervention (e.g., peer tutoring) would be designed wherein the child would receive peer attention for engaging in a desired behavior (e.g., being engaged in an academic task). Although the research literature supporting the use of FA for designing school interventions is still evolving (for review, see Ervin et al., 2001), the assumption is that assessment-based interventions will be more effective than those strategies designed in a trial-and-error (i.e., contextually insensitive) fashion. Because it is focused on individual factors and is designed to link assessment data to intervention design, FA has the potential to bridge the gap between research on effective behavioral interventions and the practice of implementing these strategies in real world settings. The potential of FA for this purpose will be enhanced by current efforts to make these strategies more practical and feasible for implementation in schools (Gresham et al., 2001). Individual Provider Factors in Designing Interventions The characteristics and skills of the individuals (e. …

The present study focuses on two methods used to facilitate the social integration of autistic and autistic-like children in a school setting. Specifically, the interactive values of peer tutoring and structured interaction activities on the social initiations of nonhandicapped peers toward students with autism were measured. The nature of the initiations were coded either instructional or cooperative. Results revealed that nonhandicapped students assigned initially to a tutoring phase interacted at far lower rates than did students exposed to structured interactions. Conversely, the structured interaction activities produced the highest rates of cooperative initiations regardless of presentation sequence. The data are discussed in reference to implications for programs which will enhance the normalization process for children and youth with severe handicaps.

PurposeThis study aimed to systematically review studies on the effect of peer tutoring on pediatric nursing education for nursing students and identify its contents and characteristics.MethodsA comprehensive search was conducted from November to December 2023 across databases including PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, ProQuest, and others. We included both published and unpublished literature in English or Korean. Three reviewers independently screened and selected eligible studies that involved undergraduate nursing students participating in peer tutoring programs focused on pediatric nursing education. We analyzed quantitative outcomes related to learning effects and learner responses. The quality of the studies was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials and the risk of bias assessment tool for non-randomized studies.ResultsFive studies were reviewed, encompassing randomized controlled trials, a non-randomized controlled trial, a cohort study, and a before-after study. These interventions were conducted in school settings or pediatric clinical environments and featured different forms of peer teaching: horizontal, near-peer, and reciprocal. The tutor-to-tutee ratios ranged from 1:3 to 1:36.5. The educational content covered nursing care for major neonatal diseases, communication skills, medication administration, and resuscitation techniques. Significant improvements in cognitive knowledge and communication skills were observed among nursing students. However, there was noticeable variability in the design and reporting of the studies.ConclusionPeer tutoring programs can effectively enhance pediatric nursing education by improving nursing students’ knowledge and skills. For future meta-analyses, more studies in this field reported according to reporting guidelines are needed.

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibit significant academic, social, and behavioural difficulties in school settings. This article reviews empirical findings regarding the effects of classroom interventions for students with ADHD. Three major types of interventions are reviewed including behavioural (e.g., token reinforcement, response cost), academic (e.g., peer tutoring), and social (e.g., social skills training). Relatively strong evidence supports the use of behavioural interventions in reducing disruptive, off‐task behaviours in children with ADHD. Evidence for academic and social interventions with this population is weaker, but recent findings indicate that these are potentially effective treatments. Implications of this review for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

School psychology arguably began in the 1880s in the University of Pennsylvania laboratory of Lightner Witmer (Noell & Witt, 1996). Through the next 100 years, school psychology grew larger in scope, becoming recognized within the American Psychological Association (APA) and founding its own organization, the National Association of School Psychologists in 1969. As the need for school psychologist grew, so did the need for an effective, efficient service delivery model. Bergan's, Behavioral Consultation (BC) model became the widely accepted, indirect service delivery model used in public school settings. Interestingly, the model has undergone few changes since its unification in the late 1970s (see Bergan, 1977). Noell & Witt (1996) argued that the model has undergone few changes because it was primarily a model to deliver scientifically derived interventions and therefore the empirical evidence was specific to intervention, not to consultation. Thus, the emphasis was on the client (i.e., student) and not the consultee (i.e., staff). To be sure, this emphasis places the locus of control for behavior change (i.e., response-to-intervention) within the student, not the student's environment. As such, Witt, Noell, LaFleur & Mortenson (1997) began a line of investigation that focused BC directly on consultee behavior and considered the consultee as the instrument for behavior change in the client. With the addition of Performance Feedback, Witt et. al. (1997) added intervention implementation fidelity to the BC model and shifted the locus of control for behavior change, to the student's environment. Performance Feedback (PFB) has been described as Information provided to individuals about the quantity or quality of their past performance (Prue & Fairbank, 1981). Witt et. al. (1997) modified PFB procedures derived from Organizational Psychology to school settings and intervention implementation fidelity of evidence-based interventions. In that study, the authors developed academic interventions that included an end-of-intervention assessments that functioned as evidence that the interventions were completed (i.e., permanent products). A task analysis with checklist was included in the intervention packet. The teacher was asked to check off which intervention components were completed each day the intervention was implemented. The task list and the end-of-intervention assessment were indications of intervention fidelity adherence. These two permanent products were then used to graph the number of steps completed by the total number of steps in the prescribed intervention (task analysis checklist) and graph the student end-of-intervention assessment data. Then, the authors met with the teachers on a daily basis to present the graphs, provided positive statements when the interventions were completed, and discuss how implementation fidelity could be achieved when implementation adherence was low. Follow-up studies investigated the use of PFB when the intervention used peer tutors (Noell, Witt, LaFleur, Mortenson, Ranier, & LeVelle, 1997), when PFB was delivered on a weekly basis (Mortenson and Witt, 1998), with behavioral interventions (Noell, Duhon, Gatti, & Connell, 2002) in residential settings (Jones, Wickstrom & Friman, 1997) and with direct-care staff (Reedy, Luiselli & Thibedeau, 2001), in comparison to other consultation models (Noell, et., al., 2005), within a response-to-intervention pre-referral meeting (Duhon et. al. 2009), and in autistic support classrooms (Pellecciah et. al., 2010). However, investigating the use of PFB in home settings where the barriers to implementing the procedures derived from the studies above are unknown. Program fidelity is greatly needed in home settings because many parents/guardians are confronted with significant concurrent responsibilities and demands and stay-at-home caregivers have far less support than school-based staff. …

One Early Peer Relations.- Two Peer Influences on the Development of Communicative Competence.- Three Utilization of Peer Imitation in Therapeutic and Instructional Contexts.- Four The Use of Peer Social Initiations in the Treatment of Social Withdrawal.- Five Vicarious Reinforcement and Punishment Processes in the Classroom.- Six Peer Tutoring in Academic Settings.- Seven Group-Oriented Contingencies and Peer Behavior Change.- Eight RECESS: Research and Development of a Behavior Management Package for Remediating Social Aggression in the School Setting.- Nine Children as Instructional Agents for Handicapped Peers: A Review and Analysis.- Ten Peer-Oriented Behavioral Technology and Ethical Issues.

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychopathology experienced by young people, with up to 18% of adolescents developing an anxiety disorder. The consequences of these disorders, if left untreated, include impaired peer relationships, school absenteeism and self-concept problems. In addition, anxiety disorders may play a causal role in the development of depression in young people, precede eating disorders and predispose adolescents to substance abuse disorders. While the school is often chosen as a place to provide early intervention for this debilitating disorder, the fact that excessive anxiety is often not recognised in school and that young people are reluctant to seek help, makes identifying these adolescents difficult. Even when these young people are identified, there are problems in providing sensitive programs which are not stigmatising to them within a school setting. One method which may engage this adolescent population could be cross-age peer tutoring. This paper reports on a small pilot study using the “Worrybusters” program and a cross-age peer tutoring method to engage the anxious adolescents. These anxious secondary school students planned activities for teacher-referred anxious primary school students for a term in the high school setting and then delivered those activities to the younger students weekly in the next term in the primary school. Although the secondary school students decreased their scores on anxiety self-report measures there were no significant differences for primary school students’ self-reports. However, the primary school parent reports indicated a significant decrease in their child’s anxiety.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and research summary of peer-delivered Corrective Reading instruction. Emphasis is placed on a program entitled, Project PALS (Peer-Assisted Learning System) conducted in Washington State. It has been shown that Project PALS can improve the reading performance of high school students who have difficulty reading, including students at risk for school failure and those identified to receive education services. Finally, areas of future research are discussed. ********** Educational reform is at the forefront of national debates. The public is concerned about low achieving public schools; federal and state governments are taking action to instill changes in our schools so that academic success by all children can be realized. Statewide academic testing at various grade levels is being conducted nationwide for accountability and assessment purposes. Educators continue to search for school reform models and procedures that can make a difference in the education of our youth. Behavior analysis in education is a missing voice in current school reform and policy literatures. Parents and education consumer groups need to be convinced of the utility of behavior analysis in education to education reform for EVERY learner, and beyond special learners. John Stone's work (see http://cpaa.asu.edu/cpaa/v4n8.html and http://www.education-consumers.com) is one good source. There are several reasons why behavior analysts are in a prime position to have a great deal of impact on this school reform movement. First, behavior analysts routinely take the kinds of data the public and funding agencies want. Behavior analysts collect both summative and formative data. In fact, one of the attributes that distinguishes behavior analysts from others is their demand for and collection of data. Second, behavior analysts are trained to make data-based decisions. If the kinds of outcomes we expect are not being demonstrated, changes will be made. However, these changes will be made based on data rather than on testimonials or opinions. Third, behavior analysts have the technology to make meaningful changes in school settings. Effective instructional techniques stem from or are consistent with a behavioral framework. These procedures include, but are not limited to, Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching, Personalized System of Instruction, and Programmed Instruction (West & Hamerlynck, 1992) as well as Class-Wide Peer Tutoring, Strategic Instruction, and Cooperative Learning (Meese, 2001). Finally, behavior analysts have expertise in other areas of learning (e.g., functional living skills) that can be adapted to the teaching of academic skills. For example, peer- delivered instruction has a long and rich research base (Fulk & King, 2001; Lindsley & Johnson, 1997; Maheady, Sacca, & Harper, 1988; Meese, 2001). Therefore, taken together, behavior analysts are in a position to make a meaningful and significant impact in our public schools. This paper will address a serious academic problem in the U.S.; specifically, the reading deficits of our middle school and high school students will be examined. Instructional programs and techniques (i.e., Direct Instruction and peer-mediated strategies) that have been applied to this problem will be discussed. Finally, areas of future research will be presented. Project Follow-Through was the largest educational experiment in history, yet the databased results vindicating Direct Instruction and Behavior Analysis models were ignored and (allegedly) covered up. See Lindsley (1984, 1992) as well as http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adiep/ft/151toc.htm for further information. Overview of Reading Problems Over the years whole groups of high school students have experienced leaming failures, particularly in the area of reading, not necessarily because of cognitive deficits but because of poor instruction. …

Learning with and from peers.

The influence of experimental design on the magnitude of the effect size -peer tutoring for elementary, middle and high school settings: A meta-analysis

Inclusion of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities is a complex topic in special education. This study, conducted in a typical junior high school setting, examined the use of peer tutors to support three students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in a general education teen living classroom. Using a single-subject ABA design, researchers examined if the use of peer tutors would result in increased engagement and participation of students with cognitive disabilities. Researchers measured student engagement as writing, orienting to the instruction, talking to peers about the activity, raising hand to speak, or reading instructional materials. During instruction, target students were prompted through a visual checklist to ask their peer tutors questions or for help when needed. Results showed an increase in engagement during the intervention, which was maintained when peers withdrew prompting. During the maintenance phase, the target students continued to ask peers for assistance and assist each other, thus explaining the maintenance of engagement rather than reversal to baseline levels. This initial study lends support for the use of peer tutors to encourage inclusion of secondary students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

Cross-age tutoring in kindergarten and elementary school settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This study assesses the effectiveness of peer tutoring programs in enhancing students' performance in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). A longitudinal analysis of a peer tutoring initiative in a high school setting revealed significant improvements in both the academic performance of tutees and the tutoring skills of peer tutors. The research highlights the mutual benefits of peer tutoring, with tutees gaining better understanding of STEM concepts and tutors reinforcing their own knowledge. The findings suggest that peer tutoring is a valuable pedagogical tool in STEM education.

Teaching thinking skills has been characterised by the teacher-directed ‘embed ded’, ‘infusion’ and ‘bolt-on’ approaches, for which outcomes have been mixed. Peer tutoring in thinking skills offers a fourth way of wide applicability. This study evaluated such a method (Paired Thinking) in a high school setting. A substantial gain in reading comprehension was found for tutees. Triangulated subjective feedback indicated development in thinking skills, self-esteem and social skills for tutees and tutors. Paired Thinking appeared to yield considerable potential impact for minimal time input. Recommendations for refining organisation and for future research and practice were made.