Teaching American Government Content to Students with Developmental Disabilities Using Technology and Constant Time Delay

Abstract

Instructional technology plays a role in supporting access to and meaningful participation in general education curriculum for students with developmental disabilities in inclusive classrooms. In this study, two 18-year-old students with developmental disabilities received technology-supported instruction to assist with learning the content in their co-taught American government class. Two interventionists (i.e., a special education teacher and a researcher) implemented video modeling and used constant time delay procedures to teach the pictorial sequencing of three social studies topics on an iPad®. As a secondary measure, students verbally explained the picture sequences. Researchers used a multiple probe design across behaviors and replicated across participants. Visual analysis indicated a functional relation between the use of the intervention and the number of correctly sequenced pictures. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed.