Research Evidence to Support the Consultation Model in

Research Evidence to Support the Consultation Model in Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services

Distributed Instruction vs. Massed Instruction…… The Spacing Effect What It Is and Why It Should Matter to Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Professionals

Research and Development Support Margie Spino, M. A. Doctoral Student - U. Toledo

Consultation vs. One-to-One and Small Group Instruction in Itinerant ECSE Services: Which is More Efficient ? • The adoption of a consultation model as the primary mode of intervention in IECSE services must be based on the effectiveness of instruction vs. traditional patterns of practice

Rationale for Consultation / Coaching in IECSE Services If periodic or episodic intervention (usually 60 -90 minutes per week in traditional IECSE service delivery) is as efficient as distributed or spaced instruction (or practice), then there is no need to adopt a consultation model as the primary mode of intervention • However…. . if distributed or spaced instruction or practice is a more efficient model of learning, then adoption of a consultation approach to IECSE intervention is warranted l

Rationale for Consultation / Coaching in IECSE Services l If consultation is to be considered as a preferred alternative to 60 -90 minute, one-to-one or teacher-directed small group instruction, then the research base related to efficiency of child learning must be examined

Research Support: Distributed Instruction and Practice Adults l Ebbinghaus, 1885/1964 l Donovan & Radosevich, 1999, meta-analysis l Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted & Rohrer, 2006, meta-analysis Children - ages 3 months to 8 years old l Childers & Tomasello, 2002 (word learning) l Rea & Modigliani, 1985 (spelling, math) l Rovee-Collier, 1995 (visual recognition) l Seabrook, Brown, & Solity, 2005 (phonics)

Massed vs. Distributed Practice Massed Practice • Child instructed with same materials, multiple times in single session, without a break • EXAMPLE: Identifying basic shapes for 20 minutes in one day Distributed Practice • Child practices with same or different materials, multiple times, with breaks between instruction/ practice • EXAMPLE: Practice identifying basic shapes for 10 mins. during sessions scheduled several times per week +

Research with Children Rea and Modigliani, 1985 l 3 rd graders (8. 5 years) taught spelling words and math facts l l Students ranked as Level 1 (top half of class) or Level 2 (bottom half of class) Results: l l Better on spelling and math tests when had spaced instruction rather than massed instructions Spaced instruction was better for both Level 1 and 2 students (ability level didn’t matter)

Seabrook, Brown & Solity, 2005 l Experiment l Task: 34 children (mean age 5 years. 6 mos. ) taught phonics over two weeks l Schedule: Clustered = one, 6 -minute session per day within a regular classroom setting. § Distributed = three, 2 -minute sessions per day within a regular classroom setting § l Results: Children in distributed condition had test scores 6 times greater than children in clustered condition

Childers and Tomasello, 2002 l How many times (and how many days) does a 2 -yr old need to hear a word to learn it? l In 2 experiments, 2 yr olds were taught ‘silly’ nouns and verbs (words they had never seen) over the course of a month in sessions lasting 5 - 10 min

Childers and Tomasello, 2002 Results: • Best learning occurred when teaching was distributed • The more days that children heard the words, the better able they were to learn the words l Best = 4 days, 3 days l Worst = 1 day, 2 days • Children learned words better if they heard the words 1 x/day for 4 days rather than 8 x/day for I day

Major Findings l Spacing (distributing) instruction benefited children and adults whether the tasks were physical or cognitive. l Spacing instruction within the day (e. g. , three 2 -min sessions/day) or across days (e. g. , 1 x/day for 4 days) helped children learn.

Implications for Education Practice l Current laws state that educational practice needs to be research-based (NCLB; IDEIA, 2004) l How should we schedule instruction for young children? l l Massed vs Spaced ? Research supports Spaced How should we schedule the Itinerant ECSE teacher’s time? l Direct instruction vs. Consultation / Coaching ? Research suggests Consultation/Coaching

Distributed Practice Research Results Better Learning with Distributed Practice

Project DIRECT Web Site http: //www. utoledo. edu/education/direct/ Web Site Includes: • Training Modules related to Itinerant ECSE Services • Articles and Links to Resources • Professional Development Tool (P. I. E. C. E. S. ) • Information re: Training Sessions

Contact Information: Laurie Dinnebeil, Ph. D. – laurie. dinnebeil@utoledo. edu Bill Mc. Inerney, Ph. D. – william. mcinerney@utoledo. edu Lyn Hale, Ph. D. – lyn. hale@utoledo. edu Margie Spino, M. A. – margie. spino@rockets. utoledo. edu Judith Herb College of Education - MS 954 The University of Toledo 2801 W. Bancroft St. , Toledo, OH 43606