Increasing Skill Performances of Problem Solving in Students with Disabilities Debra Cote, Ph.D. California State University Fullerton
Jan 18, 2016
Increasing Skill Performances of Problem Solving in Students with
Disabilities
Debra Cote, Ph.D. California State University Fullerton
Importance of Problem-Solving Competency
• Students with disabilities need: • exposure to problem-solving instruction (Agran &
Alper, 2000). • problem-solving skills to prepare them for post-
school life (Edeh & Hickson, 2002).• opportunities to practice problem-solving skills
(Palmer & Wehmeyer, 2003).
Purpose of the Research Measure the application, generalization,
and maintenance of problem-solving skills in students with disabilities.
Contribute to the limited research in this area, for this population of students, and provide a systematic approach to teach problem-solving skills that can lead to self-determination.
Research Questions Research Question 1 What were the effects of problem-solving
instruction on the skill performances of problem solving in students with disabilities?
Research Question 2 To what degree did students with disabilities
identify the steps of problem solving?
Research Questions Research Question 3 To what degree did students generalize their
skill performances of problem solving?
Research Question 4 To what degree did students maintain/retain
their skill performances of problem solving?
Research Questions Research Question 5 What effect did the problem-solving
instruction have on students perceptions of their skill performances of problem solving?
Research Question 6 What were teacher perceptions about
implementing the problem-solving strategy to increase skill performances of problem solving in students?
Experimental Design Multiple Probe Design (Horner & Baer, 1978)
Provides an alternative method for establishing baselines. One baseline and one treatment condition was
administered.
Two students were included in the first level of the design.
Setting Setting The study was conducted in a professional
development middle school.
A self-contained classroom used in providing services to 10 students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities.
Students Students Four middle school age students
Sixth grade African American female student Sixth grade Hispanic female student Sixth grade Caucasian female student Seventh grade Asian (Filipino) male student
Student Demographics
IQ Score Number
55-69 1
40-54 3
Mean 54.8
Language Score Number
55-69 4
40-54 0
Mean 61.8
Problem Situation Baseline Measure Ann’s teacher wants Ann to practice reading sight
words everyday. After school, Ann goes to her grandma’s house. When Ann’s mother picks her up, Ann is too tired to practice, and goes to bed.
What is the problem? What could you do to fix it? What else could you do to fix it? Which solution would work best? Why would it work?
Baseline Mean and Range Percentages
Students Mean Range
Student A 0% 0%
Student B 45% 20-60%
Student C 20% 0-40%
Student D 29% 0-60%
Treatment Condition
Fifteen minutes of problem-solving instruction Criteria
Three days at 80% on three successive occasions Two students included in the first level of treatment
(i.e., Student A and Student C) Student B and Student D continued in baseline
Student D included in the second level of treatment Student B continued in baseline
Student B included in the last level of treatment
Problem-Solving Story BooksProblem-Solving Story Books
Flash Cards
Treatment Summary
• The number of problem-solving treatment sessions required for each student to reach criterion differed
• Student A, 11 sessions Student B, 3 sessions Student C, 7 sessions Student D, 6 sessions
Baseline and Treatment Percentages
Students Baseline Mean Treatment Mean Treatment Range
Student A 0% 43.6% 0-100%
Student B 45% 100% 100%
Student C 20% 65.7% 40-100%
Student D 29% 63.3% 40-80%
Procedures
Phase Three: Generalization, Maintenance, and Retention Post-treatment measures
Generalization Measure Maintenance Measure Retention MeasureProblem-Solving Step Measure
Generalization Mean and Range Percentages
Students Mean Range
Student A 80% 80%
Student B 93% 80-100%
Student C 93% 80-100%
Student D 93% 80-100%
Maintenance and Retention Percentages
Students Maintenance Retention
Student A 40% 100%
Student B 100% 100%
Student C 80% 100%
Student D 80% 60%
Student A
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 17 18 19 20
Consecutive Sessions
Perc
enta
ges
Corr
ect
Baseline TreatmentGeneralization
Maintenance
Retention
Student B
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 17
Consecutive Sessions
Perc
enta
ges
Cor
rect
BaselineTreatment Generalization Maintenance
Retention
Student C
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
Consecutive Sessions
Pe
rce
nta
ge
s C
orr
ect
BaselineTreatment
Generalization Maintenance Retention
Student D
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 17 18
Consecutive Sessions
Pe
rce
nta
ge
s C
orr
ect
Baseline TreatmentMaintenance
RetentionGeneralization
Implications
Question One: Data suggested students learned to identify
problems, possible solutions, identify best solutions, and to self-evaluate.
Question Two: Data suggested three students were able to
identify two problem-solving steps.
Implications
Question Three: Data suggested students generalized their
skill performances of problem solving.
Question Four: Data suggested three students maintained
their skill performances of problem solving (i.e., Student B, Student C, Student D), and three students retained their skill performances of problem solving (i.e., Student A, Student B, Student C).
Implications
Question Five: Data suggested three students were more
assured of their problem-solving abilities post-treatment.
Question Six: Data suggested the teacher found the
strategy easy, effective, useful, and feasible.
Current Research
Five ways to teach problem solving to students with learning disabilities (Cote, Higgins, & Pierce, 2010). Teach Active Problem Solving Utilize Bibliotheraphy Incorporate Computer Technology (i.e.,
http://kidtools.missouri.edu/ Utilize Explicit Instruction Use Problem-Solving Conversations
Current Research
Increasing skill performances of problem solving in students with intellectual disabilities (Cote, Pierce, Higgins, Miller, Tandy, & Sparks, in press).
Implementing a problem-solving intervention with students with mild and moderate disabilities (Cote, in press).
Current Research
Problem-solving research conducted with elementary-age students with intellectual disabilities.
Problem-solving, resiliency, parent alienation, and social skills research conducted with incarcerated adjudicated youth with learning and intellectual disabilities (Brandon, Brown, Cote, Grant, Higgins, Jones, Morgan, & Pierce)
Adaptation of PS Questionnaire (Cote, 2009)