Week 7 Assignment

salel.rgpl3
Week7ASCAppt.ppt
Home>Psychology homework help>Week 7 Assignment

Single Subject Research Design for School Counselors: Why & how to become an applied researcher

American School Counselor

Association Conference

Linda H. Foster, Ph.D., NCC, NCSC

Today’s Presentation

  • Is there a need?
  • Why should school counselors become researchers?
  • Why haven’t we been using research?
  • How can we use research in our daily work with students/clients ?

Is there a need for research?

  • Professional literature has documented a lack of research concerning the work of school counselors.
  • The community desires to know how public education funds are spent.
  • The debate over public education funding is documented daily in the media.

The need exists…

  • Several authors have discussed the lack of and need for outcome research.
  • Accountability is increasing becoming a focus of our profession through NSSCP & NMSCP & others.
  • Many programs during ASCA conferences focus on accountability for school counselors.

So why have we been reluctant to accept responsibility for providing the needed evidence?

Reasons for lack of research?

  • Lack of knowledge regarding research methods;
  • One research & assessment course
  • Lack of familiarity with research strategies & methods;
  • Ethical concerns;

  • Time constraints;

  • Lack of funding;

  • Lack of confidence.

Why should school counselors become researchers?

  • Accountability

  • Funding

  • Professional image

  • Educate the public
  • Role ambiguity

  • National Standards for School Counseling Programs

  • National Model for School Counseling Programs

How do we relate our work to our students?

  • Currently school counseling programs focus on student mastery of competencies.
  • So how do school counselors fit into student success and mastery?
  • Now school counselors must be willing and able to provide evidence of their contribution to student success.

How can we use research?

  • Research supporting our work as school counselors is being demanded by the public as education funding continues to be questioned.

  • Decreased federal, state and local funding translates into reductions in programs, services and personnel.

We still have many questions to be answered such as:

  • Do we make a difference in the lives of our students?
  • What is it that we do that “makes a difference”?
  • How do we know we make a difference?
  • And how do we “tell our story”?

Our answers…

  • We think we make a difference…
  • We tie someone’s shoe, look for scholarships, listen to their problems… we do a million different things to make a difference for our students!
  • In the past we have relied on our anecdotal stories to describe what we do on a daily basis… but now we other tools to help us.

The lack of research is well-documented throughout professional literature.

The reasons school counselors do not conduct outcome research are varied.

Now, the future calls for us to document what we do!

The Future Direction

Our profession is heading towards data driven results…

The National Standards for School Counseling Programs

The National Model for School Counseling Programs

Changes & Challenges

  • The school counseling profession has changed and evolved over the 100-year history and it continues to do so!
  • Our role, function, purpose and focus have shifted many times during our history due to changes in society, economy & philosophies.
  • The needs of our community, students, parents and society also affect the services we provide to our students.

We have the challenge to answer the question:




What do school counselors do?

School counselors are now being encouraged to describe and define their work through the use of outcome data.

One way to describe our work is to become a…

RESEARCHER!!!

Today we are going to demystifying research….

It has been noted that school counselors are uncomfortable with becoming “researchers”…

So we need to “reframe” research.

Outcome research is gathering information regarding changes in a student occurring after an intervention by the school counselor.

“Best Kept Secret”
(Lundervold & Belwood, 2000)

Single Subject Research Design:

  • Research involving one subject or one group treated as a single entity;

  • Use of repeated observations to establish effect of an intervention.

For school counselors:

Measuring behaviors of a student(s) (either academic or behavioral) during baseline and during the intervention to determine if the intervention of the school counselor is effective in helping the student(s) become successful in the classroom.

Advantages:

  • Low cost of gathering data;
  • Lack of complicated statistics;
  • Interventions can be individualized for each student or group of students;
  • Recognizes the individuality of student(s);
  • Allowing for immediate evaluation of the effects of an intervention!

A-B Design

  • “A” phase
  • No intervention is applied to student;
  • Frequency, intensity and/or duration is measured;
  • How many minutes a student is out of his/her seat during a 20 minute period
  • “B” phase
  • Intervention is applied to student;
  • Baseline and intervention periods are compared to assess improvement in some aspect ot student’s functioning.

Application of A-B Design

  • Example: student who is hitting classmates.
  • Baseline: data collected through observation or archival data (otherwise known as discipline referrals).
  • Intervention: positive reinforcement for absence of aggressive behavior at a predetermined interval (5-10 minutes). Length of intervals should gradually increase as a student demonstrates ability to refrain from aggressive behavior.

A-B Design

Chart1

14
17
10
7
4
2
Days
Hits per day
A-B Design

Chart2

14
17
10
7
4
2
0
1
Baseline
Treatment
Follow-Up
12 13
Days
Number of Times Student Hits Others Per Day
A-B Design

Sheet1

14
17
10
7
4
2
0
1

Sheet2

Sheet3

Some cautions:

  • A-B research design methods do not demonstrate causation or a functional relationship between the intervention and changes in behavior… no “proof” that our intervention alone caused the positive change.
  • There may be other extraneous variables that contributed to a change in the behavior.

A-B-A-B Design

  • A = baseline
  • B – intervention applied to student;
  • A = removal of intervention; return to baseline;
  • B = intervention again applied to student.
  • SCHOOL COUNSELORS SHOULD BE AWARE OF ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS TO DETERMINE IF REMOVAL OF INTERVENTION WOULD CAUSE HARM TO STUDENT OR OTHERS IN THE CLASSROOM.

Application of A-B-A-B Design

  • Example: student who has

difficulty staying seated;

  • Baseline: intervention planned and implemented for several days;
  • Plan is based on a function of the problem behavior – i.e avoidance of work or attention seeking, etc.

Application of A-B-A-B Design

  • Intervention: dependent upon the student’s motivation;

  • Our example: student is

avoiding work that is too difficult.

  • Modifying assignment;
  • Providing direct skill instruction;
  • Providing brief breaks contingent upon completing modified assignment.

Data is still collected during the intervention.

Application of A-B-A-B

  • During the next A phase – intervention is removed – remembering ethical considerations.
  • If the intervention is responsible for changes, then behavior is expected to return to levels seen in the first baseline.
  • Intervention is again repeated to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

Some cautions for
A-B-A-B Design

  • For school counselors:
  • Safety of students is of utmost concern if a successful intervention is removed;
  • Strength of this design is the ability to demonstrate the functional relationship between the intervention and a positive outcome;
  • ABAB designs allow the researcher to make a confident statement that the intervention caused the behavior change.

A-B-A-B Design

ABAB

22
19
25
17
14
7
3
15
21
17
5
6
3
2
Days
Percent of times out-of-seat
A-B-A-B Design

Sheet1

22
19
25
17
14
7
3
15
21
17
5
6
3
2

Sheet2

Sheet3

Multiple Baseline Design

  • Defined: a series of A-B designs that are replicated in one of three ways:
  • With the same individual across different behaviors - e.g., disruptive behavior, unfinished work, etc.
  • With the same individual across different settings – e.g., playground, classroom, PE.
  • With the same behavior across different individuals – e.g., several student in one classroom.

Application of Multiple Baseline

  • Example: one student exhibiting several disruptive behaviors in classroom (e.g., inappropriate vocalization, bothering others, out of seat);
  • If several teachers are having similar problems with the same student… intervention would be implemented in one setting… then sequentially implemented across others.
  • We advocate selecting the behavior that appears to be the “keystone” behavior.

Multiple Baseline

  • Advantage:
  • The intervention effects may generalize across all behaviors allowing for concurrent decreases in all problematic behaviors.
  • Multiple baseline strengthens the hypothesis that an intervention caused a behavior change – but again does not allow for statements of causality.

Multiple Baseline Design
Out of Seat Behavior

Chart1

22
21
15
24
18
13
6
14
19
12
5
3
Number of times out of seat
Multiple-Baseline Designs

Chart2

18
16
15
15
14
14
15
12
5
11
9
7
2
3
Number of times bothering others

Chart3

16
14
10
11
12
11
12
11
12
8
5
6
7
2
2
1
Days
Number of times calling out

Sheet1

22 18 16
21 16 14
15 15 10
24 15 11
18 14 12
13 14 11
6 15 12
14 12 11
19 5 12
12 11 8
5 9 5
3 7 6
2 7
3 2
2
1

Sheet2

Sheet3

Multiple Baseline Design
Inappropriate Vocalization

Chart1

22
21
15
24
18
13
6
14
19
12
5
3
Number of times out of seat

Chart2

18
16
15
15
14
14
15
12
5
11
9
7
2
3
Number of times bothering others

Chart3

16
14
10
11
12
11
12
11
12
8
5
6
7
2
2
1
Days
Number of times calling out

Sheet1

22 18 16
21 16 14
15 15 10
24 15 11
18 14 12
13 14 11
6 15 12
14 12 11
19 5 12
12 11 8
5 9 5
3 7 6
2 7
3 2
2
1

Sheet2

Sheet3

Multiple Baseline Design
Bothering Others

Chart1

22
21
15
24
18
13
6
14
19
12
5
3
Number of times out of seat

Chart2

18
16
15
15
14
14
15
12
5
11
9
7
2
3
Number of times bothering others

Chart3

16
14
10
11
12
11
12
11
12
8
5
6
7
2
2
1
Days
Number of times calling out

Sheet1

22 18 16
21 16 14
15 15 10
24 15 11
18 14 12
13 14 11
6 15 12
14 12 11
19 5 12
12 11 8
5 9 5
3 7 6
2 7
3 2
2
1

Sheet2

Sheet3

Changing Criterion Design

Changing Criterion is an A-B design that is replicated wherein the intervention remains the same but the criterion for success is sequentially changed.

Changing Criterion Design

Uses for Changing Criterion:

  • Increasing the amount of completed classwork is the goal – especially when the student has adequate skills – but is choosing not to complete work.
  • Caution: be realistic… design an intervention with reachable goals (e.g. not from 30% to 100% overnight!)
  • Don’t set goals too low either… but allow time!

Application of Changing Criterion Design

  • Baseline data collected to determine the % of work presently being completed.
  • Data could come from teachers, parents, student, administrators, etc.
  • Ascertain student’s ability;
  • Is it skill deficit or performance deficit?

Application of Changing Criterion Design

  • Design a positive reinforcement program offered for % of work completed.
  • Student interview can provide valuable information regarding reinforcers!
  • Progressively increase % of work to be completed – slowly, if needed, until 100% is reached.

Changing Criterion Design

Chart1

22
31
25
30
45
50
55
50
75
80
80
85
85
90
90
97
Baseline
Criterion 1
Criterion 2
Criterion 3
Days
Percentage of Work Completed
Changing-Criterion Design

Sheet1

22
31
25
30
45
50
55
50
75
80
80
85
85
90
90
97

Sheet2

Sheet3

Implication for School Counselors

  • Issues of school counselor effectiveness and accountability will continue to be important!
  • School counselors are challenged to take on the responsibility of “proving their worth”.
  • The use of single subject research design methods can help school counselors provide empirical evidence demonstrating positive student outcomes!

School Counselors as Researchers

  • This has been only a brief overview of the most common types of single subject research designs than can be used by school counselors.
  • School counselors must be intentional in selecting the most appropriate type of design; gain parental permission; adhere to ethical & legal guidelines; and be aware of cultural values and influences.
  • Single subject research is a viable research option for school counselors!

A-B Design

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

12345678

Days

Number of Times Student Hits Others

Per Day

BaselineTreatmentFollow-Up

12 13

A-B-A-B Design

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1234567891011121314

Days

Percent of times out-of-seat

Multiple-Baseline Designs

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Number of times out of seat

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Number of times bothering others

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

12345678910111213141516

Days

Number of times calling out

Changing-Criterion Design

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Days

Percentage of Work Completed

Baseline

Criterion 1

Criterion 2

Criterion 3