Opportunities To Respond Research Articles

The complexity of opportunities to respond used by mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome: A preliminary investigation.

Caregiver-child interactions are commonly used to examine children's language learning environment. However, few studies consider interaction configurations beyond dyadic interactions or explore the conceptual complexity of caregiver talk. Thus, we examined if the complexity of a caregiver's opportunities to respond (OTR) varied when sampled across three interaction configurations. Our study included twelve preschool-aged children with Down syndrome and both of their biological parents. Our preliminary findings suggest no differences in mothers' and fathers' frequency of OTRs across complexity levels during dyadic interactions. However, caregivers produced fewer OTRs across complexity levels during family choice than dyadic interactions.

Opportunities to Respond During Dyadic Caregiver-Child and Naturalistic Family Interactions Among Children With Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Investigation.

Dyadic caregiver-child interactions are commonly used to examine children's language learning environments. However, children frequently interact with multiple caregivers and/or siblings if they come from homes with multiple caregivers and siblings. Thus, we examined if and how caregiver opportunities to respond (OTRs) varied when sampled across three interaction configurations. Twelve children with Down syndrome (Mage = 40.82 months) and their biological parents participated in the current study. We collected separate mother-child and father-child dyadic interactions and one family choice interaction (i.e., both caregivers present and occasionally siblings) in families' homes. We analyzed if differences in the caregiver's OTR frequency and type-explicit and implicit-existed among dyadic and family choice configurations. We found that, during family choice interactions, children were exposed to fewer OTRs when combining the total number of father and mother OTRs compared to dyadic caregiver-child interactions. This effect was large for explicit OTRs (mother-dyadic vs. combined family choice: g = -1.99, confidence interval [CI] [-3.00, -1.00]; father-dyadic vs. combined family choice: g = -0.84, CI [-1.84, -0.11]). For implicit OTRs, effects were small for mother-dyadic versus combined family choice (g = -0.34, CI [-1.17, 0.48]) and negligible when comparing father-dyadic with combined family choice (g = -0.08, CI [-0.90, 0.73]). Our preliminary findings highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of children's language learning environments to better understand how caregivers support their children's language development. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25579905.

Using Opportunities to Respond (OTR) to Reduce Disruptive Behavior in General Education Settings

This paper focuses on externalizing behavior that disrupts the classroom. This behavior causes many difficulties for teachers in their classroom environments and can become distracting for peers, impeding their ability to concentrate inside the classroom. Therefore, teachers must provide an instruction-rich, supportive environment that provides all students with the chance to be appropriately and correctly involved in class proceedings. Such an environment also boosts students’ social responsiveness, which in return allows them to limit being affected by distractions. This study used an opportunities to respond (OTR) strategy to address disruptive behavior inside the classroom by applying a single-subject experimental design (SSED) . An A-B-A design was used in this study to locate the effect of OTR. The results showed that OTR intervention was effective, and the third phase showed the improvements made by students. Finally, recommendations based on the results from the current study are provided. Keywords: Externalizing behavior, Opportunities To Respond (OTR), Single-subject experimental design. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-33-14 Publication date: November 30 th 2021

A Preliminary Evaluation of a Digital Token Economy to Increase Student Engagement during Group Teletherapy

Shortly following the temporary nationwide school dismissal amid COVID-19, the current exploratory case-study evaluated the feasibility of two engagement strategies delivered during group teletherapy: Class Dojo and opportunities to respond (OTR). Three elementary students with emotional and behavioral difficulties participated. An A-B-A design was used to evaluate the effects of Class Dojo on student engagement with therapist-delivered OTRs. Due to one student’s poor response to the contingency, an A-B-C design was used to evaluate the additive effect of student-delivered OTRs on his engagement. Results indicated moderate to high rates of student attendance, and consistently high rates of engagement for two students. When students delivered OTRs, the student who initially struggled to engage demonstrated an increase in engagement. Practical issues are discussed and recommendations are considered for future research on increasing student engagement during online settings.

Opportunities to Respond for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Inclusive Classrooms

Students who are actively engaged in learning have a higher probability of academic and behavioral success in the classroom. One effective teaching practice that increases student engagement is providing students with frequent opportunities to respond (OTR). This article provides practitioners with a range of OTR strategies that include verbal, non-verbal, and partner responses. In addition, recommendations are provided on how these strategies can be effectively implemented in inclusive classrooms to increase engagement of students with school-based behavior problems, including those with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders.

Disparities across race and disability risk: Assessing teacher practices

AbstractThis exploratory study occurred in 10 title 1 schools located within a Midwestern state. The sample included 23 general educators and 551 students in second through fifth grade. Fifty‐seven students identified as at risk for an emotional or behavioral disorder represented the targeted sample. The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers' implementation of evidence‐based practices (EBP) occurred at different rates across demographic groups (i.e., race and disability risk). The results indicated that teachers used higher rates of opportunities to respond (OTR) with students not at risk compared to students at risk but used higher rates of positive specific feedback with students who were at risk compared to students not at risk. Students at risk who were Black also received statistically significantly more OTR than White at‐risk students. Results of the study illuminate the need to continue examining teachers' differing use of EBP as contributors to and predictors of student outcomes and disproportionality.

Using video-analysis in the professional development of a classroom teacher

Professional development for educators is often not evidence-based and insufficient to improve classroom management skills. Video-analysis has been shown to be effective at improving pedagogy of classroom teachers. We expanded on prior literature by using an early childhood general education teacher. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to evaluate the efficacy of a training model on providing opportunities to respond (OTR) and behavior-specific praise (BSP), and how this may reduce the need for corrective statements. Frequency data was obtained via 15 min video sessions. Results indicate that the intervention was functionally related to the two dependent variables. Effects were stronger for increasing the teacher’s usage of OTR and BSP than in the reduction of corrective statements.

The effect of simultaneous prompting on teacher OTRs and student behavior

In this study researchers examined a teacher’s use of simultaneous prompting (SP) procedure in a fourth- grade special education classroom setting. Using an ABAB single subject design, the effects of a SP procedure on an increased rate of delivering questions with a small group of students identified with emotional behavior disorders were examined. Results indicated that when the teacher increased the rates of opportunities to respond (OTR), the students’ on-task behavior, rate of correct responses increased, and number of errors decreased. A discussion of limitations and future research directions is included.

Using Technology to Increase Opportunities to Respond

Delivering high rates of opportunities to respond (OTR) has been shown to improve student outcomes for students with challenging behavior. High rates of OTR can maximize student engagement while providing ways for teachers to quickly assess student content mastery. Given the increasing trend of technology use in schools, teachers can leverage technology for delivering OTR. We discuss three technology-based tools teachers can use to enhance OTR delivery with examples of how to incorporate these tools into classrooms.

Varying Opportunities to Respond to Improve Behavior of Elementary Students with Developmental Disabilities

This study investigated the effects of varying opportunities to respond when using a behavior management program with three elementary school students with developmental disabilities in a small group special education setting. These students exhibited both academic and behavioral difficulties. With the implementation of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) with low opportunities to respond (OTR), students increased their active engagement and correct responses, as well as decreased their disruptive behaviors. When CW-FIT with high OTR was implemented, students showed an even greater improvement than CW-FIT with low OTR. Higher rates of OTR resulted in higher levels of active engagement and correct responses and decreases in disruptive behavior for all three students. These results indicate that CW-FIT in combination with high OTR can help elementary school teachers manage students’ behavior and increase students’ correct responding when implemented in a small group special education setting.

The Impact of iCoaching on Teacher-Delivered Opportunities to Respond

Coaching in the school setting typically follows the traditional format of preconference, observe, and postconference, where feedback on teaching performance is shared but often delayed. Professional development (PD) provides teachers with skills to enhance their teaching practice with little to no follow-up or support. The most effective way to produce change in the school setting is to show the connection between PD and student performance, and iCoaching can help to bridge the gap. In this study, four teachers participated in a focused PD session and subsequent iCoaching sessions where the researcher used iPods and Bluetooth earbuds as a bug-in-ear (BIE) device. A coach served as a live, remote observer providing coaching prompts to increase teacher-delivered opportunities to respond (OTR). The results indicated that iCoaching was effective in increasing teacher-delivered OTR and in increasing student responses and academic performance.

Teacher-Delivered Strategies to Increase Students’ Opportunities to Respond: A Systematic Methodological Review

We conducted this systematic review to map the literature and classify the evidence-based status of teacher-directed strategies to increase students’ opportunities to respond (OTR) during whole-group instruction across the K-12 continuum. Specifically, we conducted this review to determine whether OTR could be classified as an evidence-based practice according to Council for Exceptional Children’s Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education. We examined the extent to which 21 included studies addressed quality indicators and evidence-based practice standards using a modified, weighted criterion for methodologically sound studies. Three studies met all eight quality indicators and 11 studies met or exceeded 80% of quality indicators following a weighted criterion to define methodologically sound studies. Results indicated teacher-directed OTR strategy of response cards in K-12 school settings to be a potentially evidence-based practice. Educational implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Response Cards to Increase Engagement and Active Participation of Middle School Students With EBD

This study employed an A-B-A-B design to examine engagement and active participation among five middle school students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) while using response cards for mathematics instruction. Students with EBD often exhibit off-task behaviors, which limit their engagement with classroom learning. This is of concern as students with EBD tend to have lower academic achievement compared with their peers and have shown a marked decline particularly in mathematics performance as they move from the elementary into secondary grades. When students have increased opportunities to respond (OTR)—through methods such as response cards—they are more likely to be engaged with and actively participate in instruction. In the baseline phase, students participated by traditional hand-raising. The intervention phase introduced the use of response cards. Visual analyses reveal that response cards increased the engagement of all participants. Findings were translated into the between-case standardized mean difference effect size estimates and the effect size was 1.3, suggesting that response cards may be an inexpensive and easily implemented method for increasing OTR for students with EBD.

Enhancing Pre-Service Special Educator Preparation through Combined Use of Virtual Simulation and Instructional Coaching

To meet the ever-increasing teaching standards, pre-service special educators need extensive and advanced opportunities for pedagogical preparation prior to entering the classroom. Providing opportunities for pre-service special educators to practice such strategies within a virtual simulation environment offers teacher preparation programs a way to individualize the teaching and practice of various pedagogical aspects needed when new educators enter their first classroom. Coupling such simulations with specific instructional coaching allows for increased and individualized remediation of the way instruction is given, classroom management practices, or getting to know your student population. This exploratory case study investigated the extent to which virtual simulations combined with instructional coaching impacted the way pre-service educators learned how to provide opportunities to respond (OTR) to the avatar students through the repeated teaching of a lesson over four sessions.

Using Immediate Feedback to Increase Opportunities to Respond in a General Education Classroom

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of immediately prompting a general education teacher to increase her rate of Opportunities to Respond (OTR) through bug-in-ear technology on the academic engagement of a first-grade student with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, the study investigated if raising the rate of OTR would increase the teacher’s positive feedback while decreasing negative feedback. Using an ABA single-subject design, results indicated that student academic engagement increased as the intervention was introduced and continued to stay at elevated levels during a maintenance phase. Results on teacher feedback were mixed, with both positive and negative feedback increasing when OTR was increased. Implications for using immediate feedback to increase OTR for rural educators are discussed.

The Role of Practice and Feedback for Developing Teacher Candidate’s Opportunities to Respond Expertise

A greater emphasis on measuring the outputs of teacher preparation programs such as practice-based evaluations (e.g., edTPA) has increased the need for teacher educators to examine “best practice” for developing the skill-based competencies of teacher candidates. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of practice and feedback on teacher candidates’ knowledge and skill acquisition of a specific evidence-based practice, the provision of opportunities to respond (OTRs). Using an experimental, pretest–posttest design, 48 teacher candidates in an introductory special education course (i.e., nonpracticum course) were randomly assigned to a distributed practice with feedback (experimental) condition or a massed practice with no feedback (business-as-usual) condition. Candidates in the experimental condition outperformed candidates in the business-as-usual condition on a measure of knowledge and a performance measure on the accuracy of specific OTR technique delivery. There were, however, no differences between the groups in terms of rate of OTR delivery. Implications for teacher preparation are discussed.

Increasing Opportunities to Respond for Students With Internalizing Behaviors: The Utility of Choral and Mixed Responding

Increasing students’ opportunities to respond (OTR) is a low-intensity strategy effective in increasing engagement. Building on the work of Haydon and colleagues, we compared two types of OTR, choral and mixed (70% choral, 30% individual), to examine the utility of these strategies in increasing active student responding and accuracy during mathematics for two elementary-age students with internalizing behaviors. Results indicated the general education teacher implemented both OTR strategies with high fidelity with limited university support. However, results of this alternating treatment design were unable to distinguish either choral or mixed responding as superior to the other. Results suggested one student showed high active student responding with less than 80% accuracy, whereas the other student was highly accurate but responded less than 75% of the time. In the discussion, we highlight reasons why the two OTR strategies had similar effects on student outcomes, consider implications of these findings, and provide direction for future inquiry.

Addressing Cultural Responsiveness in Consultation: An Empirical Demonstration

ABSTRACTThis study explored whether and to what extent consultation practices specifically focused on culturally responsive instruction provided additive benefit, after establishing strong classroom management. Three teachers leading culturally diverse classrooms participated in two phases of consultation. The first was a traditional, classroom-management focused phase. After decreases in disruptions stabilized, the consultant introduced a culturally responsive phase of consultation. Data are analyzed via a multiple-baseline-across-participants design depicting rates of classroom disruptions, labeled praise, and opportunities to respond (OTR). The greatest decrease in the number of classroom disruptions occurred during the traditional, classroom-management consultation phase. However, unexpected improvements were noted in teachers’ use of effective management procedures during the cultural responsiveness phase. Thus, teachers’ management practices benefited from applying culturally responsive instruction and interventions, beyond what was observed when consultation focused on management alone. Implications for research and consultation practice are discussed.

Effects of Shared Story Reading in Mathematics for Students With Academic Difficulty and Challenging Behaviors

The primary focus of this study was to examine the effects of Shared Story Reading (SSR) during mathematics instruction on the behavioral outcomes of four elementary students with academic difficulty and challenging behaviors. In addition, the study examined the effect of implementing SSR during mathematics instruction on the teacher’s use of opportunities to respond (OTR). A multiple baseline design across participants was implemented to examine the effects of this curricular approach on increasing the teacher’s OTR, increasing student engagement, and reducing disruptive behavior. Results indicated there was an increase in OTR during the SSR lessons and suggest implementing SSR during mathematics instruction was effective for increasing engagement for students with academic difficulty and challenging behaviors. Results were not definitive regarding the effects of SSR decreasing disruptive behavior.

Comparison of opportunities to respond and generation effect as potential causal mechanisms for incremental rehearsal with multiplication combinations

Incremental rehearsal (IR) is an intervention with demonstrated effectiveness in increasing retention of information, yet little is known about how specific intervention components contribute to the intervention's effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to further the theoretical understanding of the intervention by comparing the effects of opportunities to respond (OTR) and generation demand on retention of multiplication combinations. Using a between subject 2×2 factorial design, 103 4th and 5th grade students were taught seven multiplication combinations using one of four versions of IR that orthogonally varied OTR (high versus low) and generation demands (high versus low). A two-way ANOVA revealed main effects for OTR, generation demands, and an interaction of the two factors. The effect of generation demands was large (d=1.31), whereas the overall effect of OTR was moderate (d=0.66). Critically, the two factors interacted, with the largest learning gains observed when OTR and generation demands were both high. The results of this study suggest that generation demand is an important factor in the effectiveness of rehearsal interventions.